Johnson & Johnson Looks to Unload Another Consumer Health Brand

Johnson & Johnson is shopping its Reach brand of toothbrushes and dental floss as part of a years-long effort to cull its stable of consumer health brands, according to people familiar with the matter. J&J had $265.2 million in world-wide floss sales last year with the Reach brand, including $55 million in North America, according to EuroMonitor International, a market research firm. Reach toothbrush sales were $355.5 million globally, Euromonitor said. J&J, based in New Brunswick, N.J., has shed several household names in recent years as it seeks to concentrate on rapidly-growing brands with dominant market shares. A J&J representative declined to comment. Reach is likely to be shopped to private-equity firms or smaller consumer product companies as J&J typically avoids deals with large rivals, such as Procter & Gamble Co PG +0.34%., so that it does not have to share proprietary financial data with its competitors, said one person familiar with the matter. P&G sells toothbrushes and dental floss under the Oral-B brand.