Running Head: UNILEVER 1

Research on Unilever

Name of Student

Name of Institution
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Research on Unilever

Unilever is a multi-national consumer products company with headquarters in London,

Rotterdam, and Netherlands. The products that are manufactured and sold by Unilever include

beverages, cleaning agents, and food and personal care products. In 2012, it was the third largest

consumer company by revenue. The company is organized into four main divisions which

include foods, refreshment, home care and personal care.

According to Broughton (2016), there have been changes in the food industry.

Consumers are demanding more transparency into the production of the food and beverages that

they consume. Consumers have made their demands clear that they want more natural and less

processed foods. Although with this changes the food industry remains attractive with the

demand of food set to rise with the constantly increasing population. The personal care industry

has also been forecasted to grow, in 2014 the personal care market was valued at $20.5 billion by

2020 it is expected to reach $27 billion. Research has shown that all segments of the personal

care market are attractive in the long term. The Transparency Market Research (2016), has

shown that the home care market is attractive. It is growing considerably as more and more

people are opting for home care services. The demand for home care services has risen for

developing countries due to the growth in population and living standards.

Unilever is a strong company which is recognized in the various divisions that it operates.

The company enjoys a good relationship with its retailers which has been a result of it offering

them good incentives. The company also enjoys economies of scale which enable it to have

lower average costs. A good example is Unilever’s personal care business which is the fastest

growing. The companies’ competitive strengths are shown by the ability of most of its brands

appearing in the top 400 preferred brands by consumers.

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Unilever enjoys competitive advantage of the strategic fit between the various units;

personal care, home care, foods, and refreshment. The units complement each other . Hence, a

consumer can prefer one product over the other from the same company without considering the

competitor’s products. Unilever is a large company and hence has massive resources. The

success of Unilever has been attributed to choices made on innovations, acquisitions and capital

investment (Jones, 2005). Unilever’s actions have shown that its resources fit its business. The

evidence is by the acquisitions it has made and the massive investments to divest its business.

The company has prospects to continue to grow by entering new markets and developing new

products which it is well known for by research and innovation. The overall performance of the

company can be improved by making sound decisions in investing, innovation and acquisitions

just as it did during its growth.

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References

Broughton, J. (2016). The Future of Food. Retrieved on April 24, 2016, from
http://www.inc.com/jenna-broughton/the-future-of-food.html/

Jones, G. (2005, November 28). Unilever: Transformation and Tradition. Retrieved on April 24,
2016, from http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/unilever-transformation-and-tradition/

Transparency Market Research. (2016). Global Home Care Market - Industry Analysis, Size,
Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2012 – 2018. Retrieved on April 24, 2016, from
http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/home-care-market.html/