P&G Prestige Miami manages Latin America for beauty line

Procter & Gamble, the global producer of consumer goods, is well-known for brands such as Tide laundry detergent, Crest toothpaste, Prilosec and Ivory soap, as well as Olay, Old Spice, Gillette and Vicks products.

The company also has a Prestige division that sells premium fragrances and cosmetic brands such as Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci and Hugo Boss.

Prestige sales for two lucrative markets, Latin America and duty-free businesses in North America and Latin America, are managed from Miami.

While P&G Prestige has had an office in Miami since 2005, when the Prestige division was formed, this part of P&G’s business is in a transition. In July 2015, P&G announced it had agreed to merge its beauty businesses with Coty Inc., and P&G Prestige brands will be affected by this merger. However, the transaction is not expected to be finalized until mid-2016, pending regulatory approval, according to P&G. In its fiscal 2015 annual report (10-K), P&G said that while the merger agreement was “definitive,” the “ultimate form of the transaction has not yet been decided.”

Coty said in a news release it would be taking over P&G fragrance brands as well as P&G lines such as CoverGirl and Max Factor cosmetics, plus other brands. In the meantime, P&G Prestige Miami continues to operate, with about 50 employees out of P&G’s global workforce of 110,000, handling sales and marketing activities.

P&G’s Prestige business in Latin America represents a significant share of the division’s international sales. “Latin America and Latin American consumers are very important to P&G, and our business accounts for about 10 percent of our global net sales,” said Miami-based Jose Bianconi, senior vice president of P&G Prestige Latin America and Travel Retail, in response to emailed questions.

“Latin American consumers are very involved in the beauty category, as they believe in regimens and products that enhance their daily experiences,” Bianconi said. In recent years, the emerging middle class in the region began using more premium products, like those sold by P&G Prestige, which led to strong growth in this category. Digital devices and social media contributed to this growth, since consumers all over Latin America use them to learn about high-end, international brands, he said.

And even though many parts of Latin America have seen an economic slowdown and problems associated with currency devaluations, the company expects a turnaround as the outlook becomes more stable, Bianconi said. “Consumers will resume their purchasing habits, and the trend to acquire aspirational premium products will become more prevalent.”

P&G Prestige reaches domestic consumers and international travelers in Latin America through a network of business partners. These include distributors, duty-free operators at airports, cruise lines and shops at border crossings. Prestige also partners with high-end retail chains, luxury hotels and resorts. The P&G Prestige division has dual headquarters, in Geneva, Switzerland, and New York, N.Y.

Procter & Gamble, with its world headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, got its start in 1837, when two immigrants from England and Ireland, William Procter and James Gamble, started a soap and candle-making business in Cincinnati. Today, P&G has scores of products, including more than 20 with annual sales of $1 billion or more each, and reaches about 5 billion people worldwide with its products, the company says. P&G has 19 manufacturing plants in Latin America. Its Prestige products are mainly manufactured in Europe. P&G’s four global product lines are beauty; baby, feminine and health care; fabric and home care; and health and grooming.

Despite the highly competitive environment for premium fragrances and cosmetics and weak economies in parts of Latin America, P&G Prestige sees itself as well positioned for future growth. “P&G Prestige holds licenses to some of the most prestigious fashion house brands, and consumers are more educated today with respect to these products than in the past,” Bianconi said. As a result, they know they are investing in quality and aspirational brands catering to their lifestyles.

This story was originally published January 10, 2016 at 2:00 PM with the headline "P&G Prestige Miami manages Latin America for beauty line."