P&G to get top brands growing again after North America stumbles

At a Morgan Stanley Global Consumer Conference this week, chief executive officer Jon Moeller revealed that the lagging beauty brands have offset progress in other beauty segments, such as cosmetics and personal cleansing.

"P&G is expecting a heightened level of promotional spending ahead of our product initiatives launched in early next calendar year especially in North America fabric care and beauty,” ​he said.

Moeller has previously acknowledged that restoring growth in the personal care giant's beauty lines is a key priority for the company.

“We’re making progress on Pantene and Olay, but it will take some time to return these brands to market share growth,​” the CEO adds.

Strategy ​

In regards to Pantene, Moeller has said P&G's strategy is to go back to basics by emphasizing the health benefits of existing hair care products and that since last January the company has been converting all of the U.S. based product line positioning back to health-based hair benefits.

“We’re ensuring that the benefits are clearly and consistently communicated with strong claims on package, in advertising, online and on the shelf. Since making these changes value share has stabilized,​” he gives by way of example.

With Olay, seeing some growth from the launch of its Fresh Effects bundle of skin care products earlier this year, which filled a gap that P&G noted in the middle of the price tier.

“This product line is targeted at younger consumers interested in more than anti-aging benefits,” Moeller said. “Distribution on Fresh Effects is ahead of target and over 80 percent of consumers trying Fresh Effects are non-Olay users.”

Olay is also upgrading its Natural White product line and will be launching new innovations “as they’re ready for market.”