Growing beard popularity shaves P&G sales
By John Biers
New York (AFP) – Procter & Gamble Friday revealed its latest challenge to earnings glory. This time it’s a facial issue.
The US consumer giant, fresh off a recent corner office shakeup and already facing a battle for market share in shampoo, said second-quarter earnings were marred by the growing preference of men for moustaches and beards, which hit sales in its “grooming” segment.
But the company said that increasingly popular body-shaving by men had the potential to offset the loss of the facial-hair business.
Flat sales in grooming and a two-percent decline in the beauty segment were drags on P&G’s earnings, which fell 15.5 percent from the year-ago level.