‘Pakistan a huge market for fast moving consumer goods business’
July 28, 2011
KARACHI: Pakistan, in spite of the economic, political, and social challenges remains a lucrative market for the fast moving consumer goods’ business.
“Pakistan with its population of 180 million people, is a very important and strategic country for my company,” said Yassin Omer Al Attas, External Relations Director for Middle East & Pakistan at Procter & Gamble at an exclusive talk with The News International.
There are challenges in Pakistan like in any other country, he said.
More importantly, it is offering huge market for fast moving consumer goods like detergent, soap, shampoo, and diaper, with growing population, wide base of consumers and natural resources, Attas said.
He elaborated that there are 10 million babies of the age of using diaper in the country; over 100 million persons are just 24 years old, while 70 million people are living in urban centres. “This is all what a fast moving consumer goods’ company eyes for.”
Procter & Gamble, a global company selling over 300 brands in 180 counties for the last 170 years now, introduced its first international brand in the category of shampoos in 1991 in Pakistan.
Over the last two decades, the Company has introduced eight brands in different categories of fast moving consumers’ goods in Pakistan. Besides, it is running two manufacturing plants in the country as well. The second detergent manufacturing plant at Port Qasim was inaugurated about six-month back.
Attas, who joined P&G six-month after the commencement of Company’s operations in Pakistan, said that detergent plant was constructed only on 25 percent area of 50,000 square meter land acquired at Port Qasim. The Company may erect new plants on the empty plot as per future demands, he said, but denied to comment on future plans under the Company’s policy.
“We are selling over 300 brands across the world, but 23 of them are one billion dollar brands each,” he said, adding that majority of the brands available in Pakistan are billion-dollar market leaders.
He said that the company is serving around 4.2 billion consumers everyday across the world and aims to touch and improve lives of about five billion consumers in a day by the years 2015/16.
The world’s population is now more than 6.8 billion and continues to grow by 83 million people per year.
He said that the Company spends a lot to know the need of the consumers and understand their demand.
“Consumers seek goods, which give them quality, satisfaction and affordability at first use,” he said. If a person finds such properties, then the availability of those products in the market becomes more important than ever to win the loyalty of consumers for the brands.
“This is all about our strategy to win the hearts and minds of consumers with an aim to improve their lives,” he said, adding that Company tries its best to make consumers’ life simpler, easier and meaningful through its brands.
He said that the rural economy in Pakistan is growing stronger, and the Company is designing some products keeping in mind the consumers’ demands.
“We are expanding our coverage with the passage of time. And as soon as rural areas get more developed and more infrastructure is put in place there, it will make expanding business easier,” he said.
So far all the products available to the urban people, are also available to rural ones as well, he said.
P&G does not only improves lives of its consumers through selling brands, it is also actively involved in improving the lives of deprived communities.
“The Company has so far taken care of 21-22 million people in Pakistan under its social corporate responsibility (CSR), which is almost 10 percent of 200 million people across the world.”
The Company is running a CSR program named Live, Learn and Thrive (LLT). Under this program, the Company tries to save people from diseases, give them formal and informal education, and provide skills so that they would be preferred for the future.
“Pakistan with its population of 180 million people, is a very important and strategic country for my company,” said Yassin Omer Al Attas, External Relations Director for Middle East & Pakistan at Procter & Gamble at an exclusive talk with The News International.
There are challenges in Pakistan like in any other country, he said.
More importantly, it is offering huge market for fast moving consumer goods like detergent, soap, shampoo, and diaper, with growing population, wide base of consumers and natural resources, Attas said.
He elaborated that there are 10 million babies of the age of using diaper in the country; over 100 million persons are just 24 years old, while 70 million people are living in urban centres. “This is all what a fast moving consumer goods’ company eyes for.”
Procter & Gamble, a global company selling over 300 brands in 180 counties for the last 170 years now, introduced its first international brand in the category of shampoos in 1991 in Pakistan.
Over the last two decades, the Company has introduced eight brands in different categories of fast moving consumers’ goods in Pakistan. Besides, it is running two manufacturing plants in the country as well. The second detergent manufacturing plant at Port Qasim was inaugurated about six-month back.
Attas, who joined P&G six-month after the commencement of Company’s operations in Pakistan, said that detergent plant was constructed only on 25 percent area of 50,000 square meter land acquired at Port Qasim. The Company may erect new plants on the empty plot as per future demands, he said, but denied to comment on future plans under the Company’s policy.
“We are selling over 300 brands across the world, but 23 of them are one billion dollar brands each,” he said, adding that majority of the brands available in Pakistan are billion-dollar market leaders.
He said that the company is serving around 4.2 billion consumers everyday across the world and aims to touch and improve lives of about five billion consumers in a day by the years 2015/16.
The world’s population is now more than 6.8 billion and continues to grow by 83 million people per year.
He said that the Company spends a lot to know the need of the consumers and understand their demand.
“Consumers seek goods, which give them quality, satisfaction and affordability at first use,” he said. If a person finds such properties, then the availability of those products in the market becomes more important than ever to win the loyalty of consumers for the brands.
“This is all about our strategy to win the hearts and minds of consumers with an aim to improve their lives,” he said, adding that Company tries its best to make consumers’ life simpler, easier and meaningful through its brands.
He said that the rural economy in Pakistan is growing stronger, and the Company is designing some products keeping in mind the consumers’ demands.
“We are expanding our coverage with the passage of time. And as soon as rural areas get more developed and more infrastructure is put in place there, it will make expanding business easier,” he said.
So far all the products available to the urban people, are also available to rural ones as well, he said.
P&G does not only improves lives of its consumers through selling brands, it is also actively involved in improving the lives of deprived communities.
“The Company has so far taken care of 21-22 million people in Pakistan under its social corporate responsibility (CSR), which is almost 10 percent of 200 million people across the world.”
The Company is running a CSR program named Live, Learn and Thrive (LLT). Under this program, the Company tries to save people from diseases, give them formal and informal education, and provide skills so that they would be preferred for the future.
