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P&G history
P&G company history timeline
The soapmaking firm of Procter & Gamble was founded in Cincinnati by Procter’s grandfather William Procter, a candlemaker, who joined with James Gamble, an Irish soapmaker, in 1837.
In 1848 Cincinnati was also linked to the major cities of the East via rail, and Procter & Gamble grew.
Around 1851, when P & G shipments were moving up and down the river and across the country by rail, the company’s famous moon-and-stars symbol was created.
In 1854 the company leased an office building in downtown Cincinnati.
By 1859, Procter & Gamble reached $1 million in sales.
In 1860 on the brink of the Civil War, two young cousins, James Norris Gamble and William Alexander Procter (both sons of the founders), traveled to New Orleans to buy as much rosin as they could.
In 1869 the transcontinental railroad linked the two coasts and opened still more markets to Procter & Gamble.
In 1875 the company hired its first full-time chemist to work with James Gamble on new products.
In the days before advertising, trademarks were a product’s principal means of identification, and in 1875 when a Chicago soap maker began using an almost-identical symbol, P & G sued and won.
In 1875 the company hired its first full-time chemist to work with James Gamble on new products, including a soap that was equal in quality to expensive castile soaps, but which could be produced less expensively.
In 1875 the company hired its first full–time chemist to work with James Gamble on new products, including a soap that was equal in quality to expensive castile soaps, but which could be produced less expensively.
Launching Ivory Soap in 1878
1878: P&G introduces White Soap, soon renamed Ivory.
In 1882 it registered its trademark with the United States Patent Office to protect itself against future copycats.
William Cooper Procter had joined the company in 1883 after his father, William Alexander Procter, requested that he return from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) just one month before graduation to help with the company’s affairs.
In 1886 P & G opened its new Ivorydale plant on the edge of Cincinnati to keep up with demand.
At his suggestion, in 1887, Procter & Gamble was the first American company to give a half-holiday on Saturdays.
William Arnett Procter, William Procter's grandson, began a profit-sharing program for the company's workforce in 1887.
Marketed as a heavier-duty product, the yellow soap helped P&G reach sales of more than $3 million by 1889.
Meanwhile, new soaps, including P & G White Naphtha, which was introduced in 1902, kept P & G at the forefront of the cleaning-products industry.
Two years later the company implemented an employee stock-purchase program, which in 1903 was tied to the profit-sharing plan.
In 1904 the company opened its second plant, in Kansas City, Missouri, followed by Port Ivory on Staten Island, New York.
Chipso soap flakes for industrial laundry machines were introduced in 1921.
In 1926 Camay was introduced and three years later Oxydol joined the P & G line of cleaning products.
From 1930 until his death four years later, he was chairman of the board.
The company moved into other countries, both in terms of manufacturing and product sales, becoming an international corporation with its 1930 acquisition of the Thomas Hedley Co., based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
The emblem changed slightly over the years until 1930, when Cincinnati sculptor Ernest Bruce Has well refined the emblem to its current form.
1931: Brand management system is formally introduced.
In 1933, Dreft is introduced as the first-ever household synthetic detergent, but research continues to develop a product that can clean consumer’s toughest stains.
In 1939 Procter & Gamble had 21 programs on the air and spent $9 million.
The company was not ready for the consumer demand for heavy-duty detergent when it introduced the product in 1946; within two years Tide, backed by a $21 million advertising budget, was the number one laundry detergent, outselling even the company's own Oxydol and Duz.
The company was not ready for the consumer demand for heavy-duty detergent when it introduced the product in 1947; within two years Tide, backed by a $21 million advertising budget, was the number-one laundry detergent, outselling even the company’s own Oxydol and Duz.
In 1955, Procter & Gamble began selling the first toothpaste to contain fluoride, known as Crest.
In 1955, after five years of research, Procter & Gamble firmly established itself in the toiletries business with Crest toothpaste.
In 1955 it bought the Lexington, Kentucky-based nut company W. T. Young Foods, and acquired Nebraska Consolidated Mills Company, owner of the Duncan Hines product line, a year later.
P&G hit its $1 billion sales mark in 1956.
The idea for Pampers came from a Procter & Gamble researcher, Vic Mills, who was inspired while changing an infant grandchild’s diapers in 1956.
