P&G Taking “Holistic” Approach To Beauty, Grooming Sales
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
Procter & Gamble is taking a more "holistic" approach to meeting the needs of beauty and grooming consumers, according to Vice Chair of Global Beauty and Grooming Ed Shirley
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Procter & Gamble is taking a more "holistic" approach to meeting the needs of beauty and grooming consumers, according to Vice Chair of Global Beauty and Grooming Ed Shirley. The exec discussed the strategy during the Deutsche Bank Securities Global Consumer & Food Retail Conference in Paris June 9. That meeting took place one day before P&G announced the appointment of Bob McDonald as CEO (see 1 (Also see "Lafley Turns P&G Over To “Broadly And Globally Experienced” CEO McDonald" - HBW Insight, 15 Jun, 2009.) ). Shirley said that as retailers feel the crunch of the recession and rationalize SKUs, "there is an opportunity for us to think much more holistically" in terms of what to market, where and to whom. He explained that the firm has "an incredible understanding of consumers' individual habits" when it comes to anti-aging, anti-dandruff and hair color practices, as well as deodorant use. However, thinking in terms of isolated product categories - without giving due consideration to the relationships between product lines and co-marketing opportunities that exist - can be detrimental to the health of the overall portfolio, Shirley suggested. "As a company of brands, historically the [P&G] brands competed against one another for resources, and it was a bit of the survival of the fittest," he said. With regard to spending on brand support, the fragmented approach has been "tremendously inefficient," Shirley added. In a holistic approach, the company will strive to meet consumers' varied needs with multiple P&G products in locations - particularly high-end stores - where in the past they may have shopped for a single P&G product. For example, P&G fragrance shoppers often are not exposed to the firm's high-end skin-care lines and cosmetics, but the company is taking steps to change that; earlier this year it launched color cosmetics under Dolce & Gabbana in New York, Milan and London. The firm may also broaden its product selection in salons. Shirley noted that women visit salons primarily for hair services, often sitting for around two hours, a period of time P&G could use to pique their interest in salon beauty offerings outside of hair care, such as skin care and cosmetics. - Eileen Francis (e.francis @elsevier.com) |