Cincinnati, OH
www.pg.com

Sales: $35 billion for household, oral and personal care products.

Corporate sales: $65.3 billion.

Key Personnel: David S. Taylor, chairman, president and chief executive officer; Mark Biegger, chief human resources officer; Steven D. Bishop, group president, global health care; Giovanni Ciserani, group president, global fabric & home care and global baby and feminine care; Linda W. Clement-Holmes, chief information officer and advisor to the chairman; Gary Coombe, president, Europe selling and market operations; Philip J. Duncan, global design officer; Mary Lynn Ferguson-McHugh, group president, global family care and global brand creation and innovation, P&G Ventures; Thomas M. Finn, global personal health care; Kathleen B. Fish, chief technology officer; Fama Francisco, president, global feminine care; William P. Gipson, president, end-to-end packaging transformation and chief diversity officer; Shaliesh G. Jejurikar, president, global fabric care and brand building; Henry Karamanoukian, senior vice president, go-to-market, China; R. Alexandra Keith, president, global skin and personal care; Alex Keith, president, global beauty; Deborah P. Majoras, chief legal officer and secretary; Jon R. Moeller, chief financial officer; Julio Nemeth, president, global business services; Charles E. Pierce, group president, global grooming; Javier Polit, chief information officer; Juan Fernando Posada, president, Latin America selling & market operations; Matthew S. Price, president, greater China selling & market operations; Marc S. Pritchard, chief brand officer; Mohamed Samir, president, India, Middle East and Africa selling & market operations; Jeffrey K. Schamburger, global sales officer; Yannis Skoufalos, global product supply officer; Magesvaran Suranjan, president, Asia Pacific Selling & Market operations; Carolyn Tastad, group president, North America Selling & Market Operations; George Tsourapas, president, global home care and P&G Professional.

Major Products: Beauty care—cosmetics, fragrances, hair care, antiperspirants and skin/beauty care marketed under such brands as Aussie, Gillette, Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Ivory, Olay, Old Spice, Pantene, Rejoice, Safeguard, Secret, SK-II. Fabric and Home care—dish care, household cleaners and laundry care including brands such as Ace, Ambi Pur, Ariel, Bold, Bounce, Cascade, Cheer, Comet, Dash, Dawn, Daz, Downy, Dreft, Era, Fairy, Febreze, Gain, Joy, Lenor, Mr. Clean, Mr. Proper, Rindex, Swiffer, Tide, Viakal; Oral care—Crest, Fixodent, Oral-B, Scope.

New Products: Dreft Purtouch, Tide Pods plus Downy, Febreze One, Duo (Olay, Ivory and Old Spice), Old Spice Hydro Wash, Art of Shaving fragrance collection, P&G Professional Improved Online University, Cascade Platinum, Fabric Enhancers Beads (Downy, Gain, Lenor, Bounce and Dreft).

Comments: P&G is lighter, but there’s still some heavy lifting ahead. More than a year ago, P&G sold a slew of personal care brands to Coty as part of its plan to be nimble and focused on 65 core brands. Now, more than a year into the process, the company is still struggling to find itself in a rapidly-changing market.

“We are a much simpler company,” explained CFO Jon Moeller at a CAGNY Conference in February. For example, the number of manufacturing sites, platforms and enrollment have all been slashed. Furthermore, category/country combinations were slashed 70% from 140 to just 50. Laundry, hair and skin care SKUs were cut 30% and oral care SKUs were reduced by 20%. But a leaner P&G is still counting on innovations such as Tide Pods 4-in-1 with Downy, fabric enhancer beads.

The new P&G is looking for balanced growth and value creation via sales growth, cash generation and margin expansion. Part of the gains will come from an overall haul of its advertising budget. P&G has cut advertising, PR and other agencies by 50%. Like many other FMCG companies, P&G says neither traditional advertising, nor online have lived up to their promise.

At CAGNY, Moeller expected fiscal 2017 all-in sales to be flat and organic sales to rise 2-3%.

Three-quarters of the way through fiscal 2017, the company is still finding its way as corporate sales dipped less than 1% to just under $49 billion. Beauty sales declined 1% to $8.6 billion, grooming fell 3% to $4.9 billion, and fabric & home care dropped 1% to $15.5 billion.