Branching out once again in 1957, the company purchased Charmin Paper Mills and began manufacturing toilet paper and other paper products.
In 1957 the Charmin Paper Company and the Clorox Chemical Company were also acquired.
Amway history, profile and corporate video Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos, a pair of direct sales veterans, launched Amway in 1959.
Once again focusing on laundry, Procter & Gamble began making "Downy" fabric softener in 1960 and "Bounce" fabric softener sheets.
One of the most revolutionary products to come out on the market was the company’s Pampers, first test-marketed in 1961.
In a case that found its way to the Supreme Court, Procter & Gamble was finally forced to divest Clorox in 1967.
Morgens remained CEO until 1974.
Taking over as president and CEO was A.G. Lafley, who had joined the company in June 1977 as a brand assistant for Joy and had most recently been in charge of the global beauty care unit.
In 1977, after three years of test marketing, Procter & Gamble introduced Rely tampons, which were rapidly accepted in the market as a result of their “super-absorbent” qualities.
In 1981 John G. Smale became CEO of Procter & Gamble.
Procter & Gamble added the Ben Hill Griffin citrus products in 1981 to its Crush International soft drinks purchase of a year before.
PG added Pepto Bismol and Chloraspetic to its rapidly growing family when it acquired Norwich-Eaton Pharmaceuticals in 1982.
The company also entered the over-the-counter (OTC) drug market with the 1982 purchase of Norwich-Eaton Pharmaceuticals, makers of Pepto Bismol and Chloraseptic.
Then, in 1985, the company bought Richardson-Vicks, the makers of Vicks and Nyquil, for $1.2 billion (its largest purchase yet), as well as the brands Dramamine and Metamucil.
In 1985, unable to squelch perennial rumors linking Procter & Gamble’s famous moon-and-stars logo to Satanism, the company reluctantly removed the logo from product packages.
“The House that Ivory Built: 150 Years of Procter & Gamble,” Advertising Age, August 20, 1987.
In 1987, the company restructured its brand-management system into a “matrix system.” Category managers became responsible for several brands, making them sensitive to the profits of other Procter & Gamble products in their areas.
In September 1988 Procter & Gamble made its first move into the cosmetics business with the purchase of Noxell Corporation, maker of Noxema products and Cover Girl cosmetics, in a $1.3 billion stock swap.
In 1989, Procter & Gamble entered the makeup market when it bought Noxell, the company that makes CoverGirl and Noxema, in a $1.34 billion deal.
Former chairman John Smale and Edwin L. Artzt, who replaced Smale in early 1990, have been quite successful at adapting to new market conditions—container recycling has taken on new importance at P & G for the 1990s.
While P&G expanded its presence in cosmetics and fragrances through the July 1991 acquisition of the worldwide Max Factor and Betrix lines from Revlon, Inc. for $1.03 billion, it also divested holdings in some areas it had outgrown.
1991: Max Factor and Betrix cosmetic and fragrance lines are bought from Revlon, Inc.
In 1992 the corporation sold about one-half of its Cellulose & Specialties pulp business to Weyerhaeuser Co. for $600 million.
Meanwhile, Pantene Pro–V was introduced in 1992 and quickly became the fastest–growing shampoo brand in the world.
Company sales surpassed the $30 billion mark in 1993.
In 1994 P&G entered the European tissue and towel market through the purchase of Vereinigte Papierwerke Schickedanz AG’s European tissue unit, and added the prestige fragrance business of Giorgio Beverly Hills, Inc.
In July 1995 Artzt retired, and was replaced as chairman and CEO by Pepper.
In 1996 Procter & Gamble purchased the Eagle Snacks brand line from Anheuser–Busch, the United States baby wipes brand Baby Fresh, and Latin American brands Lavan San household cleaner and Magia Blanca bleach.
In 1996, P&G again made headlines when the Food and Drug Administration approved a new product developed by the company, Olestra.
The $2.4 billion program, which culminated in 1997, resulted in annual after–tax savings of more than $600 million.
1997: Company acquires Tambrands, Inc., maker of the Tampax line of tampons.
Actonel was developed by Procter & Gamble and gained FDA approval in 1998.
The company sold its Duncan Hiñes baking mix line to Aurora Foods of Ohio for $445 million in 1998.
