Thursday, July 06, 2000

P&G tests hair-color line in Europe

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By Randy Tucker
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        Procter & Gamble Co.'s first hair-coloring product has debuted in Europe under the Vidal Sassoon brand name, the company confirmed Wednesday.

        The hair color is being sold at Boots retail outlets in test markets in Woking and Leicester in the United Kingdom, where P&G rivals L'Oreal and Bristol-Myers Squibb dominate the category.

        So far, no plans have been made for similar market tests or a national launch in the United States, P&G spokeswoman Maria Burquest said.

        “This is a concept test,” Ms. Burquest said.

        “But there's a long way to go before this ever goes beyond that.”

        The hair color is among a number of hair-care products the Cincinnati packaged-goods maker has introduced in recent months.

        P&G, whose top hair-care brands are Pantene and Head & Shoulders, introduced a line of hair-care products in January under the Physique label.

        The company is making plans to revamp its Pantene Pro-V hair-care line with new products, packaging and displays to debut in August.

        Hair color could add significant revenues to P&G's cornerstone hair-care business, experts say.

        U.S. sales of hair-coloring products rose 9.3 percent to $1.35 billion last year.

       

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