Unilever Company Profile

Unilever

Unilever is an English/Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world´s consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. Unilever is a global business which by the end of the year 2009 was generating more than half of its turnover in developing and emerging markets in Asia, Africa, Central & Eastern Europe and Latin America.

Unilever is a dual-listed company consisting of Unilever N.V. in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and Unilever PLC in London, United Kingdom. They are listed on the European stock market Euronext, the London stock exchange and the New York Stock exchange. Both Unilever companies have the same directors and effectively operate as a single business.

History

Unilever was created in 1930 by the merging of the operations of British soapmaker Lever Brothers and Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie. The companies merged because as palm oil was a major raw material for both margarines and soaps, and through the merging of their operations it could be imported more efficiently in larger quantities. By 1980 soap and edible fats contributed just 40% of profits, compared with 90% in the very beginning.

During the years Unilever grew extensively. It strengthened its position by entering in various different markets like the skin care market, beverage market and the cleaning agents market. For example in 1987 Unilever acquired Chesebrough-Ponds, the maker of Nail Polish, Vaseline and other skin care products. They also acquired Calvin Klein Cosmetics. In 2000 the company absorbed the American business Best Foods, strengthening its presence in North America and extending its portfolio of foods brands. In April 2000 it bought both Ben & Jerry's and Slim Fast.

The company is fully multinational with operating companies and factories on every continent (except Antarctica) and research laboratories at Colewort and Port Sunlight in England; Vlaardingen in the Netherlands; Trumbull, Connecticut, and Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey in the United States; Bangalore in India; and Shanghai in China. The US division continued to carry the Lever Brothers name until the 1990s, when it adopted the parent company's name. The American unit now has headquarters in New Jersey, and no longer maintains a presence at Lever House, the iconic skyscraper on Park Avenue in New York City.

The company is said to promote sustainability and started a sustainable agriculture programme in 1998. In May 2007 it became the first tea company to commit to sourcing all its tea in a sustainable manner, employing the Rainforest Alliance, an international environmental NGO, to certify its tea estates in East Africa, as well as third-party suppliers in Africa and other parts of the world. It declared its aim to have all Lipton Yellow Label and PG Tips tea bags sold in Western Europe certified by 2010, followed by all Lipton tea bags globally by 2015.

Covalence, an ethical reputation ranking agency, placed Unilever at the top of its ranking based on positive versus negative news coverage for 2007.

In 2008 Unilever was honoured at the 59th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Achievement in Advanced Media Technology for Creation and Distribution of Interactive Commercial Advertising Delivered Through Digital Set Top Boxes" for its program Axe: Boost Your ESP.

Vision

The vision of Unilever is "to create a better future every day". Unilever helps people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others. Unilever wants to inspire people to take small, everyday actions that can add up to a big difference for the world.

Unilever wants to develop new ways of doing business with the aim of doubling the size of our company while reducing their environmental impact.

Strategy

It is the ambition of Unilever to increase their market share and grow volume profitability across their products in the countries in which they operate. Unilever has the tools in place to do so. For example Unilever has a portfolio, with strong brands and many leading category positions, fit for growth. Unilever is also present in the emerging markets, such as India and China. This leaves them well positioned to win where much of the future growth will be. Yet Unilever is also determined to grow in the developed world, which represents around half of our business and where the bulk of the world´s wealth will remain for many years to come.

Brands