The SWOT analysis

The SWOT analysis PG is a global manufacturer and marketer of consumer products. It operates in five distinct business segments: fabric and home care, beauty care, baby and family care, health care and snacks and beverages. It has some of the most well-known and established brands in its portfolio but faces intense competition from other global consumer giants as well as local companies. Strengths Large scale of operations PG has significant scale advantages. It is the global leader in all its four core categories fabric and home care, beauty care, baby and family care, health care. Its products are sold in over 160 countries worldwide with manufacturing capabilities in over 42 countries. The company manufactures and markets close to 300 products. It derives substantial economies from its scale of operations in finance, logistics, marketing, research, new product development, innovation, technology and other functions. The companys huge buying power (from commodities to media) is being progressively leveraged through global procurement and services. A large scale gives PG significant competitive advantage against the smaller, unorganized players in local markets. Strong branding PG is one of the worlds most successful brand creation and brand building companies. The company participates in more than 40 product categories with 300 brands in roughly 60 markets. Some of its very well-known brands include Tide, Pampers, Bounty, Charmin, Cover Girl, Pantene, and Clairol. Moreover, as of 2004, the company had 13 brands with sales exceeding one billion dollars. Together, these brands have sales of over $24 billion. PG continuous involvement in consumer research helps it understand, anticipate and respond to consumer needs and wants and hence create marketing and advertising innovations more effectively and efficiently than many other companies. PG brand leadership helps it implement brand building innovations with retail and media partners in ways that few companies can match. It has one of the largest and strongest portfolios of trusted, quality brands, including Pampers, Tide, Ariel, Always, Whisper, Pantene, Bounty, Pringles, Folgers, Charmin, Downy, Lenor, Iams , Crest, Clairol Nice n Easy, Actonel, Dawn and Olay. These brands have leading market share in their respective categories, an offer the company a significant edge over its competitors. Product innovation PG creates more new brands and categories than any other consumer goods company. In 2003, three of the top 10 new non-food products introduced in the US were PG products. Over the past eight years, PG has introduced the number one or number two new non-food products in the US every year. PGs brand-creation and product development leadership is driven by the companys enormous research and development capacity. The company has nearly 7500 researchers working in 20 technical centres on four continents. It has more than 29,000 patented technologies for its products. Strong performance in core categories On a worldwide basis, fabric home care, beauty care, and baby family care products are Procter Gambles largest businesses, contributing a total of roughly 80% of sales. PGs fabric and home care is also its largest and oldest business and it continues to grow to record levels. The segments net sales grew 10% to $15.26 billion in 2005. The baby and family care and heath care divisions recorded an even higher growth in net sales. The net sales from the baby and family care division grew 11% to $11.9 billion while health care business recorded net sales growth of 11% to $7.8 billion in 2005. Strong performance by its core business groups is one of the prime reasons contributing to the companys above industry average revenue growth rates, and has significantly helped the company to grow to a stage where it is virtually hedged against threat from smaller new entrants. Developing markets infrastructure PGs developing markets infrastructure is a huge strategic advantage. The company has developed a best in class distribution infrastructure consisting of exclusive distributors in fast growing markets like China, Russia, Poland, the Philippines and India. Unlike most of its competitors, who use agnostic wholesalers that sell a variety of competing products, PGs network, while independently owned and operated, sell only PG HPC products (although often they carry various no competing food products). PGs scale allows these distributors to achieve higher dollar profit (not profit margin) while insuring that PGs products get all the distributors attention. Moreover, because of the large distribution pipe (unlike the multi-tributary wholesaler system), PG is able get the breadth of its products to market faster and more efficiently, even in the outer reaches of some of these developing markets, without multiple wholesaler markups that typically occur under the wholesaler system. The company s highly efficient markets infrastructure has helped the company in considerably increasing the speed at which its products reach the market and the companys overall market scalability vis-ÃÆ'Â  -vis its peers. Weaknesses Customer concentration The companys operations are heavily concentrated among its top customers. PGs largest customer, Wal-Mart, accounted for 18% (2003), 17% (2002) and 15% (2001) of sales. PGs top 10 customers account for 35% of its sales. A financial hardship experienced any of these customers; or a substantial decrease in sales to any one of the top customers could materially affect revenues and profitability of the company. Performance of the Clairol business Since the acquisition of Clairol in 2001, PG has been aggressive in using its distribution channels overseas to expand Clairol Herbal Essences shampoos and conditioners into new markets. In the US, however, the brands rapid growth before PG acquired Clairol has proven difficult to maintain and Herbal Essences has lost share in an environment of aggressive competitive promotional spending. With regard to the hair colorants side of Clairol, its 35% market share (approximately) in the US (number two position) has slipped further to market share leader LOreal. This in a scenario where global hair color is expected to grow at mid-to-high single digit rates in the next few years. The companys inability to grow its Clairol business could have a negative effect on the PG Beauty division. Overexposure to mature markets PG remains largely a mature-market company, with only 26% of sales and 22% of profits generated outside the US and Western Europe. Moreover the company is primarily exposed to mature categories in these markets, such as laundry detergents and paper. This indicates that the company focuses on leveraging its scale which often means growing where it already has a sizeable detergent and/or consumer paper business. The downside is that this strategy does not necessarily align its portfolio to tap growth, mainly in developing and emerging markets. As a result only 35% of PGs sales are in developing and emerging countries and its total market share in the FMCG segment is estimated to be below 20% as compared with 27% for Unilever. In contrast, its share in developed markets is estimated at 37% or twice Unilevers 18%. The companys overexposure to mature markets could act as a setback to future growth prospects. Opportunities Developing markets The consumer products business in developing markets is expected to be a significant opportunity for FMCG majors globally. This is primarily due to the fact that these markets are witnessing growth across three basic demographic factors: population growth, household formation and household income growth. These factors have driven developed market growth for decades and are now driving strong growth in many developing markets. China, for example, is now considered one of the most lucrative markets by FMCG companies, which could be further explored by the company. Due to growth across developing markets, PG can look towards achieving substantial growth by focusing on these higher-growth, structurally attractive markets. Gillette acquisition PG and Gillette are currently category captains at retailers in many of their respective product categories (given their leadership market share positions in their categories). Therefore the combination of these two dominant players will imply that they would to able to summon their competitive advantages across a wider variety of key categories, thereby increasing their competitive onslaught on smaller home and personal care (HPC competitors and private labels. Furthermore, the two companies also benefit from synergies in oral care, which could be a significant positive for PG. Other revenue upsides expected from the merger include Gillettes growth potential in emerging markets; cross-leveraging shaving and skin care brands and technologies; and, go-to-market efficiencies. The Gillette merger is expected to significantly add value to the company and help it further strengthen its already leading market position. New product pipeline PG has announced a full pipeline of new products to come in 2005. This is a clear evidence of PGs intense commitment and focus on its core business. Some of the most noted announcements include the launches of Hugo Boss Skin Care for men; Tamp ax Fresh tampons (the companys first scented flushable tampon, priced at a 10-15% premium to base Tampax); Iams Savory Sauces for dog and Iams MultiCat pet food; Charmin Basic toilet tissue (launched in February 2005 and Bounty Basic paper towels (launched in April 2005), both selling at a 15% discount to the brands base products; Bounty Glass and Surface Care towels; Charmin Mega Roll toilet tissue; and Tide Simple Pleasures. The launch of new products would significantly help the company in pushing forward its revenue generation across some of the otherwise matured product categories in the FMCG market. Threats Intense competition PG operates in a very competitive market, with rivals including consumer giants such as Johnson Johnson, Unilever and Kimberly-Clark. Each of these has revenues in excess of $10 billion. Private labels or store brands strive to match innovation quickly and try to present a compelling value alternative in many categories. This requires the company to continually strive to develop innovative products and price its goods competitively. For instance, sales in PGs beauty division could weaken sequentially as a result of an aggressive innovation drive from LOreal. Throughout 2005, LOreal is expected to launch a large number of new products globally. An increase in competitive onslaught by a majority of the companys competitors is expected to further challenge the companys growth. Increase in prices of raw materials The company is witnessing a significant increase in its raw material prices. Oil prices are up an average of nearly 40% year-to-date in calendar 2005 (after increasing 34% in 2004 and 19% in 2003), while resin prices are up an average of 14% (versus a 13% increase in 2004 and 21% increase in 2003) and pulp prices are up 8% (after rising 18% in 2004 and 14% in 2003). As a result of PG is facing higher commodities costs, which is expected to have a negative bearing over the companys earnings. ECs Gillette deal stipulations In 2005 EC announced that its only stipulation to the closing of the Gillette deal is PGs sale of its Crest Spinbrush business (brand which holds only a roughly 5% share of the power toothbrush market in Europe, representing nearly $200 million in sales to PG globally) as well as the licensing out of its oral care brand names associated with the Spinbrush, including Crest, Blend-a-Dent and Blend-a-Med. The licensing out of some of PGs oral care brand names has raised a concern over the companys ability to preserve the integrity of those brands given that those brands represent important future growth drivers for PGs toothpaste business. Furthermore this also raises a risk of the US Federal Trade Commission asking the company to further divest some of its other businesses. Uncertainty in pharmaceuticals business PGs Intrinsa, a prescription drug designed to counteract the loss of sexual desire in post-menopausal women, was rejected by the FDA in December 2004. The company is still waiting to hear from the FDA as to the extent of the required further testing of the product, to the extent its economical (the sample size is not too broad and the time frame of the test is not too long) span.. Concerns are also being raised over the FDA status of another drug soon to be launched by PG, Pexelizumab (a drug designed to reduce infarction and mortality post cardiac bypass surgery). This is primarily because the companys pharmaceuticals track record is marred by the withdrawal of both Vioxx and Celebrex from the market, in highly-publicized cases. The companys poor pharmaceuticals track record combined with an uncertain outlook for two of its major drug releases is expected to negatively impact the companys ability to grow in the highly lucrative over-the-counter pharmaceuticals market.

