By Pavel Ignatov @ Shutterstock.com
Consumer products giant Procter & Gamble has announced it will be raising prices on its products this fall. Sharon Terlep reports in The Wall Street journal:
Procter & Gamble Co. PG +0.55% this fall will start charging more for household staples from diapers to tampons, the latest and biggest consumer-products company to announce price hikes.
The maker of Gillette razors and Tide detergent cited rising costs for raw materials, such as resin and pulp, and higher expenses to transport goods.
The announcement, which came as P&G disclosed its quarterly financial results, follows a similar move last month by rival Kimberly-Clark Corp.
P&G said organic sales grew 4% in the quarter ended March 31, with the biggest gains in the company’s beauty and fabric and home-care units.
The results mark P&G’s slowest overall organic sales increase since 2018, following a year in which the Covid-19 pandemic created high demand for products such as cleaning supplies, paper towels and toilet paper.
“It’s a different situation, as everywhere in the world countries are in very different places as far as coming out of the pandemic,” operating chief Jon Moeller said in an interview. “There is very strong consumption across the board.”
While sales are cooling for some products, Mr. Moeller said, demand is recovering for others, such as beauty products and supplies sold directly to businesses that are reopening after widespread shutdowns.
Mr. Moeller said P&G aims to improve and add features to products, as the company increases prices so that consumers feel they are getting more. The price increases, to take effect in September, will be on baby products, adult diapers and feminine-care brands and will be in the mid- to high-single-digit percentage points, the company said.
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