INTERVIEW
P&G is celebrating 25 years in Pakistan. How does it feel reaching this milestone?
This is surely a momentous occasion for us as we celebrate 25 years of our operations in Pakistan. Through these years we have fulfilled P&G’s purpose of touching and improving consumers’ lives and have remained steadfast in our commitment to be a model investor in country. This includes launching many of our quality brands and investing in manufacturing facilities, social responsibility programs and talent development initiatives. We remain committed to the prosperity and well-being of Pakistanis and look forward to celebrating many more milestones here in the years to come.
How long have you been associated with P&G? How has the experience been?
I joined P&G in 1999 after pursuing an MBA from IBA and a successful internship with the company. The first four to five years I worked in the Marketing function in Pakistan and then relocated to P&G Saudi Arabia. It was a different culture and a good learning experience. I was there for two and a half years before being transferred to P&G Dubai. Through the years I gained extensive experience in marketing, sales, and overall business leadership roles through a range of different assignments. Before returning to Pakistan I was leading marketing and brand building for P&G Arabian Peninsula and Pakistan.
By the time I came back to Pakistan to lead the P&G business and organization here, I had acquired a lot of learning in addition to local and international experience. This is testimony of P&G’s ‘promote-from-within’ culture, through which the company hires at entry level and then grooms employees to leadership positions. There are many people like me at P&G. If you look at the P&G leadership team in Pakistan, our Sales Leader, Finance Leader and others have experienced similar career paths. It’s part of our culture to invest in the long-term development of our people. This not only benefits P&G but also Pakistani talent and they are doing very well.
How do you view P&G’s contributions to the country over these past 25 years?
Our humble beginning in Pakistan dates back to 1991 when we launched Head & Shoulders and began operations here with a small import-based business. Since then we have continued to invest in our brands, our people and the community making a significant positive impact in the lives of Pakistani consumers.
We have introduced to Pakistani consumers our world-renowned, quality brands such as Safeguard, Pantene, Pampers, Ariel and others. In 1994 we acquired our first local manufacturing facility at Hub which produces Safeguard. In 2010 we set up a state-of-the-art detergent manufacturing facility at Port Qasim. We are also investing in a shampoo manufacturing facility. We have made significant investments to date of over $ 150 million in fixed assets and developed the local supplier base, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in local value addition. Through our operations we have created over 5000 direct and indirect employment opportunities. Moreover, our corporate and brand community programs have touched and improved the lives of over an estimated 40 million Pakistanis with health and hygiene awareness, clean drinking water and quality education.
What further value addition do you intend to bring in the next few years?
Through these 25 years P&G has created a rich legacy here in the country. We have delighted consumers with premium quality brands, uplifted the community through social cause programs and developed local skill by enabling employees to realize their true potential. Pakistan is a very important market for P&G globally with a huge population offering a promising consumer base. We intend to build on this legacy in the coming years by continuing to fulfil P&G’s purpose of touching and improving lives here in Pakistan.
How does this huge consumer base help P&G’s future objectives?
We look at Pakistan as a significant market with a population base of around 200 million people. This market is growing continuously. Some 77 million people are urban consumers and urbanization is expected to increase at 3%. This represents the huge potential of the country and the opportunity to meet the needs of this wide consumer base with our range of quality products.
Above all this, Pakistan is predominantly a nation of youth with almost 53% of the population below 25 years of age. Furthermore, with a growing middle class and younger consumers entering the market, consumption of consumer goods will rise. Increasing media penetration has raised amongst consumers awareness of the products available to them thereby increasing the demand and purchase of such products.
What challenges does P&G face in Pakistan?
Every country has its unique set of challenges. Pakistan’s population of around 200 million people in itself represents a challenge as well as opportunity to meet the needs of this wide consumer base. Reaching consumers in smaller towns and villages is another challenge which requires us to constantly expand the reach of our distribution network.
Additionally, a significant proportion of the population is young which makes reaching this target market an exciting opportunity. Above all this, the industry has evolved into a very competitive one and so constant innovation to meet changing consumer needs is very important. All this makes the Pakistani environment very dynamic and challenging for any consumer goods company.
What is P&G’s social impact in the country during these years?
At P&G we incorporate sustainability in our products, packaging and operations, and step up in times of need and disasters. Environmental sustainability is deeply engrained in our operations. Our plants in Pakistan continue to innovate, producing quality products whilst reducing its environmental footprint and helping conserve the world’s resources. Since 2010, P&G plants in Pakistan have delivered 38%, 59% and 25% reduction in energy, water and CO2 respectively. Moreover, both P&G plants in Pakistan are ‘Zero Waste to Landfill’ P&G sites.
Our social responsibility programs have touched and improved lives of over an estimated 40 million Pakistanis to date. Through the P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water program, more than 865 million liters of clean drinking water have been made available to Pakistani families in need. This is enough water to help over an estimated 5 million people with clean drinking water for 3 months. Moreover, P&G brand programs including Safeguard and Always school education programs, Pampers hospital education program and mobile clinics are paving the way for a healthier and hygienic Pakistan. The P&G Home at SOS Children’s Village in Islamabad has provided orphan children the chance to live a normal life. Additionally, through partnerships with Health Oriented Preventive Education (HOPE) and READ Foundation we have established 3 formal seismic compliant P&G-READ Foundation schools in villages of Muzaffarabad and a suburb in Islamabad and 60 informal P&G-HOPE schools in slum communities of Karachi and Thatta which have provided quality education to over 6000 underprivileged children to date.
Last but not least, employee volunteerism is an integral part of our community programs. Our employees in Pakistan have contributed almost 2400 volunteer hours to the company’s social cause programs in the past 8 years by engaging in activities with children from under privileged communities.
The writer is a staff member
