Pennzoil Ultra "no intention of discontinuing"

[rg200amp]

Originally Posted By: SuzanneClerkin
Hi all,

We at Pennzoil are grateful for your concern and inquiries about the production and location of Pennzoil Ultra.

We have no intentions of discontinuing the Pennzoil Ultra line and are continuously working to improve our hyper-cleansing technology to provide you with the most technologically advanced oil we produce.

Pennzoil Ultra is still currently being distributed to more than 900 Walmarts across the United States and we are working tirelessly with customers to improve distribution and availability.

If you are experiencing difficulty locating Pennzoil Ultra at a Walmart in your area, we encourage you to utilize other retailers that stock Pennzoil Ultra such as AutoZone, Amazon.com, NAPA Auto Parts, Advance Auto Parts, Pep Boys, and local automotive retailers. By calling 1-800-BEST-OIL a customer service representative can work with you to find a retailer near you.

Best,
Suzanne Clerkin
Pennzoil Associate Brand Manager


Not to throw a stick in the spokes, but every Walmart, Pepboys, AutoZone, Advanced Auto Parts in my area (Philadelphia) has stopped carrying Ultra.

Non of their online stores let you buy it there either.

Amazon.com has been shipping people SM oil instead of SN.


Heck!!!
Pennzoil.com will only let me buy euro 0w40 or 5w40 grades!!!!


What is going on?

 

[Quattro Pete]

SOPUS may have "no intentions of discontinuing the Pennzoil Ultra" but if they continue to do such a poor job at distributing it locally, they'll have no choice but to can it, I'm afraid.

Their strategy has been of pull rather than push as they don't seem to want to spend money on promotion and advertising. On several occasions I was told by SOPUS folks to talk to my local retail store and demand that they carry it. SOPUS said that if enough customers demand it, then the store will carry it. Unfortunately, I don't think that's how things work. Let's face it, most potential buyers won't just sit around and wait for their demands to be met. Most of the buyers want an oil right here right now. If Ultra isn't on the shelf, they'll grab something else and move on with their lives.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
SOPUS may have "no intentions of discontinuing the Pennzoil Ultra" but if they continue to do such a poor job at distributing it locally, they'll have no choice but to can it, I'm afraid.

Their strategy has been of pull rather than push as they don't seem to want to spend money on promotion and advertising. On several occasions I was told by SOPUS folks to talk to my local retail store and demand that they carry it. SOPUS said that if enough customers demand it, then the store will carry it. Unfortunately, I don't think that's how things work. Let's face it, most potential buyers won't just sit around and wait for their demands to be met. Most of the buyers want an oil right here right now. If Ultra isn't on the shelf, they'll grab something else and move on with their lives.

+1

 

[Darren270]

Quote:
Not to throw a stick in the spokes, but every Walmart, Pepboys, AutoZone, Advanced Auto Parts in my area (Philadelphia) has stopped carrying Ultra.

Non of their online stores let you buy it there either.

Amazon.com has been shipping people SM oil instead of SN.

Heck!!!
Pennzoil.com will only let me buy euro 0w40 or 5w40 grades!!!!

What is going on?



Agree 100%. Its also not a good sign when you see this at Amazon...Note the blurb about its availability.

I think there is more to this than "Suzanne" is letting on. They're simply not going to tell someone in an email that they have discontinued a product until there has been an official announcement. Having said that, if they don't intend to discontinue it, I'm puzzled as to why they seem so oblivious to the fact that its almost impossible to find anymore. No way would so many stores stop carrying Pennzoil Ultra without the company noticing.

 

[richport29]

Has anyone seen any PU in the Ottawa (Ontario) area?

 

[mmmmoil]

I can tell you first hand it isn't being discontinued. I have two WM's near me. One has discontinued the Castrol Edge gold bottle and kept the Pennzoil Ultra. The other has discontinued the Pennzoil Ultra and kept the Castrol Edge.
The one with the Ultra sells it as there are holes on the shelf space for the Ultra when I go in there. If it sells WM will keep it. Guess you just need to be near a WM where it is selling well.

