Consumer goods giant keen to build on KSA market gains

JEDDAH: Most of the major corporates and multinationals operating in Saudi Arabia have evolved their own programs to match the policies and aspirations of the Kingdom.
Considering the Kingdom as a very important market in the region, they have been meeting the requirements like contributing to human development and sustainable programs and initiatives, and addressing issues like manufacturing, training, Saudization and women’s employment.
In this interview with Arab News, Hani M. Ismail, Saudi country manager and GM of P&G Saudi Arabia, outlines P&G’s significant role over the decades and achievements, and outlook for the future, especially in the context of the economic downturn caused by low oil prices and meeting the Vision 2030 challenges.
 
Q: How long has P&G operated in the region and what brands does P&G represent?
A: P&G has been present in Saudi Arabia for more than 70 years.  
Our story in Saudi Arabia is one of collaboration and partnership between us, Ismail Abu Dawood and his family, and the local communities.
We first saw the potential of Saudi Arabia back in the 1940s, when we partnered with Ismail Abu Dawood to distribute Tide, the first brand we sold across Saudi Arabia.
We believed that the Kingdom would become a major market and that the national economy would rapidly develop providing a strong consumer and partner base.
Today, our operations in Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Peninsula account for a sizable portion of our global sales.
We sell over two dozen brands in the region, including products such as Ariel, Pampers, Gillette, Tide, Pantene, Head & Shoulders, Fairy, Tide and Always.
These are the most popular brands among consumers in their respective categories.
In total, our products are used by tens of millions of people in the Gulf region.
 
Q: Why is Saudi Arabia an important market for P&G, and why is P&G just as important to the Kingdom?
A: The two really go hand in hand. Saudi Arabia is a large consumer market, and the consumers here appreciate the quality of P&G’s brands.
Our brands have been family favorites since their launch in the Kingdom, and we’ve steadily grown our brand presence throughout the Kingdom.
In 1956, we agreed to establish our first joint venture, the Modern Industries Company.
This has historical significance as we were one of the first global FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) companies to invest in the Kingdom with the construction of our first factory in Saudi Arabia.
We opened the second P&G plant in Dammam in 1978, where our detergent and homecare favorites Tide, Ariel, Downy and Fairy as well as our global shampoo brands, Head & Shoulders and Pantene, are produced. To meet the consumer demand for our Pampers and Always brands, we opened a new Jeddah plant in 1981.
Our state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities have grown in step with Saudi Arabia’s position as an industrial hub — today our plants in Saudi Arabia serve consumers in over 50 countries worldwide and exports totaled over $ 600 million during our 2014-2015 financial year.
We export products from Saudi Arabia to over 20 countries across Africa, Asia and Europe.
In fact, this region is one of the largest markets for P&G in the India, Middle East and Africa (IMEA) cluster, accounting for 8 percent of the global sales.
 
Q: How did P&G contribute to the human development of Saudi Arabia?
A: We believe in Saudi Arabia’s talent, and we’ve worked hard to make P&G an employer of choice among Saudi nationals.
Our Saudization percentage among our 800 plus staff is 70 percent, double the threshold set by the Ministry of Labor.
We’ve developed thousands of Saudi nationals who have gone on to build their own businesses in the Kingdom.
We truly believe that our people are what makes P&G what it is, and each and every one of our employees has the chance to be coached, mentored and trained in areas that will benefit them throughout their careers.
In addition, we’ve supported and continue to support the employment of Saudi women.
We hired our first Saudi female contractors in 1998, and hired full-time Saudi female staff in 2004. We were the first FMCG company licensed to hire Saudi women.
Today, they make up 17 percent of our total work force in the Kingdom and 15 percent of our local management.
 
Q: What tools does P&G use to engage with KSA consumers?
A: At P&G, we are pushing the boundaries of market research by conducting thousands of research studies each year to stay ahead of what consumers need today and want tomorrow.
The insights we gain not only identify new innovations, but also help us better communicate with our consumers.
Based on our research, for example, we found that consumers were making conscious decisions about their purchases and wanted to witness what companies were doing in terms of sustainability.
This presented an opportunity for us to create awareness about the ways in which our entire product range is created with a commitment to sustainability without trade-offs in performance or value.
All of our brands are based on consumer understanding.
These insights into a consumer’s needs and wants form the basis of our product development, for brands such as Ariel, Pampers, and Pantene.
Similarly, our marketing campaigns are also based on consumer insights as to the issues which are important to them.
We always aim to engage with and excite our consumers through campaigns that delight them.
 
