CAIRO: P&G aims to please. At this dynamic company, consumers, community and employees are coming away satisfied, thanks to ongoing efforts to invest in sustainability. Recently the company was awarded the prestigious Hewitt Award, an employee survey-based award that assesses the quality of life at major corporations. P&G came out on top due to its deep-rooted commitment to investing in its employees, said Mohamed Sultan, general manager of P&G Near East. According to Sultan, P&G places importance on recruiting and retaining the best talent they can. From the outset, they invest in new employees, providing on the job and technical training as they move up the ranks. The company's philosophy is based around a policy of promotion from within. Loyal employees are rewarded with the opportunity to move up the ranks as their careers progress. Sultan himself has been with the company since graduating from the American University in Cairo in 1993. He says that the award is a testament to the success of P&G's corporate philosophy, as the honor came from the employees themselves. "The fact that we got the award is good in and of itself but it's also good because it's a testimony from the people that they believe they're working for the best company, he said. With a satisfied office of employees as a foundation, P&G is working to better serve the Egyptian market even as they continue efforts to overcome the global recession. Sultan acknowledges that the financial crisis did impact business since its onset late last year. "We started seeing the impact around December of last year. Historically the markets we're competing in have been growing about 6-7 percent per year. Numbers for the last fiscal year came in at around 4 percent, and we're expecting another drop to about 1 percent for this year, he said. Despite these grim numbers, Sultan is optimistic about what the coming months and years will bring. "We expect things to pick back up starting in January 2010 and recover from there, he said. Meanwhile, Sultan and his team are doing everything they can to expand the reach of P&G's products in Egypt and across the Middle East region. Currently, the P&G Near East office covers Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. Sultan says that P&G's strategy into the future will remain constant, as the group's main products have always made up the bulk of the business and this isn't likely to change during the next 10 years. Instead, he is interested in growing markets for product categories in which P&G already enjoys a large market share. "Take diapers, for instance. We have 80 percent market share, but the population of people who use Pampers in Egypt is relatively low. We want to work on expanding awareness about this product and convincing people of its benefits so we can expand our reach, he explained. Sultan is also eager to expand the product categories offered by P&G Near East. Whereas the United States market has 65 categories of products for sale, the Egyptian market still only has 20 on offer. "We want to work on expanding our portfolio of categories over the next five years because there are a lot of opportunities to introduce new products and develop new markets, said Sultan. This Ramadan, P&G's Pampers brand has teamed up with UNICEF for the second year in a row to improve the lives of Egyptian children. For every package of Pampers sold in August and September, P&G will donate 1 dosage of vitamin A to be distributed to children throughout the country by the Ministry of Health. The company has also gotten together with local NGO Ressala to provide clothing to Egyptians in need. For every box of Tide sold during August and September, P&G will provide an item of clothing with Resala, to be distributed before the Eid celebrations. According to Sultan, these types of community partnerships not only help P&G give back, but also send a clear message to consumers about what the brand stands for. "Community work is good in and of itself and it also helps establish what our brands stand for beyond their technical definitions and elevates the brand in the eyes of consumers, said Sultan. Sultan says that the future of P&G looks bright both in Egypt and across the Near East region, and emphasizes that the local nature of the company will be the key to its success in the future. "We are proud that over 98 percent of our 1,100 employees are Egyptians and that local shareholders and investors are instrumental to our business in Egypt, he said. "We are looking forward to what the future will bring for us in the region, he concluded.
