Target and Proctor & Gamble Delve into the Designer Diaper Business

The American economy is slowly trying to rebound. However, many consumers still must keep tight budgets in order to make ends meet. This is even more important for families with infants and toddlers. So why is Proctor & Gamble (P&G) creating an expensive line of diapers designed by Cynthia Rowley to be sold at Target?

Target's Designer Partnerships

Target is no stranger to providing top designer labels without the ready-to-wear prices. Past and current partnerships include, Isaac Mizrahi, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Anna Sui, Todd Oldham, Zac Posen and the late Alexander McQueen. These partnerships have proven profitable as customers flock to secure items from these designers at prices they can comfortably afford. But will customers flock to Target to purchase expensive designer disposable diapers?

Proctor & Gamble Secures Cynthia Rowley to Update Pampers

P&G's Pampers brand disposable diapers are among the favored brands preferred by many mothers. It may be this type of brand loyalty and confidence in their product that caused P&G to create designer Pampers. P&G will market the designer Pampers as ideal for the summer because they can be worn without bottoms. Initially this could catch on if consumer's need for convenience will outweigh price. Since many parents juggle various responsibilities, it seems logical that by cutting down the time of dressing and changing infants, more parents will flock to the brand. Will consumer's buy into this logic?

Will Designer Pampers be a Smart Buy for Parents?

Pampers are not among the cheapest brand of disposal diapers on the market. According to Trefis the designer Pampers will have a 60% markup from the price of standard Pampers. Even though Pampers cost more than other brands, they are still the number one selling brand of disposable diapers worldwide. The suggested retail price for a 24-pack of the designer Pampers will be $15.99, which is about $6.00 more than standard Pampers. However, will consumers pay an additional 60% for these designer diapers?

When asked, "Would you be willing to pay 60% more for Pampers if they were designed by a top fashion designer?" most parents responded with a resounding "No". However, a few admitted they would if the diapers were attractive enough. Doris Bias, 52 of Elkton, Maryland was adamant about her refusal to pay 60% more for Pampers.

"My family is on a tight budget. I do not have money to waste on a product that a baby is just going to [defecate] in and have to be thrown away! Are they crazy?"[Emphasis mine throughout.]

Could This Endeavor Hurt P&G and Possibly Target's Sales?

Both companies hope the designer Pampers will yield high earning and open P&G a nudge into the infant apparel market. Trefis crunched the numbers with an expected forecast that the designer diaper market will grow in the next few years. This depends on the target market the diapers are geared towards, a less-price sensitive consumer. However, how many less price-sensitive consumers shop at Target? If Target catered to the less-price sensitive customer then there would be no need to offer discounted prices on any designer brands the retailer sells. The reason why Target does so well is that it offers premium brands at discounted prices.

The average person who shops at Target is moderately to highly-price sensitive. If 90% of the respondents who answered "No" to the question, "Would you be willing to pay 60% more for Pampers if they were designed by a top fashion designer?" are any indication then this endeavor could be a bust.

Designer diapers are an ingenious development and if offered at the right price initially they could establish brand loyalty. Kimberly Clark's Huggies Jeans Diapers got the formula right by offering them at approximately the same price as regular Huggies. However, P&G may be pushing the envelope with pricing the designer disposable Pampers 60% higher than the standard Pampers. Associated Content's own Pamela Gifford may have expressed the sentiment that many parents feel about this new product.

"NO and NO. I do have one child still in diapers and there is no way I'd spend more on diapers then I had to. There's more important things my children need that I can spend money on."

It appears consumers may not be ready to purchase designer Pampers at the current price P&G is suggesting. Maybe P&G and Target will rethink the suggested retail pricing before the designer Pampers hit the shelves in mid-July.

SOURCES

Bias, D. (2010, July 9). Retired. (S. Pierce, Interviewer)

COMTEX. (2010, June 30). Pampers & Cynthia Rowley Partner on the First 'Designed' Diaper. Retrieved July 9, 2010, from P&G.com: http://www.pginvestor.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=104574&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1442863

Gifford, P. (2010, July 9). Freelance Writer and Featured Arts & Entertainment Contributor on Associated Content from Yahoo. (S. Pierce, Interviewer)

Sewell, D. (2010, June 30). Pampers offers designer-brand diapers. Retrieved July 9, 2010, from Yahoo Finance: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Pampers-offers-designerbrand-apf-3182230249.html?x=0

Trefis Team. (2010, July 8). Designer Biapers Boost P&G, Kimberly Clark. Retrieved July 8, 2010, from Trefis: https://www.trefis.com/company?article=18451#