Church & Dwight: Time to Rethink the Portfolio

Church & Dwight: Time to Rethink the Portfolio

I. INTRODUCTION

A. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. Summary statement of the problem: Church & Dwight Co. Inc. is not a well known brand name, but for the last 160 years has been building market shares under a different brand name. It is the largest manufacturer of sodium bicarbonate-based household and personal products in the world. Although their own name is not on the products, a variety of their products are in 95% of American households (Wheelen & Hunger, p.35-2). Its name is recognized under the brand name of ARM & HAMMER baking soda. Finding new uses for sodium bicarbonate to achieve a 3-4% annual growth has been the target for the company.

The challenge that Church & Dwight faces is to rationalize the firm’s consumer products portfolio of 80 brands into the existing corporate structure while identifying new market opportunities (Wheelen & Hunger, p. 35-1). This is not going to be very easy for Church & Dwight because it will have to go up against major players like Colgate-Palmolive, Clorox, Proctor & Gamble, and internationally Solvay Chemicals in Europe and Ashi Glass is Asia. The two major concerns in the international markets are the lack of name recognition and transportation costs (Wheelen & Hunger, p. 35-11).

2. Summary statement of the recommended solution: Growth by acquisitions will not be easy for Church & Dwight because it is a fairly small company compared to its competitors in the personal care and household product markets and is just beginning to penetrate the international markets. A continuation of disposition of non-core assets to achieve a balance of growth through expanded uses of sodium bicarbonate while assimilating a divergent group of consumer products into the expanding international markets (Wheelen & Hunger, p. 35-12). The use of export opportunities continued to present themselves as 10% of all U.S. production of sodium bicarbonate was exported until manufacturing assets can...