Procter & Gamble (PG), a multinational consumer goods company based in the United States, has announced the closure of its on-ground operation in Nigeria.
Andre Schulten, P&G Chief Financial Officer, announced this during his presentation at the Morgan Stanley global consumer and retail conference in New York on Tuesday.
P&G is the maker of well-known Nigerian brands such as Pampers, Always, Oral B, Ariel, Ambi-pur, SafeGuard, Olay, and Gillette.
According to Schulten, P&G would begin importing its products to Nigeria rather than manufacturing them, citing the country’s unfavorable business environment as well as the difficulty in establishing US dollar value.
“The other reality that arises in some of these markets is that it gets increasingly difficult to operate and create US dollar value.
“So when you think about places like Nigeria and Argentina, it is difficult for us to operate because of the macroeconomic environment.
“So with that in mind, we are announcing a restructuring program with the intent to adjust the operating model and adjust the portfolio to ensure that we maintain the portfolio discipline that has brought us to this point.
“The restructuring program will largely focus on Nigeria and Argentina.
“We’ve announced that we will turn Nigeria into an import-only market, effectively dissolving our footprint on the ground in Nigeria and reverting to an import-only model,” he said.
