Procter & Gamble is one of the world’s leading fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) manufacturers. The U.S.-based multinational company began its operation in Bangladesh in 1994. Over its three-decade journey in the country, the company established a factory in partnership with the local conglomerate Pran Group. However, Procter & Gamble has now decided to wind down its operations in Bangladesh. As part of this plan, the company has already terminated its agreement with Gillette India, along with its contract with the local distributor. Contract manufacturing at the Pran Group facility has also been discontinued. The multinational said its exit from Bangladesh is part of a global business restructuring and workforce reduction plan. However, industry insiders believe that challenges faced in operating under difficult local conditions have also influenced this decision.
Procter & Gamble’s key products sold in the Bangladeshi market include Gillette razors and grooming items, Oral-B products, Pampers baby diapers, Whisper sanitary napkins, Head & Shoulders and Pantene shampoos, Olay face and skincare products, Ariel and Tide detergents, Mr. Clean cleaning products, and Vicks products.
The first step in the company’s exit from Bangladesh came in September 2024, when it announced the termination of its distribution agreement with Gillette India. The decision took effect on December 31, 2024. Following that, Procter & Gamble began the process of ending its contract with its local distributor in Bangladesh. The company’s sole distributor in the country was International Brands Limited (IBL), a subsidiary of MGH Group. Procter & Gamble Bangladesh has already terminated its contract with IBL, notifying the local partner that the agreement would not be renewed. However, the company has said IBL may continue to import and sell Procter & Gamble products in Bangladesh on its own initiative.
An MGH Group senior official, requesting anonymity, told Bonik Barta, “A few months ago, Procter & Gamble Bangladesh informed us of its decision to terminate the distribution agreement.”
Meanwhile, the impact of Procter & Gamble’s contract terminations with its distributors has begun to be felt in the market. Stocks of Procter & Gamble products are already declining. Retailers who had existing inventories are still able to sell their remaining stock, but once those run out, they are no longer receiving new supplies from distributors. The distributors, citing the termination of agreements, have said they are no longer in a position to supply products. Visits to several major supermarkets and department stores in Dhaka revealed that their stocks of Procter & Gamble products are nearly depleted. Supplies of razors and sanitary pads have already run out, and no new shipments have arrived.
In addition to importing and marketing products manufactured in India and other countries, Procter & Gamble Bangladesh began local production in 2021 through a joint venture. The company set up a manufacturing facility in Pran Group’s industrial park in Olipur, Habiganj. Under this arrangement, Procter & Gamble Bangladesh entered into a joint production agreement with Pran Group’s subsidiary, Advanced Personal Care Limited (APCL), to manufacture its Gillette razors for the local market. The two companies jointly invested $1 million in the factory. The facility was inaugurated in February 2021, with then-U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R Miller attending the event. However, just four years after its establishment, the company has now decided to wind down its operations in Bangladesh. Procter & Gamble Bangladesh has already notified Pran Group to halt production at the factory. The multinational company has yet to announce whether it will resume production in the future.
When asked about the situation, Pran Group Managing Director Eleash Mridha told Bonik Barta, “Pran Group was doing contract manufacturing for Procter & Gamble (P&G). Under the agreement, we produced products on their behalf. Since January, Procter & Gamble has temporarily suspended production. The factory and machinery we set up for their products remain in place. We will resume production once P&G gives approval.”
Due to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, Procter & Gamble projected an increase in costs by $1 billion. To reduce expenses, the multinational company announced a plan to lay off 7,000 employees within two years. The company made this cost-cutting announcement in June this year, and a month later, in July, officially declared its decision to wind down operations in Bangladesh—though preparations for the move had been underway for some time.
At the company’s earnings call on July 29, 2025, Procter & Gamble’s Chief Financial Officer Andre Schulten outlined the company’s future business strategy to investors. At the time, he said that P&G was going to discontinue its business operations in Bangladesh. Through these portfolio changes, he said that the company would be able to invest in the supply chain, right-size and relocate production, improve efficiency, accelerate innovation, reduce costs, and ensure a more reliable and resilient supply.
Recently, Procter & Gamble has also wound down operations in several other countries. Most recently, at the beginning of October 2025, the company announced its exit from Pakistan, where it had been operating since 1991. As part of its withdrawal, Procter & Gamble sold its soap manufacturing plant in Pakistan to Nimir Industrial Chemicals in 2024. Although it has exited the Pakistani market, the company has said it will continue supplying products there through third-party arrangements. It has also stated that affected employees will either be reassigned to other countries or offered compensation packages. Earlier, Procter & Gamble also shut down its operations in Argentina in 2024 and in Nigeria in 2023.
The Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), which represents the interests of foreign companies operating in Bangladesh, confirmed that Procter & Gamble has recently withdrawn its membership from the organization. FICCI’s former president, Rupali Haque Chowdhury, who also serves as Managing Director of Berger Paints Bangladesh, told Bonik Barta, “Many people think companies are making large profits here. But the reality is different. We are going through a distressed market system. Since COVID-19, we haven’t been able to recover properly. Overall, our position remains quite fragile. Alongside slower-than-expected growth, foreign companies are also facing unfair competition. On top of that, we have structural challenges and administrative complexities. Only Procter & Gamble can explain precisely why they are leaving Bangladesh, but it seems they are not getting the expected return, which may have led to this decision.”
Between July 2024 and June 2025, Procter & Gamble sold $84.3 billion worth of products globally. Of this, 52 percent came from North America, 22 percent from Europe, 7 percent from South America, 7 percent from China, another 7 percent from Asia Pacific, and 5 percent from India, the Middle East, and Africa combined.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) plays a crucial role in the economic transformation of developing countries. Since the 1980s, nations such as Vietnam, China, Mexico, and India have seen significant economic expansion driven by FDI. In particular, FDI has been a catalyst for employment in the manufacturing sector, technology transfer, and foreign exchange stability. However, Bangladesh has consistently struggled to attract FDI at the desired level. According to the central bank, the country’s FDI stock stood at $18.43 billion in 2021, falling to $17.87 billion in 2022 and $17.83 billion in 2023. As of 2024, the figure rose slightly to $18.29 billion.
Analysts say that given the critical role of multinational investments in driving FDI growth, the withdrawal of a major multinational company like Procter & Gamble from Bangladesh could send a negative signal to foreign investors.