KMB vs FAST Comparison

With more than half of its sales from personal care and another third from consumer tissue products, Kimberly-Clark is a leading manufacturer in the tissue and hygiene realm. Its brand mix includes Huggies, PullUps, Kotex, Depend, Kleenex, and Cottonelle. The firm also operates in the professional segment, partnering with businesses to provide safety and sanitary offerings for the workplace. Kimberly-Clark generates just over half its sales in North America and more than 10% in Europe, with the rest primarily concentrated in Asia and Latin America.

Fastenal began as an industrial retailer, expanding its product portfolio from nuts and bolts to cutting tools, safety equipment, and janitorial supplies. It transitioned into a distributor by building out a dense network of branches close to its business customers. Once a customer becomes large enough, Fastenal installs vending machines and its own personnel on-site. Today, these on-site locations exceed Fastenal's branch count and remain the firm's main focus for expansion. Fastenal acts as a one-stop outsourcing partner for its industrial customers, offering value-added services along with a wide breadth of maintenance, repair, and operations supplies.