Colgate-Palmolive Co

Colgate faces stiff competition from large international and local players worldwide. However, the company aims to have a disciplined approach to pricing management.

Colgate has the highest brand penetration in the world. At a brand penetration rate of 64.6%, Colgate reaches more than half the households in the world, more than even Coca-Cola.

A strong market position and brand image are some of Colgate’s chief strengths. Colgate holds 44.4% of the global market share in toothpaste.

Colgate estimated its share of the global toothpaste market and the global manual toothbrush market at 44.4% and 33.4%, respectively, in 2014.

In North America, innovations in the Colgate Optic White Franchise increased market share of toothpaste from 5.3% to 5.6% in 2014.

Colgate’s stock price has always been fairly stable primarily due to its oral care business.

As the consumer staples (XLP) sector is highly competitive, Colgate faces local as well as global competition from various local and international players worldwide.

Colgate-Palmolive is a multinational consumer staples (XLP) firm, focused on the production, distribution, and provision of household products.

Procter & Gamble aims to harness opportunities in developing countries like China, India, and Russia to enhance its market share as well as stabilize its top-line growth.

Less capex has been required since P&G reduced the number of brands as well as the research and development, marketing, and innovation costs associated with them.

Last August, P&G announced it was working on exit options for ~100 brands to improve sales and profitability. All of the brands contributing little to growth will be disposed of.

In an effort to partially digitize its supply chain, P&G has introduced an automated re-ordering system. It maintains a count of inventory in stores and relays the information to its suppliers.

The emerging markets of Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America offer ample growth opportunities for the consumer staples sector.

P&G is one of the world’s biggest advertisers. The company has defined many of the marketing strategies used globally.

The Health Care segment is P&G’s smallest segment. The segment’s net revenue for the year ending June 30, 2014, was $7.8 billion, or 9.5% of the company’s total net revenue.

The company’s Baby, Feminine and Family Care segment is the second-largest grossing segment at Procter & Gamble.

P&G’s Fabric Care and Home Care segment’s annual revenue was reported to be $26.1 billion in fiscal 2014. It contributed 31.7% of the company’s total net sales.

Of its five business segments, the majority of P&G’s sales and earnings are derived from its Fabric Care and Home Care business.

In examining Porter’s five forces at work at P&G, we find that three competitive forces are horizontal in nature and two are vertical.