Colgate Porter

1.0 Introduction In a dynamic business environment, companies enter industries whenever they see growth or profit potential or exit when they see a decline. As such, companies have to consistently practice an internal and external check or analysis on the company to see where they stand in the industry they operate in. The Boston-Consulting Group’s Growth model, among all other models provides one of the best guides to analyzing a company’s marketing performance and its potentials.

The model analyses the individual product portfolios of a particular company on its market shares and its potential to grow in the market. It divides the product lines into four categories; stars, cash cows, question marks and dogs, categories in which indicates the effectiveness of the individual marketing mix for each product lines. It helps a company to understand the performance and act on it; to invest, to hold, to harvest or to divest.

To further demonstrate the phenomena, the theory will be applied on the oral care industry in Malaysia; toothpaste, toothbrush, mouthwash and any other products related to oral hygiene. The companies operating in this particular industry are Colgate-Palmolive, Oral B, Southern Lion and Sensodyne. In-depth analysis will be done using Colgate-Palmolive as the chosen company.

2.0 Profiles
2.1 Colgate-Palmolive The American company Colgate-Palmolive started in 1806 by William Colgate. The company was firstly a company producing soaps and candles, but produced its first toothpaste in 1873. Colgate has expanded its market share and is currently operating in 200 countries worldwide (www.colgate.com). Colgate operates in two segments, Oral, Personal, and Home Care; and Pet Nutrition.

The Oral segment offers toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouth rinses, dental floss, and pharmaceutical products for dentists and other oral health professionals. The company sells its products to