Gillette
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
Strong sales of Venus, Mach 3 shaving systems help drive 7% growth in blade and razor division during third quarter, firm announced Oct. 19. Segment sales were $915 mil. and profits were $332 mil., down 4%.Venus became number two brand in U.S. shaving category during the quarter and remains top-selling razor, Gillette added, citing A.C. Nielsen data. Venus was introduced in March (1"The Rose Sheet" Nov. 6, 2000, p. 3). Toiletries sales declined 5% in the quarter to $237 mil. Consolidated net sales were up 2% to $2.36 bil. for the quarter, while profits were down 18% to $473 mil. due to increased marketing spend and write-down of slow moving inventories. Inventory reduction program in blades and batteries lowered sales by approximately 1%, firm says. Inventory reduction program expected to yield 10-week inventory levels in North America and Europe and 15-week levels in Latin America, Gillette says
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Strong sales of Venus, Mach 3 shaving systems help drive 7% growth in blade and razor division during third quarter, firm announced Oct. 19. Segment sales were $915 mil. and profits were $332 mil., down 4%.Venus became number two brand in U.S. shaving category during the quarter and remains top-selling razor, Gillette added, citing A.C. Nielsen data. Venus was introduced in March (1 (Also see "Gillette Venus Razor Cartridge, Handle Attributes Address Women's Needs" - HBW Insight, 6 Nov, 2000.)). Toiletries sales declined 5% in the quarter to $237 mil. Consolidated net sales were up 2% to $2.36 bil. for the quarter, while profits were down 18% to $473 mil. due to increased marketing spend and write-down of slow moving inventories. Inventory reduction program in blades and batteries lowered sales by approximately 1%, firm says. Inventory reduction program expected to yield 10-week inventory levels in North America and Europe and 15-week levels in Latin America, Gillette says. |