Publications
Publications
- January 2008
- HBS Case Collection
Procter & Gamble Brazil (A): 2 1/2 Turnarounds
By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Matthew Bird
Abstract
Juliana Azevedo Schahin, a local marketing director for Procter & Gamble in Sao Paulo, had worked closely with Tarek Fahahat, a regional executive based in Caracas, to solve the growth and profitability problems of P&G Brazil. They did so through the creation of lower-cost versions of two premium products which reached BOP (bottom of the pyramid) consumers--an approach not considered then as a company strategy. The case follows Azevedo and Farahat through their steps in helping to conceive the change, sell it to senior management, and implement it. The true test comes when the subsidiary wants to extend the model to its third and largest category, laundry care, which had also struggled. But Azevedo did not oversee that business in Brazil, and Farahat worked in another category in Caracas. Her country colleagues go to her to learn more about the success of the first two products. Now the question is whether this is a one-time wonder or an innovation that should be diffused to other products and geographies.
Keywords
Innovation and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Demand and Consumers; Product Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Expansion; Consumer Products Industry; Caracas
Citation
Kanter, Rosabeth Moss, and Matthew Bird. "Procter & Gamble Brazil (A): 2 1/2 Turnarounds." Harvard Business School Case 308-081, January 2008.