New Product Development of Colgate Company

Colgate-Palmolive has managed to retain its position as number three worldwide in the personal and household products business as a whole, a position it has had for decades. However, it was clear to Mark, as Grigsby notes, that Colgate-Palmolive had to increase its product line to maintain its position: ". . . it's clear that if Colgate is to avoid the sawdust trail, it must not only buttress its traditional market leaders but also develop new ones with 'global force'--meaning first or second place" (p. 23). To increase the market share, Mark planned a combination of acquisitions and joint ventures. The company formed a joint venture with a French company for bleach to share the running of a company Colgate had acquired, the French company Cotelle. Mark also purchased Klorin, the number one bleach in Scandinavia. I

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$5 billion in sales and 63 percent of its $481 million in operating profits. In the United States, however, the situation was more problematical: "Even though it owns such famous brands as Colgate toothpaste, Palmolive dishwashing detergent, and Ajax cleanser, the company earns most of its U.S. profits from an obscure line of pet foods. Colgate's domestic operating margins for household products are less than half the 9.8 percent it enjoys overseas and have shown essentially no improvement in years" ("Can Colgate Import Its Success from Overseas?," 1990: p. 114). Freeman (1989) finds that the new-product development of Colgate is a process in need of retuning and that this is in sharp contrast to the success of the company overseas. Freeman writes: "Of the past six major new products introduced in the U.S., only two have made it: Palmolive Automatic dishwasher detergent, the liquid segment leader, and Colgate Tartar-Control toothpaste. . ." (p. 12). On the failure list were a number of products, including Lournay skincare products for sensitive skin, Fab 1 Shot, a combination laundry-care product, Colgate Tartar-Control mouthrinse, and Dentagard anti-plaque toothpaste. In 1988 the company also closed down its Colgate Venture
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Approximate Word count = 1878
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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