CHINA TOPIX

11/22/2024 11:30:43 am

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P&G Sheds More Brands in Summer Led by Duracell

Tide Soap

(Photo : Reuters) Tide detergent pods, from Procter & Gamble, are seen at the Safeway store in Wheaton, Maryland February 13, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES)

By divesting itself of some of its iconic 100 brands this summer, manufacturing giant Procter & Gamble (P&G) is expected to cut its annual sales by 14 percent.

The biggest brand to be sold is Duracell batteries, which Berkshire Hathaway would buy for US$2.6 billion in 2016.

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PGG Chief Financial Officer Jon Moeller estimated the combined sales of brands to be divested at US$11 million, higher than the previous estimate of US$8 billion, reports Smnweekly.com.

He said the company targets to close most of the sale by the middle of 2016.

P&G had already sold Lams, the MDVIP concierge physician service and the Avril Lavigne fragrance license. Other brands it plans to sell include Wella, Braun, Camay soap and Scope.

After the sale, the Cincinnati-based manufacturing giant is expected to still hold 70 iconic brands, including Tide detergent, Gillette blades, Pantene shampoo, Bounty paper products and Pamper nappies, which it will further trim down to 65 brands through consolidation.

But Moeller emphasized that the brands it is selling are not losing ones; P&G only wants to focus on brands that would play to its strengths.

PG& CEO A.G. Lafley, in response to a question from Deutsche Bank analyst Bill Schmitz on its performance in China during the annual conference of the Consumer Analyst Group of New York at Boca Raton, said its cash flow and profitability in the Asian giant is strong.

He added that P&G would introduce liquid laundry detergent and pull-on diapers in the later part of 2015 in the Chinese market.

"So I think China is going to be actually a fair amount of fun," Marketwatch quotes Lafley.

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