Procter & Gamble SA consolidates Gillette merger

"The merger has resulted in a better company for consumers, customers and suppliers," says Cresswell Dominic, associate marketing director: P&G South Africa. "The merger also represents an important milestone for P&G in South Africa. We have marked the occasion by attractively refurbishing our Johannesburg offices with an African motif.

"We are excited to welcome the Gillette employees into these renovated premises, which after the merger, will house a total of 225 employees, enabling us to better leverage the talents of the combined company to better serve consumers and customers in South Africa." Dominic adds that the combined company is unique in the consumer goods industry in terms of size, portfolio, leadership, structure and capabilities.

Says Burkhard Pieroth, GM, P&G South Africa: "We're using Gillette as a catalyst to make P&G a better brand builder [and] a stronger innovation leader to better serve consumers. P&G has been in South Africa for over 12 years and we are determined to be a part of the growing South African economy and the government's vision for a more integrated free-trade southern African market. We're proud to be in South Africa offering consumers a range of quality products, including Pampers, Always, Pantene, Olay, Vicks and Gillette, that improve lives and [are] continuing our commitment to employ the best local talents."

With a portfolio of 22 billion-dollar brands and a market capitalisation of some $200 billion, P&G is recognised as one of the 10 most valuable companies in the world.

The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers, Tide, Ariel, Always, Whisper, Pantene, Mach3, Bounty, Dawn, Pringles, Folgers, Charmin, Downy, Lenor, Iams, Crest, Oral-B, Actonel, Duracell, Olay, Head & Shoulders, Wella, Gillette, and Braun. The P&G community consists of almost 140 000 employees working in over 80 countries worldwide.