At P&G, Beauty Makeover Needs to Prove It Has Legs

The Wall Street Journal
JANUARY 26, 2011
By ELLEN BYRON



Proctor and Gamble, the company of many brands, invested billions of dollars into their beauty products and are not satisfied with the weak growth of the that division.  P&G is breaking one of their oldest and most important rules: manage each product like its own company.  Instead P&G is now pooling products together in ad budgets.  Also, they are expanding target markets outside of North America.  Results of these changes are pending, but they have seen some growth in the past few quarters.  This article reminded me of what I read in Chapter 2, which defended Proctor and Gamble's multiple product strategy.  Rather than having all their eggs in the same basket, P&G has the benefit of diversification.  A slow product line can be "picked up" by the others.