Laundry Giants Bounce Back by Playing Both Ends Against Middle
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Laundry products long seemed relatively recession-proof. After all, people had to do laundry, right?
Not necessarily. The Great Recession proved people really could and did use less detergent, or at least spend less for it. Now, the category is growing again. But it’s not about a rising Tide lifting all boats. It’s from both ends playing against the middle, as premium behemoth Procter & Gamble Co. and scrappy value player Church & Dwight Co. make gains.
In a recent presentation at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York, P&G Chairman-CEO A.G. Lafley said the category has struggled since 2007, when Unilever exited and “the middle of the market disappeared,” leaving P&G and value competitors. Heavily leveraged value player Sun Products took over ex-Unilever brands Wisk and All, but has since lost ground to freer spending P&G and C&D. Henkel’s Purex value brand also has lost some momentum.
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