The move, which affects J&J's babycare and skincare ranges, is part of the company's long-term strategy to focus on the added value of its brands in the face of pressure from a growing number of own-brand products, as well as competitors such as Procter & Gamble and Unilever.
The increased focus on marketing follows a decline in J&J's marketing budget over recent years. According to figures from AC Nielsen, the company's UK spend plummeted from £36million in 2004 to £24million last year.
J&J declined to comment on the move, but insiders close to the brand owner confirmed it was looking at ways in which it could utilise the additional funds and that it was unlikely to be spent purely on brand advertising.
J&J isn't the only brand owner to back off BOGOFs and money-off activity in-store. There are signs such activity is tailing off in J&J's core babycare sector. According to figures from TNS Worldpanel, 33 per cent of products in the sector on average were discounted in 2006, a fall of two per cent on the previous year. However, this was offset by a two per cent rise in own-brand products which last year made up 20 per cent of the average supermarket babycare offering.
TNS Worldpanel director Chris Longbottom said: "Trade promotions are a way of shifting products in the short term and retailers take advantage of this. The other thing in the baby sector is you are advertising to a small number of consumers who don't buy that product all the time. So it makes more sense to use DM or SP and reach them directly."
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