Procter & Gamble in Japan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Procter & Gamble in Japan - Essay Example 1. Proctor & Gamble during the 1970’s and 1980’s utilized a centralized marketing approach in which the US headquarters had full control of the marketing initiatives both in the United States and abroad. The company felt that this strategy was more effective because it provided a simple method that could be transferred elsewhere which provided savings and helped the company achieved benefits associated with economies of scale. The reality of this strategy in Japan was that the company was not doing poorly in this international market. The company by 1985 after being established in Japan for 13 years was losing nearly $40 million a year (Hill, 2007). Along with the obvious monetary losses the disadvantages of the centralized marketing strategy in Japan was that the company was not able to fully meet the consumer needs. The culture of Japan and the consumer taste were much different than in the United States. The strategy was inflexible and did not provide room for the ne cessary changes based on market research and consumer trends. Â  2. After years of struggling in the Japanese market with various products after 1990, the company decided a new approach. It created products based on the specific cultural profile Japan. A product that was introducing utilizing this new decentralized marketing approach was Joy detergent. The country-specific research showed that the Japanese people were changing their cooking habits towards the higher volume of fried foods which meant that the people needed a product that was more powerful cleaning up grease dishes. The company also considered other key stakeholders in its design in the process in order to ensure success. The packaging of the product was tailored made to ensure supermarkets and other stores could maximize its shelf space. The strategy provided many benefits for the company, but there were some drawbacks.