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Menezes seeks to market Old Spice

Reeba Zachariah

Old Spice, the popular men's personal care brand, owned by the US-based FMCG giant Procter & Gamble, is seeing a major tug-of-war for its distributorship.

Menezes Cosmetics, which manufactures and distributes the Xm range of body sprays and perfumes, and the original distributors of Old Spice in India, has again staked a claim for selling the popular brand in India.

The company has submitted a proposal to P&G to work out a new marketing strategy for Old Spice. However, P&G already has a distributorship arrangement with domestic FMCG major, the Harsh Mariwala-controlled Marico Industries.

Sources close to the Menezes family said: "We have been talking to P&G for quite some time for an alliance for the Old Spice brand. The discussions centered around working out an arrangement that would give us a 10-year brand licensing for the Old Spice in India, and which could be renewed thereafter. However, our proposal is yet to be approved by P&G."

However, in a faxed response to Business Standard, a P&G spokesperson said: "This is speculation and we do not comment on speculation."

The Old Spice brand was first introduced in India by the Menezes family. This Goa-based family then held the brand license to manufacture and market the range of products including Old Spice aftershave lotion and shaving cream from the UK-based Shulton Inc.

In 1993, Procter & Gamble Company, USA, took over the business of Shulton along with the Old Spice brand.

The change in ownership of Shulton saw the association of the Menezes family in marketing/distributing the brand coming to an end, while the manufacturing agreement, under which they hold 60 per cent stake in Colfax Laboratories, continues. The balance 40 per cent held by Shulton got transferred to the US-based parent (P&G).

Subsequent to the taking over of Shulton, the Old Spice brand was distributed through the Godrej group in India, with which P&G, US, had a joint venture. The tie-up came to end in 1996 and since then Old Spice is being distributed by Harsh Mariwala's Marico Industries.

The Old Spice brand currently has a turnover of around Rs 20 crore(Rs 200 million), according to senior officials in Marico Industries.

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