A Bright Idea That Clorox Wishes It Never Had

It was always something of a corporate grudge match. Back in 1988, Clorox Co. decided to take on consumer-products colossus Procter & Gamble Co. in the detergent market. Clorox had once been part of P&G, before the Federal Trade Commission forced the company to divest its bleach business back in 1969. So, while Clorox has since evolved into a formidable household goods purveyor, going after P&G was "like wanting to beat out your brother," says one former Clorox executive.

Well, big brothers have been known to deliver a thrashing when provoked. And that's exactly what Clorox received from P&G and other consumer giants during its fling in detergents. Clorox invested upwards of $225 million over the past three years to develop and distribute its detergent products. But it couldn't come close to matching the marketing might of P&G and Unilever. Consider that Clorox spent $2 million last year on all its detergent advertising, compared with $62 million that P&G shelled out for its Tide brands alone. Few were surprised, then, when Clorox CEO Charles R. "Chick" Weaver finally hoisted the white flag in late May and announced a retreat from the business.