Unsettled Differences

I did my grocery shopping last Friday at SM supermarket. I was not able to buy the little girl's shampoo and our toothpaste since I forgot that Colgate-Palmolive products are no longer carried by all SM supermarkets. So I had to go to another grocery store to buy them. Do you wonder why SM does not carry these products anymore? Read this:

BIZ BUZZ : We’ve got it all ... almost

By the Staff
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Posted date: June 09, 2009

DON’T go looking for Colgate toothpaste in SM Supermarkets. Don’t go shopping there for Palmolive soap or shampoo either, because chances are, you won’t find any. That’s because the SM group and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) manufacturer Colgate-Palmolive recently got into a tussle over billing issues, according to our sources.

According to the Colgate-Palmolive camp, the disagreement came about after SM insisted on a payment period beyond what is normal for FMCG items (a longer period would have positive and negative implications for either party, since “time is money”).

The SM camp, meanwhile, says the terms are static, and that a new Colgate-Palmolive manager who is “unaccustomed to the way business has always been done” has been pushing for better terms (that are clearly not better for SM).

Thus, Colgate-Palmolive’s products and merchandisers are no longer a fixture in SM Supermarket premises, prompting a high-stakes stand off between the two corporate giants.

Both firms rely on each other for a significant amount of their revenues. SM—the country’s biggest supermarket chain—is easily Colgate-Palmolive’s largest vendor. Colgate-Palmolive products, meanwhile, are some of the best-selling products of the chain, with daily sales estimated in the millions of pesos.

Yesterday, several SM Supermarkets showed thinning stocks of Colgate toothpaste, while Palmolive bath products were “out of stock,” according to the staff.

Neither side seems keen on prolonging the agony, however, and a source from the SM group said that they are “looking forward to resolving any differences.”

It's been a year already and it seems that until now, they haven't settled their differences yet. So if you want to buy Colgate and Palmolive products, you might want to check out Robinson's supermarkets or other grocery stores.