Brand names stick to what they know best

For the state's top consumer products companies, the mantra for 2004 was: Focus, focus, focus.

As a small brewer in an industry of giants, Boston Beer Co., the Jamaica Plain maker of Samuel Adams beer, can't compete on the same playing field with the likes of Anheuser-Busch Cos. So the independent $217 million company focused on what it does best: specialty premium beer.

Aiming to appeal to the choosiest 10 percent of beer-quaffing adults, who turn up their noses at macro-brews like Bud Lite and Miller High Life, Boston Beer last year rolled out a black lager that earned rave reviews. It produced a limited-edition ''chocolate bock" that quickly sold out. The company garnered 127 brewing awards, more than any other brewer.

''The best management decision I made last year was to remain a small but independent company, at a time when brewers are consolidating into huge global conglomerates and Boston is experiencing an exodus of some of its landmark companies," said Jim Koch, the company's founder and brewmaster. Boston Beer increased profit margins 13 percent.

At Reebok International Ltd., sales rose for the fourth consecutive year, to nearly $3.8 billion. With its sights on chief rival Nike Inc., the Canton sneaker maker created its biggest ad campaign in a decade, ''i am what i am," featuring actress Lucy Liu and pro basketball star Allen Iverson. Reebok also prepared for this year's launch of the Pump 2.0, now the most technologically advanced shoe in its lineup. With its acquisition of the The Hockey Co. Holdings Inc. of Montreal last year, owner of the CCM and Koho brands, Reebok also became the top hockey equipment maker.

Rival sneaker maker Saucony Inc., of Cambridge, increased sales by more than 22 percent last year, to $167 million, with intense focus on better management. Chief executive John Fisher said the company scrutinized every facet of how it operates, pushing top executives to improve their relationships with big retailers.

''We refused to get distracted by opportunities that were off-message," Fisher said.

And in its final year as part of the Globe 100, Gillette Co., the Boston consumer products conglomerate that is being acquired by Procter & Gamble Co. for $57 billion, increased revenue 13 percent in the classic Gillette way: Persuade consumers to pay premium prices for the latest innovations in razors, blades, toothbrushes, and skin care.

Besides a $14.99 M3Power men's battery-powered razor whose replacement blades cost 15 percent more than regular Mach3 blades, Gillette also rolled out a vibrating razor for women, its first sonic toothbrush, and skin care products for men. Not to mention Brush-Ups, fingertip-sized pads for consumers to swab their teeth when a toothbrush isn't handy.

Naomi Aoki can be reached at naoki@globe.com.