P&G seem to be putting additional muscle behind one of their more interesting "bets" for maximising the value of their brand equities in the US. Investing in a franchising manager from PepsiCo to drive the growth of Tide Dry Cleaning franchises and Mr Clean Car Washes.
They may not be the first brand owner to expand from one channel into another … Virgin Records, Airlines, Trains, Wines, Brides, etc, etc, being a case in point.
Even their arch rivals Unilever had a crack at home cleaning services in the UK with MyHome some years ago … but sadly withdrew before they had made the business model succeed.
But when P&G start committing to Equity Leverage projects on this scale, the rest of the brand world had better watch with interest.
