A bit more on P&G, its new factory and its plans for the continent we call home. The plant, as it turns out, will be built in the GP, and is P&G’s opening salvo in the escalation of the battle for Africa, a market of some billion souls which, it is estimated, will double in size in the next 40 years. And P&G, according to Dimitri Panayotopoulos, Vice Chairman: Global Business Units, is undaunted by SA’s current travails and is in it for the long haul. Although the recent past has been kind to the grocery giant, with the Africa business having grown tenfold in the last 10 years. But while South Africa, with 25% of the continent’s GDP, and most of its truly viable retailers, is the natural springboard, it’s not the only game in town – P&G has a sizeable presence in the arid north, too and is building a similar hub in Lagos, Nigeria.
Comment: Exciting times ahead, if you’re an aficionado of consumer packaged goods.