P&G Won’t Trim Grooming Segment, Despite Continued Declines

Despite declines — and increasing competition from lower-priced brands — Procter & Gamble isn’t planning on getting out of grooming anytime soon. The owner of Gillette, Braun, Venus and the Art of Shaving said on its third-quarter earnings call Tuesday that despite struggles in its grooming business — particularly in the U.S. — it has no plans to divest the segment. David Taylor, P&G chief executive officer, said P&G intends to keep its grooming operations and invest behind them, especially in trial. He was asked the question by Citi analyst Wendy Nicholson, who noted that P&G has sold business units before, like its fragrance operation and Duracell. “We have more work to do in the U.S.,” Taylor acknowledged on the company’s earnings call. “And probably do need to invest more to get to sufficient awareness and trial, which we’re fully prepared to do.” He called out the launch of Gillette SkinGuard, a razor for men with sensitive skin who frequently experience irritation during shaving, as one place P&G is investing. “To the extent that we can address that issue, which we feel SkinGuard does in a delightful way, we have the potential to increase usage, bring back men into the category who have left or

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