Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G, NYSE: PG) is a Fortune 500, American global corporation based in Cincinnati, Ohio, that manufactures a wide range of consumer goods. As of 2008, P&G is the 23rd largest US company by revenue and 14th largest by profit. It is 10th in Fortune's Most Admired Companies list (as of 2007). P&G is credited with many business innovations including brand management, the soap opera, and "Connect & Develop" innovation.
According to the Nielsen Company, in 2007 P&G spent more on U.S. advertising than any other company; the $2.62 billion it spent is almost twice as much as General Motors, the next company on the Nielsen list. P&G was named 2008 Advertiser of the Year by Cannes International Advertising Festival.
Procter & Gamble Co.
 |
| Type |
Public (NYSE: PG) |
| Founded |
1837 |
| Headquarters |
One Procter & Gamble Plaza, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA 45202 |
| Key people |
A. G. Lafley, Chairman and CEO |
| Industry |
Consumer goods |
| Revenue |
▲ US$83.503 billion (2008) |
| Net income |
▲ US$12.075 billion (2008) |
| Employees |
138,000 |
| Website |
www.pg.com |
History
William Procter, a candlemaker, and James Gamble, a soapmaker, formed distinct companies. The two men, immigrants from England and Ireland respectively who had settled earlier in Cincinnati, might never have met, had they not married sisters, Olivia and Elizabeth Norris.
Since both their industries used similar resources, the Panic of 1837 caused intense competition between the two and as a result it led to discord with the family. Alexander Norris, their father-in law decided to call a meeting where he convinced his new sons-in-law to become business partners. On October 31, 1837, as a result of the suggestion, a new enterprise was born: Procter & Gamble.
The company prospered during the nineteenth century. In 1859, sales reached one million dollars. By this point, approximately eighty employees worked for Procter & Gamble. During the American Civil War, the company won contracts to supply the Union Army with soap and candles. In addition to the increased profits experienced during the war, the military contracts introduced soldiers from all over the country to Procter & Gamble's products. Once the war was over and the men returned home, they continued to purchase the company's products.
In the 1880s, Procter & Gamble began to market a new product, an inexpensive soap that floats in water. The company called the soap Ivory. In the decades that followed, Procter & Gamble continued to grow and change. The company became known for its progressive work environment in the late nineteenth century. William Arnett Procter, William Procter's grandson, established a profit-sharing program for the company's workforce in 1887. He hoped that by giving the workers a stake in the company, they would be less inclined to go on strike.
Over time, the company began to focus most of its attention on soap, producing more than thirty different types by the 1890s. As electricity became more and more common, there was less need for the candles that Procter & Gamble had made since its inception. Ultimately, the company chose to stop manufacturing candles in 1920.
In the early twentieth century, Procter & Gamble continued to grow. The company began to build factories in other locations in the United States, because the demand for products had outgrown the capacity of the Cincinnati facilities. The company's leaders began to diversify its products as well and, in 1911, began producing Crisco, a shortening made of vegetable oils rather than animal fats. In the early 1900s, Procter & Gamble also became known for its research laboratories, where scientists worked to create new products. Company leadership also pioneered in the area of market research, investigating consumer needs and product appeal. As radio became more popular in the 1920s and 1930s, the company sponsored a number of radio programs. As a result, these shows often became commonly known as "soap operas".
Procter & Gamble headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Throughout the twentieth century, Procter & Gamble continued to prosper. The company moved into other countries, both in terms of manufacturing and product sales, becoming an international corporation with its 1930 acquisition of the Newcastle upon Tyne-based Thomas Hedley Co. Procter & Gamble maintained a strong link to the North East of England after this acquisition. In addition, numerous new products and brand names were introduced over time, and Procter & Gamble began branching out into new areas. The company introduced "Tide" laundry detergent in 1946 and "Prell" shampoo in 1950. In 1955, Procter & Gamble began selling the first toothpaste to contain fluoride, known as "Crest". Branching out once again in 1957, the company purchased Charmin Paper Mills and began manufacturing toilet paper and other paper products. Once again focusing on laundry, Procter & Gamble began making "Downy" fabric softener in 1960 and "Bounce" fabric softener sheets in 1972. One of the most revolutionary products to come out on the market was the company's "Pampers", first test-marketed in 1961. Prior to this point disposable diapers were not popular, although Johnson & Johnson had developed a product called "Chux". Babies always wore cloth diapers, which were leaky and labor intensive to wash. Pampers simplified the diapering process.
