Procter&Gamble set to consolidate business in Romania

The possibility of a free trade agreement with Yugoslavia has made Procter & Gamble, the US manufacturer of detergents, cosmetics and cleaning products, transfer the detergent production for Yugoslavia from the Czech Republic to its Timisoara-based plant.
The company’s general manager Matthew Price would not disclose the investment entailed by this move, but said the company had invested more than $25 million since the factory was dedicated in 1995, with expansion plans set to continue.
Before relocation to Timisoara, the products for the Yugoslav market were made in the Czech Republic. Last year, P&G Romania posted some $112 million turnover, accounting for 10% increase since the previous year, Price said. In 2001, P&G logged $102 million in turnover and profit worth 13.5 million dollars, according to Finance Ministry statistics.
“We have posted significant growth in the past few years. The only weak year was 1999, when the entire Romanian economy posted a slightly descending trend,” he added.
The company was the largest advertising investor on the Romanian market last year, with 66 million dollars in rate card, according to a survey conducted by market research company CSOP/Taylor Nelson Sofres.
“Romania is our largest market in the area, both in terms of size and turnover. We will continue to consolidate our Romanian-based business, you will see that marketing investments will continue and we shall focus on our main brands but also on launching new brands,” Price stated.
At the end of last year, P&G debuted on the Romanian market of dish detergent, with the liquid detergent named Fairy. Three months after launch, Price says Fairy has got a 15-20% market share, according to the company’s estimates. Its main competitors on this segment are another two multinationals – Henkel with Pur and Colgate-Palmolive with Axion, both brands having ruled the market before the arrival of Fairy.
P&G sells four types of products on the Romanian market: detergents (Ariel, Tide, Bonux), shampoos (Pantene, Wash & Go, Head & Shoulders), hygienic absorbents (Always) and diapers (Pampers).
The company has launched fifteen brands from its international portfolio in Romania, while Price says more will come.
“We shall focus on our business, but we shall never stop innovating, since there is no finishing line in business. We are mainly keen on developing our important brands.”
One of the P&G products that did not work out in Romania is Pringles, which the company had to pull from the market shortly after its launch in 1999, as the price was too big for the Romanians’ purchasing power back then.
claudia.covaci@zf.ro