In the past, groups concerned about animals have
promoted the boycott of Iams Dog Food because the Iams Company supported
the Iditarod. Now there is another reason to do so. Proctor & Gamble,
the company that leads the way in doing product testing on animals, is
buying premium pet food maker Iams Company for $2.05 billion, which is
P&Gs biggest purchase ever.
Pet food is a $25-billion business, growing at 3% to 5%
annually. Premium pet food accounts for $2.5 billion of the total, but
that segment is growing at twice the industry rate. Here are the
companies with the largest share of the premium pet food market:
Hills' Pet Nutrition Inc. (Colgate): 33%
Iams Co.: 27%
Ralston-Purina Co.: 15%
Other: 25%
"P&G hopes to substantially expand Iams' pet food sales
in foreign markets. Iams' international sales now represent about 30
percent of the company's total revenues, even though two-thirds of the
global pet nutrition market exists outside of North America, P&G
executives said.
Iams sells Eukanaba and Iams premium dog and cat foods,
dry and canned varieties, in 77 countries. It has annual sales of more
than $800 million.
The Cincinnati-based maker of consumer products,
including Tide detergent and Pampers diapers, has annual worldwide sales
of $38.1 billion.
Shares of P&G fell 50 cents to $93.50 in trading on the
New York Stock Exchange.
Go on to
Animal-to-Human Organ Transplants: Creating the Next AIDS
Return to 15 August 1999 Issue
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