1、contentstrategy James Gamble apprentices himself to a soapmaker Introduction of Crisco Creation of brand management system Introduction of Crest toothpaste and Pampers disposable diapers Established first dedicated upstream R Clorox acquired First Brands; Kimberly Clarkacquired Scott; and Nestl acqu
2、ired Ralston Purina,Dreyers, Ice Cream Partners, and Chef America. (SeeExhibit 2.) Customer MythologyPerhaps its more correct to say that proliferating exten-sions would clutter the shelves if the CPG companieshad the power to get their products on shelves. But thatpower isnt theirs anymore. Until t
3、he 1990s, retailers were a weak and frag-mented lot. Indeed, in some senses CPG consolidationwas an attempt to exploit that weakness; it promisedmanufacturers economies of scale in sales and advertis-ing, and gave big manufacturers an advantage for nego-tiating stocking and trade promotions with rel
4、ativelysmall retailers. But while consumer products companies were busyconsolidating, such visionary retailers as Sam Waltonand Sol Price were building a new industry. They usedradical new supply chain efficiencies, pricing programs,and even store organization to create, respectively, Wal-Mart now t
5、he biggest company in the world by revenue and Price Club, the first warehouse club,eventually acquired by Costco.Today, Wal-Mart accounts for approximately 28percent of Dials sales, about 25 percent of Hersheys,and roughly 18 percent of Procter clubsare notorious for their narrow product selection
6、and typ-ically carry just one brand in a category, limiting a man-ufacturers incentive to develop breakthrough productsand major new revenue sources.As CPG companies lose their historic connection totheir audiences, retailers have stepped in to fill the vacu-um. Retailers have clear strategies for a
7、ttracting con-sumer traffic; increasingly, they are tailoring valuepropositions for their shopper segment, and forcingmakers of consumer goods to follow. “Suppliers canbenefit from working with Wal-Mart through increasedcontentstrategy Gillette acquired Duracell; Smuckers acquired Jif and Crisco; Ki
8、mberly Clark acquired Scott; Clorox acquired First Brands; Nestl acquired Ralston Purina, Dreyers, Ice Cream Partners, and Chef America; Alberto-Culver acquired West Coast Beauty SupplySource: 10K Data, Annual Reports, Booz Allen HamiltonExhibit 2: Revenue and Operating Income Growth Trends for Majo
9、r CPG Companies (19932003)Operating Income Growth (% CAGR)Revenue Growth (% CAGR)20%15%10%5%CampbellsUnileverSara LeeKelloggColgate-PalmoliveP rather, it must bepremised on the firms existing and ideally its histor-ical strengths. This is because the company must beable to establish, for its own peo
10、ple as well as its presentand future customers, a clear “right” to win. Research(by Jim Collins, among many others) has shown repeat-edly that those who stick to a consistent strategy out-perform their peers over the long term. Focus need not have anything specific to do withthe product portfolio. C
11、lorox focuses on bringing big-company capabilities to niche categories. It can win inbleach and in specialized laundry products, such as stainremovers but not in laundry detergent, so it doesntgo there. This explicit business focus tells Clorox man-agers which initiatives fit and which are inconsist
12、entwith the strategy. Acquisitions that would bring Cloroxinto big categories do not fit. But acquisitions that allowClorox to transfer its large-firm capabilities to small cat-egories do, hence its successful acquisitions of KingsfordCharcoal and Glad bags. In small ponds, Clorox can bethe big fish
13、.Focus adds coherence to a product portfolio andcoherence is a clearly developing best practice amongCPG leaders. Heinz sharpened its focus on condimentswith its 2002 sale to Del Monte of seafood, pet food,private-label soup, and infant food brands. Procter the company may needto be able to move fre
14、ezers from summer lake resorts towinter ski lodges, to be where the buyers are. The planmight even involve developing competencies in out-sourcing; the company might decide to outsourcesupermarket sales in order to focus on the impulse buyerin nontraditional channels. Resource AllocationIf the busin
15、ess focus tells you where you want to make adifference in the market, and the capabilities develop-ment plan tells you how to do so, resource allocation isthe element of a CPG growth strategy that explains howthe company will pay for it. Fundamentally, its aboutthe hard choices that companies, in th
16、e era of a thou-sand flowers blooming, tried desperately not to make.Most CPG companies today (best-practice leaderslargely exempted) suffer from the curse of the turn-around plan. The scenario is familiar. It starts with abrand whose margins are high but whose growth is low.Maybe its in a category
17、where the company can nevercontentstrategy www.strategy- Fishman, “The Wal-Mart You Dont Know,” Fast Company, No.77 (Dec. 2003); Collins, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap andOthers Dont (HarperBusiness, 2001)Gregory Melich, “Wal-Mart: Yes They Can, If Allowed,” Morgan StanleyEquity Research Report, February 12, 2004Procter & Gamble 2003 Annual Report: & Gamble: Gillette: Kraft:
