Decoding The Asian Market

Lessons in continuity from the chief of P&G Asia Pacific.

- Prabhu Silvam

Magesvaran Suranjan recounts his post-graduation road trip across the US with fondness. He travelled with four college mates in a single van over a span of four weeks, and the trip would prove to be a pivotal moment in his life – teaching him the kind of stuff that business school doesn’t cover.

Whether it was wading knee-deep into chilly waters to fish for trout at Yellowstone National Park, mountain biking down gravel trails in Utah, or trekking in Yosemite National Park, Suranjan is quick to admit that the trip was more of a lesson in life than anything else.

“When you travel with four guys on $35 a day, I’m pretty sure you master the art of compromise,” he says, adding that the tight budget paved the way for practical and creative ways of dealing with food and accommodation. Read: eating fast food and sleeping in the van whenever motel rates were too high.

Apart from serving as the much needed buffer between college and work life, the trip taught him critical skills like adaptability and the importance of compromise – life skills that he has applied in his role as president of Procter and Gamble (P&G) Asia Pacific, excluding China.

GRAPPLING WITH CHALLENGES 

To be sure, things haven’t exactly been smooth sailing for P&G in Asia. Overall, the billion-dollar company reported lower consumer demand in China early last year, resulting in poor revenue, and organic sales which fell by “high single digits” – a setback considering that China is P&G’s second biggest market after the US. Asia continues to be a challenging market for P&G because, unlike in Europe and in the US, P&G faces stiff competition from other multinational corporations like L’Oreal, Shiseido, Unilever and Amway.