Leading P&G brands losing market share

Top Procter & Gamble brands have suffered a dramatic decline in their UK market share over the past year, according to figures leaked to Marketing Week.

Ariel, Sunny Delight, Pringles and Fairy Liquid have all been hit, according to data from leading market research companies.

However, P&G’s Charmin toilet tissue brand has performed strongly, taking 4.5 per cent of the &£700m market since its launch at the beginning of this year.

The figures come in the wake of a shake-up at the top of the company. P&G last week replaced chief executive Durk Jager with president of beauty care Alan Lafley. Jager resigned as he announced the company’s third profit warning in a year.

Pringles like-for-like UK value sales fell by 26.3 per cent, from &£32m to &£23.6m, in the 12 weeks to April 2000 compared with the same period last year, according to Information Resources (IR).

Orange drink Sunny Delight, once hailed as the most successful UK product launch ever, has seen its market share decrease by eight per cent over the year, says AC Nielsen. It is down 17.8 per cent according to Superpanel data, which puts Fairy Liquid down 4.4 per cent over the year.

Ariel’s share of the &£900m laundry detergent market stands at 19.2 per cent for the four weeks to the end of May, compared with 19.5 per cent last year, says IR. Observers claim it is Ariel’s lowest share since 1986.

The figures are further evidence that Organisation 2005, the recovery programme put in place by Jager, has backfired. Marketing resources were poured into launches such as Charmin and diverted from established brands. Charmin has a &£25m launch budget.

P&G declined to comment.