 

[HTSS_TR]

If you search for PU on Walmart website for zip 92612(So Cal), you will hardly see any PU available within 50 miles, some grades have none and some grades have 2-3 quarts available at $2.50/qt. Do you think a sane person will drive more than 50 miles one way to buy 2-3 quarts oil while he/she can buy something else at almost unlimited quantity within 2-3 miles ?

If Walmart in a large region stop carrying PU then it is in big trouble.

 

[volk06]

I cant wait until pennzoil diamond comes out! (Thats why they are phasing out ultra)

 

[mikered30]

Originally Posted By: volk06
I cant wait until pennzoil diamond comes out! (Thats why they are phasing out ultra)


When does diamond come out?

 

[salv]

If a product doesn't sell, there are 2 things to do, drop the price or pull the product. Dropping the price on the top product means dropping the prices across the entire line of products.
If I were SOPUS, I would be consolidating my product lines and positioning my brands in a more clearly defined "good, better, best" hierarchy (Formula Shell, Quaker State, Pennzoil). Each brand should be cut down to 3 offerings; conventional, high mileage/synthetic blend with Dexos approval, and full synthetic.
As far as the synthetic variants go, Formula Shell should be a traditional Group III, Quaker State should be a Group III/PAO blend, and Pennzoil should be a GTL/PAO.

 

[Coprolite]

Diamond will either come out when the major markets sell out of Ultra or with the next revision to API SO.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: richport29
Has anyone seen any PU in the Ottawa (Ontario) area?

If it's a "must have" for you, I'd suggest checking at NAPA, unless any other Ontario members have a better idea.

 

[OVERKILL]

You can order it from their on-line store, but shipping hurts.

 

[Gabe]

I doubt Pennzoil Ultra is going to be mail order only.

From what I am seeing, Pennzoil is dropping Ultra.

 

[spk2000]

They keep restocking PU in many grades here in Lexington, KY so not sure why some areas have it and others do not though.

If demand becomes high enough maybe I can become a PU distributor sort of like Amsoil. Not sure what my price for shipping would be.

 

[Dieselbob]

Just a side note about NAPA and Ultra. I am a commercial NAPA customer and use their Prolink online service. When I look up Ultra, it lists it, but says that NO distribution centers stock it and shows ZERO store participation in the program. If there are ANY US NAPA stores selling Ultra, they must be buying it direct from a Pennzoil supplier and not through NAPA distribution.

 

[vinu_neuro]

I have checked various zip codes around the US. A few in Chicago, Dallas, San Diego. The Walmart's in those areas show Ultra as being in stock. The one by me here in a small college town in Indiana has shelves full of it as well.

 

[Art_Vandelay]

It's getting harder to believe that there is, "no intention of discontinuing," a product that is clearanced out of Walmart(virtually nationwide). As well as:

- Amazon - 5W-20 5W-30 and 5W-40 All Unavailable.

- Autozone --- No stock

- Advance Auto Parts --- No Stock

They should just brand it Shell Helix Ultra as it is in Europe. This way there's no conflict with Pennzoil Platinum.
The average customer(who is all that really matters) couldn't distinguish between these two synthetics. Now Ultra is a consequence of that reality.

 

[Garak]

Has anyone tried a SOPUS distributor yet, on either side of the border? Our NAPA stores are still advertising it up here (and with a nice sale on it this month, too).

And they should brand it as they do in Europe. There's nothing wrong with Shell Oil having their flagship product branded as a Shell product, rather than a Pennzoil one. It certainly can't hurt to try something different.

 

[Art_Vandelay]

Indeed. Not to mention Shell Helix Ultra sounds like a high end product. And that matters. Give the consumer something to get excited about.

GTL Synthetic. Ferrari Factory Fill.