rocter & Gamble Co pulled the plug on Reflect, its much touted experiment in mass customisation of beauty products, shutting the website and retail stores in San Francisco and Chicago. P&G; had launched Reflect in 1999 with much fanfare as a standalone company backed by P&G; and venture-capital firms.

The closing affects 45 employees of the San Francisco-based subsidiary, which is majority owned by P&G.; Some of the employees, many of which began their careers at P&G;, will return there, its spokeswoman said. Reflect�s website and stores sold hair, skin and cosmetics products. Reflect.com had consistently ranked among the 10 most-visited beauty sites, ranking No 2 last year with more than one million unique monthly visitors. While it was never a major brand for the $53-billion behemoth P&G;, it had turned profitable.... more