Over the second half of the twentieth century, Procter & Gamble acquired a number of other companies that diversified its product line and increased profits significantly. These acquisitions included Folgers Coffee, Norwich Eaton Pharmaceuticals, Richardson-Vicks, Noxell, Shulton's Old Spice, Max Factor, and the Iams Company, among others. In 1994, the company made headlines for big losses resulting from leveraged positions in interest rate derivatives, and subsequently sued Bankers Trust for fraud; this placed their management in the unusual position of testifying in court that they had entered into transactions they were not capable of understanding. In 1996, Procter & Gamble again made headlines when the Food and Drug Administration approved a new product developed by the company, Olestra. Also known by its brand name Olean, Olestra is a substitute for fat in cooking potato chips and other snacks that during its development stages is known to have caused anal leakage and gastro-intestinal difficulties in humans.
Procter & Gamble has expanded dramatically throughout its history, but its headquarters still remains in Cincinnati. {Source, Ohio History Central.}
In January 2005 P&G announced an acquisition of Gillette, forming the largest consumer goods company and placing the Anglo-Dutch Unilever into second place. This added brands such as Gillette razors, Duracell, Braun, and Oral-B to their stable. The acquisition was approved by the European Union and the Federal Trade Commission, with conditions to a spinoff of certain overlapping brands. P&G has agreed to sell its SpinBrush battery-operated electric toothbrush business to Church & Dwight. It also divested Gillette's oral-care toothpaste line, Rembrandt. The deodorant brands Right Guard, Soft & Dri, and Dry Idea were sold to Dial Corporation. The companies officially merged October 1, 2005.
P&G's dominance in many categories of consumer products makes its brand management decisions worthy of study. For example, P&G's corporate strategists must account for the likelihood of one of their products cannibalizing the sales of another.
Operations
Effective July 1, 2007, the company's operations are categorized into 3 "Global Business Units" with each Global Business Unit divided into "Business Segments," according to the company's June 2007 earnings release.
- Beauty Care
- Beauty segment
- Grooming segment
- Household Care
- Baby Care and Family Care segment
- Fabric Care and Home Care segment
- Health & Well-Being
- Health Care
- Snacks, Coffee and Pet Care
Management and staff
Current members of the board of directors of Procter & Gamble are: Norman Augustine, Bruce Byrnes, Scott D. Cook, Joseph Gorman, A.G. Lafley, Charles R. Lee, Lynn M. Martin, W. James McNerney, Jr., Johnathan Rodgers, John F. Smith, Jr., Ralph Snyderman, Richard Dearlove, Margaret Whitman, and Brian Bowns. Norman Augustine will be retiring from the Board following the Company's October 2007 meeting[9].
In 2007, the P&G's Canadian division was named one of Canada's Top 100 Employers, as published in Maclean's magazine, the only consumer products company to receive this honor.
Procter & Gamble brands
-
Main article: List of Procter & Gamble brands
23 of P&G's brands have more than a billion dollars in net annual sales and another 18 have sales between $500 million and $1 billion.
Billion dollar brands
- Always is a brand of feminine hygiene products, including maxi pads, pantiliners (sometimes called Alldays), and feminine wipes, produced by Procter & Gamble.--See also Brand homepage; related trademarks: Ultra Thins; Flexi-Wing; Maxis; Alldays; CleanWeave.
- Ariel is a brand of washing powder/liquid, available in numerous forms and scents.
- Actonel is brand of Osteoporosis drug Risedronate.