Cloning :: essays research papers

I am an astronaut stranded on Mars whose spaceship has broken down beyond repair. In my disabled craft there is a Teleclone Mark IV teleporter that can swiftly and painlessly dismantle my body, producing a molecule-by-molecule blueprint to be beamed to Earth. There, a Teleclone receiver stocked with the requisite atoms will produce, from the beamed instructions me- composite with all my memories, thoughts, feelings, and opinions. If I activate the Teleclone Mark IV, I believe that I am the astronaut produced from a blueprint on Earth because the astronaut that was dismantled on Mars is now only a bunch of molecules instead of a living, breathing human being. Suppose further that an improved Teleclone Mark V is developed that can obtain its blueprint without destroying the original, thus â€Å"cloning† me. In that case, I believe that I am both astronauts at once, just with two different consciousnesses.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When I activate the Teleclone Mark IV, the machine dismantles me into molecules and makes a blueprint of it to send to Earth. On Earth, I am reassembled into myself exactly as I was on Mars. I am now the astronaut that was reassembled because the astronaut that was disassembled on Mars no longer exists and is now a bunch of random molecules. It is the same concept as in â€Å"Star Trek† and â€Å"Power Rangers† when people get â€Å"beamed† to a certain place, except with the Teleclone Mark IV, you are being recreated to be exactly like your original form. There was an episode of â€Å"The Magic School Bus† where one of the students accidentally destroyed one of her classmate’s toy soldiers. She then went to a recycling factory, picked out the same material that made up the old toy soldier, and made him a new toy soldier. Even though it is made of the same material and looks exactly the same as the old toy soldier, it is not the same toy soldier because the old toy soldier was destroyed and it ceased to exist. When I was destroyed, I died and my soul went to heaven or hell. When I was reassembled on Earth, I was exactly like myself physically but I had no soul and my soul makes me who I am and separates me from everyone else. Suppose you are using a computer. It is the same thing as â€Å"cutting† something and pasting it to a new location.

Cleanliness and Sense of Beauty Essay

Introduction: Human being is the best amongst all the living being in this world. They live in a society, where they don’t only just live for food and shelter. They have to survive sustaining with various conditions, environments, people, customs, cultures etc. So in this society of mankind, human has a lot of responsibility as well as maintenance duty. Discipline makes a human being to do all such activities mentioned above and to lead a life with dignity in the society. And cleanliness is a part of discipline of human life. Sense of beauty is the thing that helps us to justify good and bad aspects of life. Cleanliness: Cleanliness means the sense of remaining clean, neat and tidy. This particular sense is very significant in a man’s life. Because by cleanliness, the nature and type of a person is judged in our society. For an individual, to take proper bath, to wash his/her teeth, to wash his/her clothes regularly and to keep them neat and clean etc are the basic measures of cleanliness. For a family, the duties are like to keep the house clean, to keep everything in a well decorated manner, not to litter anything on the floor, keeping the walls clean, not making the bathroom wet and dirty etc. And the people of a particular area or society, to keep the roads clean, not to throw garbage here and there, not to litter anything on the roads, to use dustbin to throw wastages etc are the sole duties of cleanliness. Sense of Beauty: Sense of beauty is a term that means having a very good taste about everything. This indicates how he/she looks at different things of art, and various things. This sense of beauty is very important too, as this sense justifies between various things and helps us to indicate the quality and beauty amongst things. Sense of beauty also enables us to learn the good and bad, pretty and ugly. From the very childhood parents try to teach this particular criterion of human mind. Importance of cleanliness and sense of beauty in our life: Cleanliness is a great virtue. It is said that without a clean body one cannot have a clean mind. Cleanliness is a religious duty too. In Islam, it is said â€Å"Cleanliness is a part of Iman (faith)†.

