Procter & Gamble announces deeper cuts in brands portfolio

Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble has announced deeper cuts in the brands it has its portfolio. During an event in Boca Raton, P&G executives announced that the company plans to reduce its brand portfolio from 160 plus to only 65 by summer. The consumer goods major will cut nearly 100 brands from its portfolio via sell offs or spinning them into different entities.

The current brand cut is deeper than initially announced by CEO Lafley in August 2014. P&G will restructure its brand portfolio to include only the best performing and market leading brands. P&G Chief Financial Officer Jon Moeller said that the company aims to improve its profitability and margins. Moeller said that they are expecting to close the deals in coming days and by summer, the mission should be complete.

P&G said that divestitures of the brands accounts for nearly 14 percent of the sales, around $11.5 billion. In August, P&G had announced that the brands it plans to hive off account for 10 percent of the sales.

P&G CEO A.G. Lafley told the Consumer Analyst Group of New York annual conference in Boca Raton, Florida, "We have had a lot of interest in the assets we want to dispose. We hope by July to turn all the cards over."

P&G will exit Wella, Duracell Batteries, Camay Soaps and many other brands which aren’t leading in their respective markets. The company has already exited 35 brands from the prospective list of 100.

Pampers diapers, Gillette razors, Tide detergents and a few shampoo brands work have been the market leading brands for Procter & Gamble. Pampers diapers accounted for over $11 billion in sales in 2014 out of total revenue of $83 billion for P&G.