P&G glides into floss business
Gamble company has announced an agreement to purchase the number
two dental floss brand Glide from fibre technologists W. L. Gore
& Associates to complement its Crest dental care range.
The Procter & Gamble company has announced an agreement to purchase the Glide dental floss business from W. L. Gore & Associates for an undisclosed sum.
Glide floss is the market leader in dental offices and number two retail brand in the US with annual company sales of more than $45 million (€39.6m) in a total US floss market of more than $200 million.
"Glide dental floss has a hugely loyal consumer and dental office following - it's a natural fit with Crest," said Michael Kehoe, president, global oral care at P&G. "P&G will now feature a complete oral care regimen: toothpaste, manual and electric toothbrushes, at-home whitening kits, rinses, and now floss."
The two companies are also entering into a strategic relationship in which Newark, Delaware-based W.L. Gore - the makers of Gore-Tex fabrics - will continue the development and manufacturing of fibre for the floss line and P&G will market and sell the product line under the Glide and Crest brand names.
Brad Jones, Gore's corporate business leader said: "We expect this transaction will drive even more dramatic growth and success for our core fibres business."
The move fits P&G's strategy of small acquisitions on billion-dollar brands - such as Crest's acquisition of electric toothbrush brand SpinBrush - and increasingly sourcing innovation from outside P&G. Company officials said Glide revenues would put P&G oral care one step closer to achieving $2 billion (€1.77bn) in annual sales.
Although the companies declined to disclose the terms of the sale, P&G said it expects to increase sales of the Glide floss brand through cross-promotion with other Crest products, increased marketing support, and potentially global expansion. The vast majority of Glide floss sales are currently in the US with limited distribution in Canada and Western Europe.
Pending regulatory approval, the companies said the acquisition will be completed over the next six weeks and that marketing plans will be announced soon.
