Case Study Of Unilever Company

Established in 1837, Proctor and Gamble (P&G) had developed a holy grail of principles and practices. Its philosophy is focused on individual talents, abilities and how best to make use of them. P&G source this talent from within the organization attracting people willing to spend their entire career with the company. Proctor & Gamble has developed a reputation of caution in the industry of household 's sundries and personal care products. It 's marketing strategies and judgements towards different markets stand out to the competition. Extensive marketing research and testing are "trademarks" that distinguish P&G in the industry. "Internal operations at P&G are described as thorough, creative, and aggressive by some, and slow, risk

Unilever, founded in 1929, is an Anglo–Dutch multinational consumer goods company. Its headquarters are in London, England and in Rotterdam, Netherlands as well. It is the world's third-largest consumer goods company as of 2012. It is also one of the oldest multinational companies in the world, its products include food, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. And these products are available in 190 countries.

Unilever has a loan fee administration strategy planned at upgrading net intrigue cost and diminishing unsteadiness. This is proficient by modifying the loan fee investigation of obligation and money puts over the act of financing cost switches.

In 2000, Unilever decided to reduce 1,600 brands down to 400 and then select a small number of them to serve as “Masterbrands”. One of the reasons to have fewer brands is to decrease control issues. It is harder to manage so many brands, especially when each one has its own particularities. As Deighton pointed, Unilever’s brand portfolio had grown in a relatively laissez-faire manner. In other words, the company’s brands were created without large interference.

The Procter & Gamble business strategy is to focus on creating new brands and categories so the company can focus on being the best in branding, innovation and scale. This is what sets this company apart from many of its competitors. The Proctor and Gamble are the global leader in all of their core businesses within the company which consists of laundry, baby care, hair care and feminine protection. This report is designed to understand the company’s business model and strategies, and analysis how the P&G has formulated its business-level strategies to pursue its business model.

How did unilever organize to do product category and brand management in unilever before 2000? What was the corresponding structure after 2000? How was brand meaning controlled before 2000 and how is it controlled at the time of this case?

Unilever is an international corporation that manufactures Axe deodorant and body sprays. With sales over $100 million, teenage boys use Axe regularly. To market their products, Unilever

Procter & Gamble’s mission and vision statement is profoundly stated within what the company refers to as their statement of purpose. The statement defines the company’s current and future direction, including their shared image in producing quality products that commit to the well-being of all individuals and communities alike. For nearly the last two decades, P&G has been establishing themselves in various marketplaces around the world, and expanding their product mix in accordance to consumer tastes. However, as the consumer goods industry continues to evolve, so do changes within P&G’s organizational structure, including the need to divest or cease many of the company’s brands to reduce costs and improve operational efficiency.

First, identification of the strategies used by P&G is relevant to the discussion of its maintenance of its position or its loss of luster. The essence of a differentiation strategy encompasses developing the unique nature of the product or business to attract and retain its customers (Rothaermel, 2015). Procter & Gamble, via information contained in its marketing releases, pursues quality and value in its consumer goods offerings(Proctor & Gamble, 2017). According to P&G, it is directing significant resources towards research and development. Additionally, P&G prioritizes an emphasis on uniqueness of its products. This focus drives pricing and promotion. Among P&G’s product lines, it uses different strategies. P&G uses a primary strategy of market penetration. The firm executes this strategy with the goal of increasing its market share. Through marketing campaigns aimed at increasing consumer awareness of its products, P&G makes comprehensive and beneficial (incentive-laden) agreements with retailers to place its products in prominent locations

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is one of the strongest FMCG Company having a long standing in India with the motto that what is good for India will be good for HUL. HUL is a household name in most of the categories of the products. With right vision statement which includes the environmental vision the company is growing as sustainable company. The brands are manufactured in 29 owned factories across the country having more than 18,000 employees. The company has over 1800 suppliers and associates, 3500 stockists and coverage of 7 million outlets which includes direct coverage of 3 million outlets through their distribution partners Project Shakti. The turnover of the company in the fiscal year 2014-15 was 30,170 crores. HUL has products in categories of personal care products, cleaning products, food category and water purifier and most of their brands are market leader in their category.

Unilever being a global manufacturer of packaged consumer goods, caused a high number of brands under its control. A problem they faced was the brands portfolio growing into a laissez faire manner.. For example, Unilever was one of the largest producers of ice cream, distributing across many countries including the UK, most parts of Asia, the Algida brand in Italy, Germany, Brazil, Netherlands, and the United States. With such a high production of ice cream in all these countries and with many other products distributed globally, these product categories had “checkered Identities.” With this said, the company introduced ia new strategic initiative called “Path to Growth”. The initiatives main goal was to reduce more than 1600 brands down to 400. With the main surviving brands of the 400 they wanted some brands to be their “Masterbrands” and mandated these brands to serve as umbrella identities over the range of product forms. With the use of the new initiative, Unilever can have brand managers in specific countries allowing direction for each of their products. Global brand units have the responsibility for creating a global vision and charged with inspiring cooperation from all geographic markets, including connections between brand managers in different countries.

Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G) is the world’s largest consumer packaged goods company headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was firstly originated by William Procter and James Gamble on October 31, 1837. P&G has more than 80 brands which dominate the market. The products include cleaning agents, personal care products and pet food. For 178 years, P&G has set foot in more than 180 countries worldwide. P&G recorded $83.1 billion in sales in 2014. The growth in sales always increases in rapid and steady state annually. Fortune, an American business magazine has also surveyed that P&G was listed as the top 20 most admired companies among the business people and number one among the industry (Fortune, 2007).

A mission statement specifies the present direction a firm is going, while a vision statement advocates the future course in mind. P&G defines their mission and vision statement with a statement of purpose to reflect upon building products that provide a benefit, and grant prosperity for all. Almost two decades the company has progressively grown; whereas, recently, the company has developed a strategy to alleviate inefficiencies within its organizational structure, which makes them more convoluted compared to its leading competitor. Furthermore, the company is planning to eliminate specific product brands in order to invest more in products that are cost-effective. Diversity is sighted throughout the organization’s operations, and has played a role in creativity. The company’s leadership has also provided the means to propagate diversification through mentorship and proper training programs. Revisiting organizational strategies have effectively shifted the company’s plan of action towards a more meaningful direction.

Procter & Gamble is an extremely large manufacturer of consumer goods that currently consists of about 170 brands, with plans to exit 90 to 100 of them in order to, “become a simpler, more focused Company,” (Annual Report). Their different business segments include beauty; grooming; health care; fabric care and home care; and baby, feminine, and family care. Almost all of their products are every-day items aimed to improve the lives of their consumers. P&G’s key customers include, “mass merchandisers, grocery stores, membership club stores, drug stores, department stores, salons, distributors, e-commerce and high-frequency stores,” (Annual Report).

A SWOT analysis is an effective tool for acquiring insight toward a company’s internal strengths and weakness, and external opportunities and threats. P&G’s greatest strengths are their aggressiveness toward understanding consumer needs, strong research and development, and a diversification strategy. The company’s weaknesses are substantial competition in the consumer goods industry, and too much confidence placed in developed markets. On the other hand, there is opportunity in markets where countries are developing and experiencing industrialization, especially in countries where barriers to entry are low, and the company has a better chance of establishing brand identity. Although, the company continues to sustain themselves in markets where there is a possibility of eroding their market share, as they rely heavily on the revenues they capitalize upon within these mature markets.