I’ve been surprised at the amount of attention my little corner of Twitter has given to the news P&G, the largest CPG company in the world, is making significant cuts to its brand portfolio (a Marc Andreessen tweetstorm certainly helped). From the Wall Street Journal:
Procter & Gamble Co. will shed more than half its brands, a drastic attempt by the world’s largest consumer-products company to become more nimble and speed up its growth.
The move is a major strategy shift for a company that expanded aggressively for years. It reflects concerns among investors and top management that P&G has become too bloated to navigate an increasingly competitive market.
Chief Executive A.G. Lafley, who came out of retirement last year for a second stint at the company’s helm, said P&G will narrow its focus to 70 to 80 of its biggest brands and shed as many as 100 others whose performance has been lagging. The brands the Cincinnati-based company will keep—like Pampers diapers and Tide detergent—generate 90% of its $83 billion in annual sales and over 95% of its profit.
via How Technology is Changing the World (P&G Edition) | stratechery by Ben Thompson.
