New quick-change Huggies for tots

For a toddler on the go, a diaper change is low on the list of priorities.

Aware of that, Kimberly-Clark Corp. is introducing a product called Huggies Convertibles. The diaper's main feature is that it comes out of the box with the side tabs attached, so that a child can step into it and doesn't have to lie down to be changed.

The product is destined for children anywhere from 15 to 36 months old, depending on their level of activity and size, says David Deising, marketing director for Huggies diapers at Kimberly-Clark. Convertibles, which will hit store shelves late this summer, also can be opened up and refastened like a regular diaper, hence the name.

"They're squirming. They're fighting," says Deising, referring to the target market for Convertibles. Kids become more active long before they are ready to leave diapers, and research with parents showed that many wanted an easier way to change active kids, he says. As young children become more mobile, in many cases it is easier to pull a diaper up than to convince the child to lie down.

The launch is part of Kimberly-Clark's effort to win consumers back from Procter & Gamble Co.'s Pampers brand, which has been stealing market share away from Huggies, the long-time category leader.

After battling with her first two children, Cindy Yallop says that for her second two, "I'd just lie them on the floor and put my leg over them." The 41-year-old mother of four says she often resorted to changing her children, who are now out of diapers, standing up, especially on shopping trips or on trips to the park.

But she doesn't like the idea of a pre-fastened diaper. "They'd have to lift their feet up to get in that, and it's better to not have them move at all," she explains.

Kimberly-Clark says it believes the new product won't cut into sales of its Pull-Ups training pants because there is "an attitudinal change" when parents decide it is time for potty training.

Convertibles will sell at a slight premium to Kimberly-Clark's existing diapers. A "jumbo" pack will contain 26 Convertibles, while the same pack of Huggies Supremes contains 27 diapers. Ultratrims, the company's baseline model, holds 30 diapers.

The new product comes at a crucial time for Kimberly-Clark, which also makes Kleenex tissues and Scott paper towels, and has been struggling to fight off intense promotional competition from P&G. That competition has forced Thomas Falk, Kimberly-Clark's new chief executive, to slash the company's earnings projections for 2003. Kimberly-Clark announces its earnings for the first quarter Tuesday. Analysts are expecting the company to earn 77 cents a share, down from 87 cents a share a year earlier.

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