• Women’s Wear Daily, Friday, December 14, 2007 12 PM

The operating rule for launches at P&G Prestige Products--a robustly growing division of the consumer giant with headquarters on the picturesque banks of the Rh"ne river in Geneva--is "fewer, bigger, better," says president Hartwig Langer. That philosophy also can be applied to the company's modus operandi.

"From a single-minded growth point of view, there is no necessity to expand into other beauty categories," Langer says, noting that there is some expansion, such as Dolce & Gabbana's expected entry into color cosmetics, as part of the development of a fragrance brand. P&G also is working on a D&G secondary fragrance brand.

The 15-year-old firm's annual fragrance sales total $2.5 billion at wholesale, and tracking firm Euromonitor reports that it grew an average of 28% annually between 2001 and 2006. Key to P&G Prestige Products' future success, says Diana Dodson, senior industry analyst, cosmetics and toiletries for Euromonitor, is the way it is carving out its slice of the premium fragrance market in Eastern Europe. Its other strength is its fast-growing men's fragrance category, with its sales measuring nearly as much as women's.

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