Procter & Gamble have radically decided to sell up to 100 of its brands, citing a saturated market with excessive customer choice as its reason.
As consumers now seem to favour a more stream-lined shopping experience, a fact supported by the rise of Lidl and Aldi who offer a lesser range than supermarket competitors at cheaper prices, the more peripheral brands of P&G will get the chop and are likely to be bought up by companies who specialise in giving homes to orphan brands.
“The shopper and the consumer really don‘t want more assortment and more choice”, said AG Lafley, chief executive of the company. “Consumers want to keep their life simple and convenient”.
Key brands such as Pampers, Tide detergent and Gillette (purchased in 2005) make up the majority of P&G revenue and are certain to be retained whilst the likes of Hi Wash, Trojan and Escada will be moved on.
Nappies, paper products and feminine care products are generally very successful for the company and few changes will be made in this area, meaning the likes of shaving, hair care and make-up are likely to suffer the most changes.
The news of the slim-down has been popular with investors as shares rose 3 per cent, suggesting most are appreciative of P&G‘s research that choice is not always a good thing.
What‘s likely to stay
Gillette (shaving) Tide (laundry detergent) Pampers (nappies) Oral B (dental) Duracell (batteries) Fairy (dishwashing liquid) Olay (beauty) Always (feminine care) Old Spice (colognes) Pantene (haircare) Crest (toothpaste) Bounty (paper towels) Era (laundry detergent)
What‘s likely to go
Cheer (laundry detergent) Clearblue (pregnancy test) Trojan (laundry detergent) Gabriela Sabatini (perfume) Escada (perfume) Pregnavit (vitamins) Silvikrin (hair spray) Metamucil (laxatives) Naomi Campbell (perfume) Zooth (children‘s oral care) Graham Webb (beauty brand)