- Bounty is a brand of paper towel sold in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom
- Braun is a small-appliances manufacturer specializing in electric razors, coffeemakers, toasters, and blenders.
- Crest is a brand of toothpaste.
- Dawn is a brand of dishwashing detergent.
- Downy/Lenor is a brand of fabric softener.
- Duracell is a brand of batteries and flashlights.
- Folgers is a brand of coffee.
- Gain is a brand of laundry detergent and fabric softeners.
- Gillette is a safety razor manufacturer.
- Head & Shoulders is a brand of shampoo.
- High Endurance is a deodorant by Old Spice
- Ivory is a soap
- Nice 'n Easy is a hair color product.
- Olay is a brand of women's skin care products.
- Oral-B is a brand of toothbrush.
- Pampers is a brand of disposable diapers
- Pantene is a brand of haircare.
- Prilosec OTC is a brand of heartburn medicine co marketed by AstraZeneca.
- Puffs is a type of facial tissue.
- Secret is a deodorant
- Tide is a brand of laundry detergent.
- Vicks is a brand of over-the-counter medications
- Wella is a brand of hair care (shampoo, conditioner, styling, hair color).
- Whisper is a brand of pantyliners
Manufacturing
Procter & Gamble manufactures its products across the globe. Manufacturing operations are based in the following geographies
- US
- Canada
- Latin America
- Europe
- China (31 wholly-owned factories) and other parts of Asia
- Africa
Productions
The P&G production ident used from early 1986 to August 3, 2007.
Procter & Gamble Productions logo used from August 6, 2007 to June 30, 2008.
Procter & Gamble produced and sponsored the first radio opera soap operas in the 1930s (Procter and Gamble's being known for detergents (soaps) was probably the genesis of the term "soap opera"). When the medium switched to television in the 1950s and 1960s, most of the new serials were sponsored and produced by the company. Two of their serials, As the World Turns and Guiding Light, are still on the air today and are produced by TeleNext Media, Inc for Procter & Gamble. The serial The Young and the Restless also is regularly sponsored by products from Procter & Gamble, as well as other daytime serials.
Past serials produced by Procter & Gamble include:
- Another World
- Lovers and Friends
- The Brighter Day
- The Catlins
- Down to Earth
- Our Private World
- The Edge of Night
- The First Hundred Years
- For Richer, for Poorer
- From These Roots
- Search for Tomorrow
- Somerset
- Texas
- Young Doctor Malone
According to the CLG Wiki, the 1986 logo premiered during these dates:
- Another World: No later than February 17
- As the World Turns: April 21
- Guiding Light: October 13
- Search for Tomorrow: No later than November
- Down to Earth: Unknown
A new Procter & Gamble Productions logo with new accompanying music debuted on August 6, 2007 after the serials As the World Turns and Guiding Light. The logo appeared some weeks back on the CBS website after the web-streamed episodes. It was used until June 30, 2008, after Procter & Gamble Productions was sold to TeleNext Media, Inc.
Procter & Gamble also was the first company to produce and sponsor a prime-time show, a 1965 spin-off of the daytime soap opera As the World Turns called Our Private World. PGP also produced Shirley, a prime-time NBC series starring Shirley Jones, in 1979; it lasted 13 episodes. They also produced TBS' first original comedy series, Down to Earth, which ran from 1984 to 1987 (110 episodes were produced). They also distributed the syndicated comedy series Throb. Procter & Gamble Productions originally co-produced Dawson's Creek with Sony Pictures Television but withdrew before the series premier due to early press reviews. It also produced the 1991 TV movie A Triumph of the Heart: The Ricky Bell Story, which was co-produced by The Landsburg Company.
In addition to self-produced items, Procter and Gamble also supports many Spanish-language novelas through advertising on Univision, Telemundo, Telefutura, Azteca and many more channels. Procter & Gamble was the one of the first mainstream advertisers on Spanish-language TV during the mid-eighties.
This article uses content from http://www.wikipedia.org
