Unilever is a British-Dutch
multinational company currently one of the top three leading firms in the Fast
Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry. It was formed by the merger of a soap making company, Lever
brothers - UK and a margarine making company, Margarine Unie - Netherland. The company
has two headquarters: Rotterdam, Netherlands, and London, United Kingdom.
Unilever deals in a variety of products in personal care, food and Beverages
and home care. The company is currently the world’s largest producer of food
spreads and boasts of over 400 brands with current focus on only 14. Some of
the popular brands of Unilever are: Lux, Omo, Lipton, Sunlight, Close Up, Rama
and Blue Band. In 2012, Unilever's turnover exceeded €50 billion with each of
the 14 brands recording an annual sale of more than €1 billion making the
company the third largest, after Procter
& Gamble and Nestlé, in the consumer goods industry.
Success Story
Lever Brothers
William Hesketh lever, the founder of Lever
Brothers was born at Bolton, England on 19TH September, 1851. The
major business of the Lever family was the sale of groceries. As a businessman,
William became more interested in manufacturing his own soap instead of just
selling. With the help of his brother, James Darcy Lever, William started
manufacturing soap, which would become the popular sunlight soap, for the local
communities.
In 1885, William Hesketh Lever founded the
Lever Brothers Company. The purpose of the company was to manufacture and sell the
sunlight soap. Lever Brothers quickly
gained popularity in England due to the selfless policies initiated by William
Lever. The new company was very much concerned with their social
responsibilities to the people of England even before the term social
responsibilities became a corporate concern to most companies.
In 1890,
William Hesketh Lever developed a strategy for the sunlight soap. Hesketh
decided to make cleanliness commonplace; to lessen work for women; to foster
health and contribute to personal attractiveness, that life may be more
enjoyable and rewarding for the people who use sunlight soap. This revolutionary
idea has been on the heart of the company up to now and is currently the
corporate vision of the company. As the first company to popularise cleanliness
in Victorian England, lever brothers became successful and very popular in
England.
Margarine
Unie
Within the same era in 1872 in Netherland,
Jurgens and Van den Bergh started producing margarine. Their margarine became
popular in Netherland and they started exporting to the Uk.
In the early years of the 20th
century, margarine producing companies started diverting their operations into
the soap industry and vice versa due to the common raw material used in the
industries. As a result competition for oil and fat increased leading to a
sharp rise in their prices. The competition for raw materials led to the
setting up of associations by many companies to promote their interest and
defend themselves against supplier monopolies. In the 1906 lever brothers
entered into agreement with three other manufactures in the industry to limit
competition for raw materials.
In 1909 Lever brothers focused on securing a
stable source of raw material by creating a palm plantation in the Solomon
Islands. Jurgens and Van den Bergh also set up a joint palm-planting venture in
German Africa. In 1910 lever brothers bought WB MacIver Ltd a palm oil company
in West Africa. This purchase secured the supply of oil for port sunlight.
In 1914, the First World War had a great
impact on the operations of Lever Brothers and Jurgens and Van den Bergh. The
demand for soap increased as it was one of the major supplies in the war time.
Back in Netherland, in 1927, Van den Bergh and
Jurgens merged with two Europeans businesses, the Centra and Schicht to form
Margarine Unie located in Holland. After the merge Margarine Unie acquired some
other companies in the oil and fats industry.
UNILEVER
On 2nd September, 1929 Lever brothers and
Margarine Unie merged to form Unilever which was officially launched on 1
January, 1930.
Within the first decade of existence, Unilever
went through a lot of challenges and economic hardships but still survived
through. Just within the early 1930s, Procter & Gamble entered the UK
market by acquiring Thomas Hedley Ltd of Newcastle. This was a great
competition for Unilever in the UK market. But In the mid 1930s the soap
industry started expanding as some companies started undertaking product
development by producing flake and powder soaps. Vitamins a & d were also
added to margarine to equate the vitamins in butter.
In 1938 the company’s sale of margarine rose
very high due to the campaigns made to improve public perceptions of margarine
and the extra vitamins addition in brands including Stork in the UK and Blue
Band in the Netherlands.
World War II
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Hot Baths at Bombed-Out Areas |
In the late 1930 the World War II also had its
impact on Unilever as Governments introduced exchange controls by freezing
currencies. It ended up cutting businesses in German and Japan from the London
and Rotterdam offices. This made it difficult for international trading. In
Germany Unilever was therefore forced to invest the surplus from trading
activities in enterprises unconnected with oils and fats within the same
country. These restrictions made every local industry more independent and
focused on local needs of the market. Unilever’s
popularity increased as free emergency washing services were provided to war
victims in England. Lifebouy vans equipped with hot showers, soap and towels
visit bomb out areas to offer mobile washing facilities. After the war the
company regained strength by taking control of its international companies
except those from Eastern Europe and china.
Post War Era
The start of the European Community after the
war led to a consumer boom for the company. There were also advances in science
influencing Unilever to increase its focus on technology. They established a
nutrition research group in the Netherlands which later became the Unilever
Food and Health Research Institute - a centre of excellence in nutrition.
On 22 September, 1955 Unilever made its first
advertisement on UK commercial TV, for its Gibbs SR toothpaste.
The 21st century started with a
strategy to transform the company which led to the acquisitions and
rationalisation of manufacturing and production sites to form centres of
excellence.
By 2001 Unilever has cut its brands
from 1,600 to 900.
In 2004 the corporate mission- “to
meet everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene and personal care with brands that
help people look good, feel good and get more out of life” was launched. The
new logo was also introduced, twenty five icons in a “u” shape representing the
diversity of Unilever, their products and people.
In 2010 the
Sustainable Development Plan was launched. The plan seeks to achieve three
goals which are all centred on the mission of the company by the end of 2020. In
2014, Unilever launched the Unilever Sustainable Living Young Entrepreneur
Awards.
Awards
Unilever won the prestigious Catalyst Award
2013 for its initiatives that create opportunities for women and business.
The company also
won 44 awards at the 60th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
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