P&G’s plans to stay on top
Tide detergent, Pantene shampoo and Gillette razors have filled cupboards for decades. But being a household name isn’t good enough anymore.
Proctor & Gamble, which makes those products and more, is facing increasing competition. Shoppers are buying more store brands, which cost less and get prime shelf space.
And then there’s the rise of hip online startups selling razors directly to a younger generation.
P&G has been buying some of those new brands, such as the maker of Bevel razors, aimed at young men of color.
David Taylor, P&G’s CEO, says the company is also tweaking products to appeal to older folks, who are quickly becoming a big chunk of the population. In the U.S., for example, the government expects adults over 65 to outnumber children for the first time in 2034.
Taylor recently talked to The Associated Press about those issues and the rise of online shopping.
P&G recently launched a razor aimed at caretakers that’s designed to shave someone else. Are there other products you’re thinking about for older generations?
The aging population is a huge, and in many ways, underserved group. We have tried to make sure that we broaden the audience that we serve. It can be everything from how easy it is to read the package, how easy it is to open the package, or the design of the formula to appeal to the specific issues that you may have. Your hair needs are different when you’re older. Your skin needs are different when you’re older.
How closely do you work with Amazon?
Amazon is a very valued customer, but so is Walmart and Target and Walgreens and Kroger and Costco and Sam’s Club. We want to be agnostic to where consumers want to shop. Our e-commerce business is passing $5 billion and grew 25% last year. It’s a big part of our business. But in the context of our total company, it’s just under 10% of our sales.
How are you dealing with stores creating private-label brands?
Any competition is a challenge. We see that as an opportunity for us to elevate the performance of our brands. We have grown share at the same time private label has grown, and P&G is still growing.
P&G has bought some smaller brands. Will you buy more?
Generally, P&G is able to invent most things. We have over 175 active experiments going on in the company. On the other hand, there may have been an entrepreneur that’s done a really good job in an area that we say, “That’s ahead of what we’re doing,” or they identified a new area and it may be better to go ahead and acquire that. So we’re open to both.