Introduction to Unilever Essay

Unilever is a BritishDutch multinational consumer goods company. Its overlaps overwhelm foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personalized c atomic number 18 products. It is the worlds third-largest consumer goods company careful by 2011 revenues (after Procter & Gamble and Nestle) and the worlds largest maker of ice thresh about. Unilever is a dual-listed company consisting of Unilever N. V. in Rotterdam, Netherlands and Unilever PLC in London, join Kingdom. Both Unilever companies have the alike(p) directors and they operate as a single phone line.The current non-executive Chairman of Unilever N. V. and PLC is Michael Treschow charm Paul Polman is Group Chief Executive. Unilever owns over 400 brands, amongst the largest selling of which are Aviance, Axe/Lynx, Ben & Jerrys, Dove, Flora/Becel, Heartbrand, Hellmanns, Knorr, Lipton, Lux/Radox, Omo/Surf, Rexona/Sure, Sunsilk, Toni & Guy, TRESemme, VO5 and Wish-Bone. Unilever PLC had a securities industry capitalisation of ? 2 7. 3 billion as of 23 December 2011, the 18th-largest of any company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange. 1930 to 2001See much how to start a paragraphLever House in in the altogether York City, which was the United States headquarters of Unilever from 1952 to 1997 Unilever was founded on 1 January 1930 by Antonius Johannes Jurgens, Samuel van lair Bergh and William Hulme Lever, 2nd Viscount Leverhulme. The amalgamation of the operations of British soapmaker Lever Brothers and Dutch oleo producer Margarine Unie (a 1927 amalgamation of Anton Jurgens Margarinefabrieken N. V. and Samuel van den Bergh) made give out commercial sense, as palm oil was a major stabbing material for both margarines, and soaps, and could be imported more efficiently in larger quantities.The initial harvesting of palm oil was from British western United States Africa, from where news reports seen back in England showed the workers abroad in favourable conditions. In 1911 the company rece ived a concession for 750,000 hectares of forest in Belgian congou, mostly south of Bandundu, where a system of forced labour operated. The adjunct of Lever Brothers was named Huileries du Congo Belge. During the great depression in the thirties, the Huileries sharply f either the fee for gathered oil nuts, while the government of Belgian Congo strongly increased taxation.This resulted in social unrest in 1931, which is know as the Revolution of the Pende, in which eventually more than 400 members of the Pende family line were killed. In the 1930s the Unilever business grew and new ventures were launched in Africa and Latin America. In 1972 Unilever purchased A&W Restaurants Canadian division but change its shares by means of a management buyout to former A&W Food go of Canada CEO Jefferson J. Mooney in July 1996. By 1980 soap and edible fats contributed just 40% of profits, compared with an original 90%.In 1984 the company bought the brand Brooke Bond (maker of PG Tips tea). In 1987 Unilever strengthened its position in the world skin care market by acquiring Chesebrough-Ponds (merged from Chesebrough Manufacturing and Ponds Creams), the maker of Ragu, Ponds, Aqua-Net, Cutex flourish Polish, and Vaseline. In 1989 Unilever bought Calvin Klein Cosmetics, Faberge, and Elizabeth Arden, but the latter was later sold (in 2000) to FFI Fragrances. In 1996 Unilever purchased Helene Curtis Industries, bragging(a) the company a powerful new presence in the United States shampoo and deodorant market.The purchase brought Unilever the Suave and Finesse hair-care product brands and Degree deodorant brand. In 1997 Unilever sold the speciality chemicals businesses National stiffen & Chemical, Quest, Unichema and Crosfield to ICI for US$8 billion.. The US division carried the Lever Brothers name until the 1990s, when it select that of the parent company. The American unit has headquarters in New Jersey, and no longer maintains a presence at Lever House, the iconic sk yscraper on Park Avenue in New York City.Unilever established a sustainable agriculture political programme in 1998. 2001 to 2011 Global employment at Unilever 20002008 inglorious represents employment numbers in Europe, light white-haired(a) represents the Americas and dark grey represents Asia, Africa, and Middle easternmost. Between 2000 and 2008 Unilever reduced global workforce numbers by 41%, from 295,000 to 174,000. Notes Europe figures for 20002003 are all Europe from 2004 figures in colour are Western Europe. For 20042008 figures for Asia, Africa and Middle East include Eastern and commutation Europe.Source Unilever Annual Reports 2004, 2008 In 2000 the company absorbed the American business Best Foods, strengthen its presence in North America and extending its portfolio of foods brands. In April 2000 it bought both Ben & Jerrys and Slim Fast. In May 2007 Unilever became the first large-scale 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 state 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, place Unilever at the top of its ranking based on positive versus veto news coverage for 2007. In 2007, Unilevers Dove Evolution painting that ran only online, was named the first ever non-TV spot to win the Grand lion at the Cannes Advertising Festival. And in March, 2008, Unilever was named Digital Marketer of the Year by Advertising Age.In 2008 Unilever was honoured at the 59th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards for bully Achievement in Advanced Media Technology for Creation and Distribution of synergetic Commercial Advertising Delivered Through Digital Set line of longitude Boxes for its program Axe Boost Your ESP. On 25 September 2009, Unilever agreed to deliver the goods the personal care business of Sara Lee Corporation, including brands such as Radox, Badedas and Duschdas, strengthening its category leadership in skin cleansing and deodorants.On 9 August 2010, Unilever signed an asset purchase agreement with the Norwegian dairy farm group TINE, to acquire the activities of Diplom-Is in Denmark. On 24 September 2010, Unilever announce that it had entered into a definitive agreement to sell its consumer tomato products business in Brazil to Cargill. On 27 September 2010, Unilever purchased Alberto-Culver, a maker of personal care and household products including Simpledisambiguation needed, VO5, Nexxus, TRESemme, and Mrs. Dash, for $US3. 7 billion.On 28 September 2010, Unilever and EVGA proclaimed that they had signed an agreement under which Unilever would acquire EVGAs ice cream brands (amongst others, Scandal, Variete and Karabola) and distribution net work in Greece, for an undisclosed amount. 2011 to present On 23 March 2011 it was announced that Unilever had entered into a binding agreement to sell the Sanex brand to Colgate-Palmolive for 672 million, and that Unilever would acquire Colgate-Palmolives laundry detergent brands in Colombia (Fab, Lavomatic and Vel) for US$215 million.On 24 August 2011, it was announced that Unilever had agreed to sell the Alberto VO5 brand in the United States and Puerto Rico, and the Rave brand globally, to Brynwood Partners VI L. P. On 14 October 2011, it was announced that Unilever had agreed to acquire 82% of the Russia-based beauty company Kalina. On 22 May 2012, it was announced that Unilever achieved top-ten status in the 2012 Gartner Supply Chain Top 25, resulting in the companys best-ever performance in the index and establishing Unilever as one of the worlds top supply chains.Operations The Unilever R&D Centre in Bangalore, India Unilever is multinational with operating companies and fac tories on every(prenominal) continent (except Antarctica) and research laboratories at Colworth and Port Sunlight in England Vlaardingen in the Netherlands Trumbull, Connecticut and Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey in the United States Bangalore in India (see to a fault Hindustan Unilever Limited) and Shanghai in China. edit Products For a full list of Unilever brands, see make of Unilever brands.Unilevers products include foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. The company owns more than 400 brands, although its 25 largest brands account for over 70% of total sales. 29 Unilever focuses resources on 13 billion-Euro brands, each of which has annual sales in excess of 1 billion. Unilever organises its brands into four categories Homecare, Personal Care, Foods and Refreshment (which includes tea, ice-cream and beverages).