The largest proxy battle ever is coming to a head on Tuesday

by Dramelin 6:30 PM 0 comments

The vote comes a day after General Electric put Trian co-founder Ed Garden on its board — amid pressure from the fund.
Trian has criticized P&G for lagging in innovation and focusing too much on its core brands at the expense of launching and growing younger ones.
It has critiqued the company`s organizational structure, saying it is too complex and that it should consolidate from 10 operating units to three.
P&G offers as innovation its 2012 launch of Tide Pods, a still growing $1.
It claims it has already evaluated Peltz`s proposed operational structure and believes it will lead to more costs and bureaucracy than the current setup.
The company also defends the import of large brands like its Dawn dish washing business, arguing these they still resonate with consumers because they work.
"Each side has valid points," Nik Modi of RBC Capital Markets told CNBC.
"The question we are all going to ask tomorrow, whether Peltz gets a board seat or not, is what is Procter worth?" Modi and others have said that, if P&G wants to be worth more, it will have to innovate and grow its sales to offset the ground it has ceded to competitors that are stronger in digital and more on trend with consumers.
The company that helped define brand marketing will also have to readjust to a new marketing age amid the rise of digital and social media.
P&G has said it`s working on it.
The company sold its fragrance and color cosmetics business to Coty in 2016 so it could shift its focus away from trendier brands to its core strengths in products like detergent and toothpaste.
After losing market share in China, it launched a more expensive diaper in the country to match demand.
It has also simplified its organizational structure.
The decision for voters, according to Barclays analyst Lauren Lieberman: "Does Peltz change the dialogue in a way that moves things forward?".