This was disclosed to shareholders at the company's annual general meeting (AGM) by Procter & Gamble Health & Hygiene (formerly Procter & Gamble India) chairman and managing director (CMD) Bharat V Patel.

Stressing on creating a "mega-brand" status of Vicks, Patel said that while Vicks Vaporub, Vicks Action 500 and Vicks cough drops have till now been thought of as separate brands, "what we now want to do is to make Vicks a truly mega-brand that provides cough and colds relief through different sub-brands." Together, the three products under the Vicks name is worth around Rs 186 crore.

He said that the company would also boost the consumption of Vicks, which despite being one of the most deeply penetrated brands has a low consumption level.

The company has posted a 12 per cent growth in sales in thefirst two months (July-August) of the current year ending June 30, 1999, said Patel.

"We hope that the full year will record a good growth," Patel told shareholders.

On the change in the company name to Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care Ltd, Patel said the firm in the medium term would continue to manufacture for Procter & Gamble Home Products, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the US-based parent. The change in name is to reflect the company's identification with its core business categories of feminine hygiene and health care. P&G manufactures the detergent brand Ariel for P&G Home Products.

On the south-east Asian crisis, Patel said the company's exports of Vicks to these countries was not affected. "The core categories, while under constant competitive pressure, are progressing well. We will continue to focus on these core categories and on building leadership brands, leveraging on the worldwide strengths of The Procter & Gamble Company," he said.

The Procter & Gamble Company worldwide recentlyembarked on an ambitious organisation-restructuring effort called Organization 2005. The purpose of this is to inculcate stretch, innovation and speed throughout the organisation. On this, Patel said he was confident of staying ahead of change by "planning globally and winning locally."

"As part of the Market Development Organisation (MDO), the company can henceforth be focused on developing deeper knowledge of the local consumer and stronger partnership with trade customers," said Patel. While hinting at the successes of Vicks and Whisper, he said: "Your company has several plans to win big in the local markets based on deep understanding of consumer needs and break through technology products, which meet these needs."