CINCINNATI (AP) — Procter & Gamble Co. sold its Sure deodorant line Tuesday, saying the 33-year-old brand no longer fits the company's strategy of focusing on products with a global reach.
Sure joins Jif peanut butter, Comet cleanser and Crisco shortening on the list of brands jettisoned by P&G since A.G. Lafley took over as CEO six years ago.
Analysts applauded the move.
"That management team and Pepsi and a few others have figured it out — it's not the number of brands, it's the size, it's the growth, and the ability of the brand to attract an audience that is passionate about it," said Gary Stibel, a marketing expert who heads the New England Consulting Group.
Innovative Brands LLC, established by Phoenix-based private equity firm Najafi Cos., said buying Sure is part of its plan to acquire and build consumer brands that larger corporations no longer want. Terms of the sale weren't released.
Sure will reunite with another ex-P&G brand, Pert Plus shampoo, that Innovative Brands bought in July. They are its first two acquisitions.
The sale is the latest by P&G of a brand that didn't work for its focus on its portfolio of 22 brands that have at least $1 billion in sales annually with last year's acquisition of razor and battery maker Gillette Co.
Sure, introduced in 1973, was popularized in a commercial jingle with the slogan, "Raise your hand if you're sure!"