The Ethical Theories Of Ethical Subjectivism,...

Introduction Using The Philosopher’s Way by John Chaffee, I will explain the ethical theories of ethical subjectivism, utilitarianism, and Deontological ethics. Secondly, I will summarize the main points of my article and then act in response using the three ethical theories previously listed. I will also explain which ethical theory best represents the article. Then, I will provide reasoning as to why stem-cell research is important; and lastly, I will offer two open-ended questions. Defined Ethical Theories All the ethical theories are going to be defined using The Philosopher’s Way by John Chaffee. Chaffee defines ethical subjectivism as, â€Å"The view that the ultimate moral authority is the individual or the ‘subject’† (386). Next,†¦show more content†¦Meanwhile, other scientists have been working on â€Å"somatic nuclear transfer† which means the nucleus is taken out of a human egg and is substituted with the nucleus of an adult cell. Scientists are looking to get pluripotent stem-cells from this experiment. Pluripotent stem-cells are ones that can grow into many kinds of human tissues. Although there were some achievements using somatic nuclear transfer, it took many eggs. The author argues that scientists should not be restricted from research that will significantly decrease human suffering and is â€Å"scientifically useful.† Article Response I agree with the author in regards to using stem-cell research to decrease human suffering. The idea that human suffering will be decreased is directly related to utilitarianism. If utilitarianism is applied to stem-cell research, there would be no reason not to use embryos if it means that there is less suffering for the greatest number of people. Stem-cell research would then, and only then, be considered ethical. The problem is determining if most people would need stem-cells for medical issues. If only fifty percent of people find stem-cells useful, utilitarianism would not apply, therefore, the ethical issues still stand. Opposed to utilitarianism, a subjectivist would argue that the individual decides whether something is ethical or not based on how they feel. If a subjectivist found that using an embryo was ethical because it could potentially fix theShow MoreRelatedDeontology and Utilitarianism Essay1340 Words   |  6 PagesDescribe the main principles of the two normative ethical theories of deontology and utilitarianism. Compare and contrast the two theories, bringing out any problems or limitations you see in each. INTRODUCTION:- Bioethicists ask these questions in the context of modern medicine and draw on a plurality of traditions, both secular and religious, to help society understand and keep pace with how advances in science and medical technology can change the way we experience the meaning of healthRead MoreThe Ethics Of The Ethical Systems872 Words   |  4 Pages The Ethical Systems In ethics, four systems serve as different beliefs concerning our morals: Relativism Ethics, Consequentialism Ethics, Deontological Ethics, and Virtue Ethics. These four theories attempt to define what right and wrong should be and how one should handle any situation. There are many strengths and weaknesses of each view. The goal is to determine which theory is the best by exploring real world situations and questioning the claims that just don’t work out. RELATIVISM ETHICSRead MoreMoral Theories Of Utilitarianism And Deontological Ethics1266 Words   |  6 PagesMeredith Gunning Final Examination December, 6, 2014 Section A Moral theories of Utilitarianism and Deontology Utilitarianism and deontological ethics are two major theories of ethics, specifying and justifying moral principles. Utilitarianism has been clarified by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873). Bentham proposed that actions are based upon the consequences (Moreland, 2009), and ongoing work on his theory will help in providing grounds for legal actions. His ideas regardingRead MoreEthical Theory Summary3039 Words   |  13 PagesEthical Theory Summary This is an outline and summary of three of the most prominent ethical theories in the history of philosophy. (Note that all three of these represent different ethical absolutist/universalist theories. A view known as ethical relativism follows these.) Please take this as a sketch that invites you to investigate these ethical theories further. After each brief sketch, I will provide some web links that will be helpful to read. Virtue Ethics (especially Aristotle)