I gave you Old Spice. Now it’s back to me: P&G ends aftershave deal with Menezes

It is believed the Ohio-based company will market the Old Spice aftershave lotion directly, in-house, having chosen not to renew its ten-year marketing and distribution deal with Goa-based Menezes when it ends next month.

According to the Economic Times, Menezes has informed the trade that it will no longer sell Old Spice products from next year; opting instead, to aggressively sell its other shaving preparation brand Blue Stratos.

Revival​

The news comes as the Old Spice brand has been languishing due to limited distribution; so P&G will now look to revive its fortunes with its range of outlets, and also extend the brand into a range of men's grooming products.

"The brand has a very masculine name and has the potential to be the largest brand in the men's personal care market across categories if it is rejuvenated and the opportunity is unlocked,"​ Alpana Parida, president at brand consultancy DY Works, said in the ET.

Shaving products such as razors, shaving gels and aftershave lotions, and deodorants constitute over 70 percent of the men's personal grooming products market in India; with Hindustan Unilever and Nivea battling it out with P&G for supremacy.

The Old Spice brand will now join P&G’s Gillette portfolio in trying to gain further market share in India.

A decade of distribution​

Old Spice was launched in 1937 by Shulton, and was popular in India in the 1970s and 80s when it was considered a generic name for aftershave lotion, but eventually lost out to increasing competition.

P&G acquired the business of Shulton along with the Old Spice brand in 1993.

In 2002, P&G licensed it’s the trademark and business for an undisclosed fee to Menezes Cosmetics, terminating the previous agreement in place with Marico Industries.

The agreement, was limited to the Old Spice business in India for 10 years and covered ‘after shave lotion, shaving cream and talcum powders’.