proctorgamblejapan(c).docVIP

Proctor Gamble Japan (C) Compete with them in their own backyard, for you will eventually have to compete with them at home . . . We need to be in business with Japan, and we cannot afford to be anything but successful there. E.L. Artzt, Winter, 1987 Artzt faced two critical decisions in February, 1985: 1) whether to stay in Japan, and, 2) if PG stayed, who would lead the operation. Common sense and a -75% operating margin told Artzt to sell PG Japan or pare back the operations and join the ranks of well respected packaged goods companies such as General Foods, General Mills, and Colgate who had failed in Japan. However, his international strategy dictated a reaffirmation of commitment to Japan. He considered Japan a leading edge country in the consumer goods industry. His conviction was so strong and the problem so severe that he considered running PG Japan himself. In March 1985, Ed Artzt convinced the PG board to stay in Japan and appointed Durk Jager to tackle the Japanese business as general manager. Jager thus assumed one of PG’s toughest general manager assignments in recent memory. The crisis required Artzt to report to the PG board monthly and hold face-to-face meetings with Jager quarterly. Jager had the support and confidence of PG president and CEO John Smale and his line management, but he had to win over the demoralized employees of PG Japan and the Japanese consumer. Ichidai Hiyaku: 1985-1988 Japan is the second largest free market in the world, the most technologically advanced and the most competitive. It’s also PG’s door to the rest of the Asian market. We must compete successfully here if we are to compete with the Japanese worldwide. D.I. Jager, Winter, 1987 Jager’s first move was the develop a senior management team. Reaffirming his support for the managers of RD, finance, manufacturing, and buying, he made changes elsewhere. In marketing, he promoted Kerry Clark to advertising manager, his former posit