Gains in skin and personal care provided a lift to beauty sales. Procter & Gamble was pleased with the continued growth of SK-II its premium skin care brand, which helped offset lower volume in retail skin care. Organic hair care sales were flat.

Grooming sales were hurt by lower prices and volume. The Dollar Shave Club concept is clearly cutting into Gillette’s sales. To help remedy the situation, the brand recently introduced Gillette On Demand, a traditional subscription-only option along with a flexible on-demand purchase option that it is calling “an industry-first re-order process that is as simple as sending a one-word text message.”

Company executives say the new strategy is a cut above Dollar Shave Club’s strategy. According to Gillette, a 2015 Nielsen Homescan study found that 41% of guys who decided to leave traditional shave clubs said they were getting more blades than they needed. But the men’s grooming brand contends that Gillette On Demand is the industry’s first as-needed ordering option.

“Ordering blades has never been easier than we’re making it today,” said Mark Jeffreys, brand director, Gillette. “Gillette On Demand’s as-needed ordering capabilities and its convenient subscription options give guys smart choices, not trade-offs. This new service puts them in control without having to choose between convenience and flexibility, or between great quality and value.”

Health care volume and sales increased behind higher organic volume in both oral care and personal health care. Power toothbrushes provided a lift.

Fabric and home care volume and organic sales were up 1%. Home care organic sales fell low single digits as increased volume due to product innovation and increased customer support was more than offset by unfavorable geographic mix. Fabric care organic sales increased low single digits due to increased organic volume and favorable product mix from premium forms in developed markets and increased pricing in developing markets.

The declines for the nine months ended March 31, 2017 were modest and better than fiscal 2016 results when net sales fell 8% to $65.3 billion, which the company blamed primarily on a strong dollar. Organic sales rose 1% as increased pricing more than offset a 3% decline in volume. Fabric & Home Care accounted for 32% of sales, followed by Baby, Feminine & Family Care (28%), Beauty (18%), and Grooming and Health Care (11% each). P&G has more than 20 billion-dollar brands and is the leader in retail hair care with more than a 20% share. In grooming, P&G is the leader in blades and razors with a nearly 65% share. In oral care, P&G is No. 2 (behind Colgate) with a 20% share. Finally, in home care, P&G is No. 1 on the strength of Tide, Ariel and Downy. 

Taking a closer look at the categories, beauty sales fell 9% to $11.4 billion. Hair care volume fell mid-single digits in both developed and developing markets. Skin care and personal care volume declined in the high single digits due, in part to the divestures of Camay and Zest and the Venezuelan deconsolidation. Health care sales fell 5% to $7.4 billion due to a 2% decline in unit volume and 6% decline on Forex. P&G noted that oral care volume fell in the low single digits due to a high single-digit decrease in developing regions caused by higher prices, more competition and less customer inventory. Meanwhile, volume in developed regions increased low single digits driven by product innovation. Fabric and home care sales fell 7% on a 1% decline in unit volume. Unfavorable foreign exchange reduced net sales by 6%. Fabric care volume declined low single digits due to a double-digit decrease in developing regions driven by increased pricing, reduced distribution of less profitable brands, minor brand divestitures and the Venezuela deconsolidation. Organic volume in developing regions decreased high single digits. Volume in developed markets increased mid-single digits due to innovation and increased marketing. Global market share of the fabric care category was flat. Home Care volume increased low single digits, as developed market volume increased low single digits as benefits from product innovation more than offset impacts from competitive activity. This was partially offset by a low single-digit decrease in developing regions following increased pricing. Global market share of the home care category was down slightly, according to P&G.

As P&G continues to evolve, company executives insist productivity savings from fiscal 2017 through 2021 could reach $10 billion. They’ll come through a combination of a reduction of manufacturing expenses, transportation and warehousing, and raw and pack materials. Transforming its supply chain will link P&G to its customers, according to the firm.

And yet, for all its efforts, some say P&G executives aren’t doing enough to boost the company’s and investors’ fortunes. Last month, P&G said it is in “ongoing constructive, active” talks with Trian Fund about the future of its brands, and is willing to take ideas from the hedge fund about how to improve its business. Trian has been increasing its stake in P&G, and an SEC filing last month showed it held more than 36M shares. The hedge fund, like investment houses before it, is urging P&G to consider a breakup that would unlock the company’s value.