• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Port Info

• Ships in Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• Business Line
• The Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Our Bureau

New Delhi , April 5

PROCTER and Gamble India said on Tuesday that it was not contemplating any more price initiatives immediately despite a steep rise in input costs.

The company raised the price of Ariel and Tide detergent by 5-7 per cent for most SKUs (except sachets) last month. Last week, it cut the price of Tide bar to generate trials.

Mr Chester Twigg, Director - Sales and Marketing, said, "Input costs are significantly up but we are not contemplating any immediate price increases. While prices were slashed by 30-50 per cent last year for detergents, we have raised them only by 5-7 per cent till now this year and we would like to continue at this level for now."

Mr Twigg said P&G's laundry and haircare brands - Ariel, Tide, Pantene, Rejoice and Head and Shoulders - together showed a more than 50 per cent volume growth last year, while the Tide brand doubled its market share over the same period.

On whether the company follows a specific strategy to cater to the rural consumer, he said, "This whole urban-rural divide has been hyped. We do not believe in segmenting consumers based on this criterion."

Mr Twigg said the company's sachet vs large-pack sales ratio is 50:50.

Meanwhile, the company along with Child Relief and You (CRY) and Sony Entertainment on Tuesday launched `Shiksha', an initiative to help educate underprivileged children across India.

"The Shiksha initiative is a part of the Live, Learn and Think Programme of P&G. Through this programme, we would like to contribute to the cause of educating underprivileged children across India in association with CRY," said Mr Twigg.

While the initial support of Rs 1 crore from P&G will be for three months, irrespective of sales, the company will continue to support the cause if it becomes a success, he said.

Under the Shiksha programme, each time a consumer buys a pack of select P&G products for the next three months, he or she supports one day's education for a child.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Call to promote tea as health drink

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line