• The Wall Street Journal, Monday, July 16, 2007 10:49 AM

Procter & Gamble has a goal of increasing total sales by 5% to 7% annually over the next three years. As part of that mission, it is looking to tap roughly 1 billion additional consumers--most of them poor women who live in developing countries and buy their wares from mom-and-pop stores no bigger than a closet.

P&G calls such locally owned bodegas, stalls and kiosks "high-frequency stores," because of the multiple times shoppers visit them during a single day or week. Though most are rudimentary--usually operating out of the owner's home--these shops are a vital route into developing markets, executives believe.

Product visibility is one of the biggest challenges to selling in high-frequency stores. P&G began lobbying for better shelf space, one tiny store at a time, by offering special perks that rivals do not. P&G-employed merchandisers visit the stores about every two weeks to tidy the shelves of their products, post signs with the items' prices and hand out promotional items.

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