Chap 2 Tbs Unilever Case Study

7/27/2019 Chap 2 Tbs Unilever Case Study

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150 million times a day, someonesomewhere chooses a Unilever

product


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Who are Unilever


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Origins of Unilever

Operational style

Strategic style

Examples of strategicstyle

Competitive environment

Current strategies

Simon Clift

Marketing lessonslearnt

Future prospects

Overview


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The origins of Unilever

Unilever is an Anglo-Dutch multinational corporation thatowns consumer products in;

Food and Beverages

Cleaning agentsPersonal care

Created in 1930 from a merger between the British soapmaker Lever Brothers and Margarine Unie

As palm oil was a major raw material for both soaps andmargarines


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Mergers and acquisitionsgrew throughrepeated mergers of companies who usuallyretained their names and brands. This

encourage strong belief and initiative to de-centralise control

Operational Style


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Top 25 brands =almost 75% of Unilevers sales*.

* As at end 2009

Big global brands
http://www.unilever.com/brands/personalcarebrands/Axe.aspxhttp://www.unilever.com/brands/personalcarebrands/Sunsilk.aspx


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Strategic Focus


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Deep roots in local cultures and markets around the world give a strong

relationshipwith consumers and are the foundation for future growth.

Focus on wealth of knowledgeand international expertiseto the

service of local consumersa truly multi-local multinational.

Exceptional standards of performanceand productivity, to working

togethereffectively, and to a willingness to embrace new ideas and learn

continuously.

To succeed also requires, the highest standards of corporate behaviour

towards everyonewe work with, the communitieswe touch, and the

environmenton which we have an impact.

Corporate purpose


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Their strategic focus is to win shareand grow volume in every category and

country.

Unilevers growth priorities

Winning with brands andinnovation

Deliver superior products, design,branding and marketing

Bigger, better, faster innovations Appeal to more consumers across

needs and price points

Winning in the marketplace

Lead market development Win with winning customers

Be an execution powerhouse

Winning through continuous

improvement Lean, responsive and consumer-led

value chain

Drive return on brand support

Agile, cost-competitive organisation

Winning with people

Organisation and diverse talentpipeline ready to match our growthambitions

Performance culture which respectsour values

Leverage our operatingframework for competitiveadvantage


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Strategic Style

Research and Innovation

Localisation

Diversification into a broad category Multiple segment specialisation - developing

products to target every segment. Servingmultiple markets whilst differentiating products

in a way that meets needs of each segment

Developing in emerging markets


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Current Strategies

Downsizing brand portfoliostream line thebusiness portfolio to reflect vitality concept

1,500400 master brands

Also, acquisition of high profile food brands


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Brand positioning

The Beauty Soap of Film Stars

Icon Brand


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Unilever Brands


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.Research and Innovation

Different needs for different hair types


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Concentrating on emerging markets

Understanding different consumer needs Offering products at different price points


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Unilever Brands

Localisation

Building businesses organically The world's biggest ice cream company

Ben & Jerry's


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Of the 6.8 billion people in the world today, 5.9 billion livein developing and emerging marketscountries such as

Brazil, India and Indonesia where Unilever has deep rootsand a wide presence. We already reach many moreconsumers than our competitors in these markets.

The D&E opportunity

% 2004Sales

% 2009Sales

NorthAmerica

23%

WesternEurope

38%

D&E36%

Otherdeveloped

3%

NorthAmerica

16%

WesternEurope

30%

D&E50%

Otherdeveloped

4%


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Developing and Emerging MarketOpportunity

Bottom of the Pyramid

Multi-trillion dollar opportunity

Billions of people out of poverty in the next

10 years


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Developing and Emerging MarketOpportunity


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Competitive environment

Key Competitors

Proctor and Gamble

Nestle

Colegate-palmolive

Supermarket private lables

The management of the smaller brands sloweddown its growth.

Whilst their competitors concentrated on globaldevelopment and economies of scale.


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Unilevers Growth Matrix


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Simon Clift

First chief marketing officer for Unilever

Unilever was effectively a holding company . That led to a very complexbrand portfolio, with thousands of formulations, positionings, and

ways of developing advertising.

(Marketing Week)

Centralised marketing culture

Concentrates on building the brands New Unilever brand identity


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Marketing Lessons learnt

1.Be forward thinking and with constantinnovationlooking beyond organisations

walls.2.Defend its territory through growth and

diversification

3.Bigger is not always better.companies need to contract and recognise itsweaknesses.


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Future Prospects

How will Vitality be brought amongst all theirbrands?

How will they overcome two contradictingvalues?


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Documents

Chap 2 Tbs Unilever Case Study