Shailesh Jejurikar Talks About Unlocking Market Growth

Why Market Growth Matters

At P&G, market growth is a critical part of our strategy. By focusing on attracting more people — consumers and shoppers — and serving them in new, better and more complete ways, the company drives growth for all stakeholders, including retail partners. When asked how P&G does it, Jejurikar talked about the company’s legacy of deeply understanding the evolving needs of consumers.

He touched on an example from U.S. Fabric Care that started during World War II when women entered the workforce and washing machines emerged. The company recognized a need for a better solution as consumers were grating soap to put into washing machines. This led to the invention of synthetic detergent and the launch of Tide. In subsequent years, the need for fabric enhancement led to the launch of Downy for the washer and sheets for the dryer, followed by the evolution of liquid detergents. Then, over a 20-year period, cleaning solutions that work in highly compacted forms and at cold temperatures were developed. Tide Pods were launched in 2011, and the company has continued to innovate forward with the recent test launch of Tide Evo — a 100% concentrated clean packed into a lightweight tile. In the past four decades, the U.S. Fabric Care market has grown 4X while P&G’s sales have grown 5X, all while delighting consumers and creating value for retailers and shareholders.

Working with Retailers on the Totality of the Supply Chain

It may sound simple, but there aren’t many things more important to P&G and our retail partners than on shelf and online availability of products. Speaking about the role supply chain plays in market growth, Shailesh talked about the continual upgrading of P&G’s top-ranked supply chain to one that enables even greater agility, flexibility, scalability, transparency and resilience.

“We’re working in a new way with retailers on the totality of the supply chain, end-to-end, versus simply trying to optimize each piece,” said Shailesh. “Seeing one supply chain from the shelf back presents a breakthrough opportunity and the most efficient way to ensure products are available for shoppers when and where they want them,” he said.

A Culture of Constructive Disruption

The session closed with a question from Sozzi regarding the culture inside P&G that allows the company to constantly innovate. Jejurikar responded by describing P&G’s culture of constructive disruption, which requires a willingness to change and to look for new trends that will shape the future of the industry. “The best way to manage disruption is to lead it,” he said.

P&G continues to prove its ability to do so through products like Dawn Power Wash, which stemmed from an insight relating to a change in how consumers were washing their dishes — a few at a time versus a sink full all at once. “In the end,” Jejurikar shared, “it all comes down to deeply understanding consumer needs. It’s easy to say, tough to do. It requires intimately understanding people’s articulated and unarticulated needs.”

For nearly 200 years, P&G’s continued success in growing markets has always begun with an impeccable understanding of the consumer, followed by unconstrained thinking and disciplined actions to meet the unique needs of all the consumers we serve.