Q: What challenges, if any, would P&G face with the consumers in the region, and particularly in the Kingdom?
A: Our daily challenge to create better products and brands, which delight our consumers in Saudi Arabia and improve their lives in small yet meaningful ways, is just another opportunity for us to demonstrate our commitment to them.
We work closely with our consumers to understand what they need for their beauty, health care and household needs.
These consumer insights help to shape, not only how we approach each and every market we operate in but also how we innovate for our consumers.
 
Q: Are there any concerns on the impact of P&G’s business as some reports are suggesting an economic downturn in Saudi Arabia?
A: We have always focused on providing the best possible value to our consumers; our brand promise of superior performance.
Our 180-year history in the FMCG sector is testament to our focus on quality.
Our consumers in Saudi Arabia hold our brands in high esteem; the likes of Tide, Pampers and Gillette have been household favorites in the Kingdom for years.
We will continue to ensure that our consumers in Saudi Arabia get more value for their spend from our brands no matter the circumstances.
We have always taken a long-term view in the countries where we operate and have operations.
Saudi Arabia is an important market for P&G and we’re confident that the Kingdom’s economy will continue to develop.
We’ll continue to invest in our brands and our people in the country, and this will not change.
 
Q: What sustainable programs has P&G launched in the Kingdom?
A: At P&G, we believe that actions speak louder than words, which is why we consistently deliver products and programs that demonstrate progress on environmental and social sustainability.
Around a decade ago, we answered the Ministry of Education’s call to promote science, technology, engineering and math learning among Saudi Arabia’s youth, by contributing to the Tide Science Club, which annually hosts over 500,000 students in the Western Region.
We are proud of the educational legacy and directly contributing to hands-on science-based learning that the ministry has developed.
We also run a number of cause-related initiatives in the Kingdom, including our largest globally – Pampers-UNICEF. Through each purchase of a select P&G product, we donate a vaccine to UNICEF to combat maternal and newborn tetanus (MNT).
To date, our partnership has helped eliminate MNT in 17 countries, saving the lives of an estimated 500,000 newborns and protecting 100 million women and their babies from the deadly disease.
The Kingdom’s consumers have played a large role in making this campaign the success that it is.
Our brand programs deliver a host of sustainability initiatives throughout the Kingdom.
The Tide Loads of Hope program, for example, provided essential products to help thousands of people in need during the Jeddah floods in 2009.
Campaign such as Like a Girl and Girls Can inspired and empowered girls and women in the region to realize their full potential. 
P&G has also worked closely with government bodies and manufacturers to support sustainability issues such as energy and water usage through joint campaigns with Saudi’s Ministry of Electricity and Water and LG. We’ve also reached out to others in our industry to promote sustainability through the compaction of granular detergents. This is just a snapshot of all the programs we are running in the Kingdom.
 
Q: What tools does P&G use to engage with consumers through these sustainable programs?
A: We work directly with our partners in the public and private sectors, and use a variety of means to reach out to consumers including digital channels (websites, social media, multimedia) as well as printed materials.
We also work with well-known personalities in the Kingdom such as Muna Abu Sulayman to spread our educational messages.

Q: What sustainable initiatives has P&G put in place in the Kingdom?
A: We want people who choose P&G brands to know that our products are created with a commitment to sustainability.
From formulation, to manufacturing, to package design and shipment, our products are made responsibly.
 We have undertaken a range of initiatives at our sites to support our operational sustainability.
Our long-term vision is to power all our plants with 100 percent renewable energy, use 100 percent renewable or recycled materials for all products and packaging, have zero manufacturing and consumer waste go to landfills and design products that delight consumers while maximizing the conversation of resources.
We have set a series of short-term goals to ensure we are on track to deliver against our long-term vision.
In both Dammam and Jeddah, we are using new technologies to reduce both energy and water consumption and recycle waste materials.
In Dammam, between 2010 and 2013 we reduced our waste output by 90 percent; in Jeddah we achieved a 56 percent reduction during the same period. Both of these plants are on track to have zero waste to landfill within the coming few years.