Strategy and Management

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Strategy and Management  

A Case Study on Unilever and Procter & Gamble

Malou Goedman (xxxxxxx)

BSc Economics and Business Economics

Utrecht University

Jet de Graeff  (xxxxxxx)

BSc Economics and Business Economics

Utrecht University

Willem-Jan Kemperink (xxxxxx)

BSc Economics and Business Economics

Utrecht University

Jan Kreumer (4033833)

BSc Economics and Business Economics

Utrecht University

Fabienne Ouwehand (xxxxxxx)

BSc Economics and Business Economics

Utrecht University

Lars van der Ridder (xxxxxxx)

BSc Economics and Business Economics

Utrecht University

Inhoudsopgave

• Introduction                                                                             p. 3
• Chapter 1
  Company History                                                             p. 4 - 5
  Business model                                                             p. 5 - 6
  Business Environment                                                            p. 6
  Company Structure                                                             p. 7
  Financial Performance                                                p. 7-9
• Chapter 2
  Business Models                                                               p. 10 - 14
• Chapter 3
  Coping with a financial crisis                                                    p. 15 - 17
• Chapter 4
  Global trends                                                                    p. 18 - 26
• Chapter 5
  SWOT-analysis                                                             p. 27 - 30
• Conclusion                                                                                    p.
• Bibliography                                                             p.

Introduction

Chapter 1

Company History

P&G, short for Procter and Gamble, is an American multinational consumer goods company. P&G products include personal care products, cleaning agents and pet food (Sewell, 2009). A number of major brands of P&G are Gillette, Pampers and Olestra. Twenty-six of P&G brands have more than a billion dollars net annual sales. The company operates over almost the entire world (Cincinnati News.Net., 2014).

When William Procter and James Gamble established themselves in a business in 1837, a new company was born that carried their names. In 1879 P&G launched it’s first branded product, Ivory Soap. From that moment the company began to build factories on various locations in the United States as demand was increasing. In the early years of the 20th century a number of new products and brand names were introduced  and the company moved into other parts of the world expanding into new areas (Marketing Docter Blog, 2008). Many new companies were acquired over time starting with the company Thomas Hedley Co in 1930. In January 2005 P&G announced the largest acquisition in their history, agreeing to buy Gilette in a $57 billion deal (Isidore, 2005). In 2014 P&G decided to cut out hundred brands from its arsenal over the next two  years and to focus on the remaining eighty brands. This decision is part of a strategy to further improve the company’s financial performance (Abrams, 2014).