Two years ago, videos of stampedes in several Pakistani cities during the distribution of free flour went viral, showing the absolute disarray of the nation’s economy. Since then, there has hardly been any improvement, with several multinational companies exiting Pakistan. The latest to pull the plug is consumer goods giant Procter and Gamble, and several Pakistanis have gone into a meltdown, worrying about shortages of their favourite Gillette razor and Head and Shoulders shampoo.
Earlier this week, the US-based Procter and Gamble (P&G), whose wide range of products span across categories such as home care, beauty and personal grooming, and oral care, announced that it would discontinue its business in Pakistan.
P&G LATEST TO SHUT SHOP IN PAKISTAN
All manufacturing and commercial activities of P&G Pakistan, including its razors division Gillette Pakistan, will cease operations.
The development has several Pakistanis taking to social media to express their fear over impending shortages of essential items like soap and personal care items. With their cricket game already down in the dumps, Pakistanis now fret that their grooming game may also take a hit.
A dejected social media user, Nadeem Khan from Lahore, tweeted, “I just don’t understand P&G. 240 million Pakistanis still need soaps, detergent and shaving cream. Come on, this makes no sense.”
Procter and Gamble, which entered the Pakistani market way back in 1991, quickly went on to become one of the country’s top consumer goods firms, attracting consumers with its pocket-friendly and exhaustive range of products.
In quick time, brands such as Head & Shoulders, Pantene, Tide, Oral-B, Gillette, Old Spice, Ariel became household names.
PAKISTANIS HAVE A MELTDOWN
The MNC firm’s abrupt exit has Pakistani citizens anxious about cheaper and poor alternatives flooding the market.
An engineer from Islamabad, Javed Iqbal, lamented that he could not find his favourite Gillette razor in the market for the past three months.
“I have always used the Gillette Blue 3 razor for shaving, but for the past 3 months I haven’t been able to find it in the market (Islamabad). It is top quality, and the only alternative available is Treet, which is very poor in comparison,” Iqbal tweeted.
Another user pointed out that the penetration of Chinese products in Pakistan “absolutely wiped out” Gillette, Pampers, soap and beauty products of P&G.
A third user, Hina Safi, wondered how Pakistani citizens would get their hands on the usual household products sold by P&G.
“So will we be importing Ariel, Safeguard, Vicks, Pampers, Always, Pantene and even Head & shoulders now since P&G is leaving Pakistan?” she posted on X.
Another user took the opportunity to mock the helplessness of the Pakistanis. “Procter & Gamble spokesman: Pakistanis don’t take bath, don’t wash clothes as much and because of that, business is suffering!” the post read.
As already, parts of Pakistan are reeling from a water crisis after India turned off the Indus tap after suspending the Indus Waters Treaty in May following the horrific Pahalgam terror attack. Pakistanis had trolled themselves then via a flood of memes. One user even sarcastically said that Pakistanis would now have to ask India for water, even for bathing.
However, this time, Pakistan may not have to fret as much as P&G said some of its products would be made available through third-party distributors.
“I hope such exits make the rulers aware that all is not well,” Saad Amanullah Khan, a former executive at Gillette Pakistan, told Bloomberg. He pointed out that high power costs, weak infrastructure and economic challenges were behind the exodus of MNCs from Pakistan.
The assessment is not off the mark, as in the past two years top firms like Shell, Pfizer, Total Energies, Microsoft and Telenor have all pulled back from Pakistan.
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