But sales stood at just $37.15 billion by 1998, only a 4 percent increase over the previous year—when 7 percent increases were needed each year.
Among new products introduced in 1999 was Swiffer, an electrostatic dusting mop that was part of a new category of household product: quick cleaning.
In June 2000, after the company issued its third profit warning in a year, Jager resigned.
2001: P&G acquires the Clairol hair-care business from Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
In 2001, Liquid Paper and Gillette's stationery division, Paper Mate, were sold to Newell Rubbermaid.
The deal, completed in May 2002, was valued at about $900 million.
These two new products helped increase global sales of the Crest brand by 50 percent, propelling it past the $1 billion mark during fiscal 2002.
2002: Jif peanut butter and Crisco shortening brands are divested.
2003: Company acquires a controlling interest in German hair-care firm Wella AG.
In April 2004 Procter & Gamble reached an agreement to sell its Sunny Delight and Punica drinks businesses to J.W. Childs Associates LP, a private-equity firm in Boston.
The snacks and beverages unit accounted for only 7 percent of the company's total revenues in fiscal 2004.
In January 2005 P&G announced an acquisition of Gillette, forming the largest consumer goods company and placing Unilever into second place.
The companies officially merged on October 1, 2005.Liquid Paper, and Gillette’s stationery division, Paper Mate were sold to Newell Rubbermaid.
In December 2005, Procter & Gamble’s pharmaceutical division was involved in a research dispute for Actonel.
In 2006, Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi-Aventis filed a lawsuit against Roche Pharmaceuticals and GlaxoSmithKline claiming that Roche and GSK had made false and misleading claims about their osteoporosis product, Boniva, which were intended to deprive P&G and Sanofi of profit.
Experts cast doubt over scientists’ claims for Actonel, Times Higher Education (02/2006)
Tide Dry Cleaners launches in 2008 and is P&G’s big move into the service industry.
In 2008, P&G branched into the record business with its sponsorship of Tag Records, as an endorsement for TAG Body Spray.
On August 25, 2009, the Ireland-based pharmaceutical company Warner Chilcott announced they had bought P&G’s prescription-drug business for $3.1 billion.
In 2009, established that Eastell had been negligent in making misleading claims but that the claims were not deliberately dishonest.
P&G exited the food business in 2012 when it sold its Pringles snack food business to Kellogg's for $2.75 billion after the $2.35 billion deal with former suitor Diamond Foods fell short.
In August 2014, P&G announced it was streamlining the company, dropping around 100 brands and concentrating on the remaining 65, which were producing 95% of the company's profits.
Procter & Gamble was a tier one sponsor of Sochi’s 2014 Winter Olympic Games.
In March 2015, the company divested its Vicks VapoSteam United States liquid inhalant business to Helen of Troy, part of a brand-restructuring operation.
The sale was completed on October 3, 2016.
Amid the recent concerns parents have voiced on the ingredients in diapers, Pampers launched Pampers Pure collection in 2018, which is a "natural" diaper alternative.
In 2019, Procter & Gamble recorded more than $67 billion in sales, second to manufacturing giant, Johnson & Johnson.
Tucker, Thomas; Dougal, April; Salamie, David "The Procter & Gamble Company ." International Directory of Company Histories. . Encyclopedia.com. (June 21, 2022). https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/procter-gamble-company-1
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P&G competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gillette | 1901 | $84.0B | 101,000 | 2 |
| Eagle Snacks Inc | 1979 | - | 1,033 | - |
| Thermo Fisher Scientific | 1956 | $42.9B | 125,000 | 1,798 |
| The Dow Chemical Company | 1897 | $43.0B | 54,000 | 146 |
| Praxair | 1907 | $11.4B | 26,461 | - |
| PPG | 1883 | $16.8B | 47,300 | 172 |
| Avery Dennison | 1935 | $8.8B | 32,000 | 288 |
| Colgate-Palmolive | 1806 | $20.1B | 34,500 | 197 |
| General Mills | 1866 | $19.9B | 35,000 | 156 |
| Whirlpool | 1911 | $16.6B | 78,000 | 164 |
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P&G may also be known as or be related to P&G, Procter & Gamble, The Procter & Gamble Company and Proctor & Gamble.