K-C moots link-ups with GSK and Pfizer
Kleenex manufacturer Kimberly-Clark is in talks with GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer about forming partnerships to promote related products.
In an exclusive interview with Marketing Week, Kimberly-Clark’s general manager for the UK and Ireland, Troy Warfield, revealed that discussions were taking place about link-ups between Kleenex tissues and cold and flu remedies such as the Beechams range from GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer’s Benylin treatments. Warfield says/ “The concept of strategic partnerships makes sense and is an opportunity to elevate our brands out of their core function.”
The company has already been encouraging retailers to place Kleenex products next to cold, flu and hayfever remedies and there have been successful link-ups in Tesco and Morrisons.
Last week, from its global headquarters in Dallas, Kimberly-Clark Corporation announced that it had elected Ian C Read, senior vice president of Pfizer Inc, to its board of directors. Read is president of Pfizer’s worldwide pharmaceutical operations.
