Unilever

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
This article is missing citations or needs footnotes. Please help add inline citations to
guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (August 2010)

Unilever NV
Unilever PLC

Public
(Euronext: UNA)
Type (LSE: ULVR)
(NYSE: UN) (Unilever N.V.)
(NYSE: UL) (Unilever PLC)
Industry Conglomerate
Founded 1930

Unilever House, City of London, United

Headquarters Kingdom

Rotterdam, Netherlands
Area served Worldwide
Michael Treschow
(Chairman)

Lord Simon of Highbury

Key people
(Vice Chairman)

Paul Polman
(CEO)

Products See brands listing

Revenue €39,823 million (2009)[1]
Operating income €5,020 million (2009)[1]
Net income €3,659 million (2009)[1]
Employees 163,000 (2010)[2]
Website http://unilever.com
Unilever is an Anglo-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's
consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products.
Unilever is a dual-listed company consisting of Unilever N.V. in Rotterdam, The Netherlands
and Unilever PLC in London, United Kingdom. This arrangement is similar to those of Reed
Elsevier and Royal Dutch Shell prior to their unified structures. Both Unilever companies
have the same directors and effectively operate as a single business. The current non-
executive Chairman of Unilever N.V. and PLC is Michael Treschow while Paul Polman is
Group Chief Executive.
Unilever's main competitors include Danone, Henkel, Mars, Incorporated, Kraft Foods,
Nestlé, Pepsico, Procter & Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser, Sara Lee and S. C. Johnson & Son.

Contents
[hide]
• 1 History
• 2 Products
• 3 Advertising
• 4 Corporate governance
• 5 Corporate image
○ 5.1 Environmental issues
○ 5.2 Social issues
• 6 See also
• 7 References
• 8 External links

[edit] History
Unilever was created in 1930 by the amalgamation of the operations of British soapmaker
Lever Brothers and Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie, a merger as palm oil was a
major raw material for both margarines and soaps and could be imported more efficiently in
larger quantities.
In the 1930s the Unilever business grew and new ventures were launched in Latin America.
In 1972 Unilever purchased A&W Restaurants' Canadian division but sold its shares through
a management buyout to former A&W Food Services of Canada CEO Jefferson J. Mooney in
July 1996.[3] 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, the maker of Ragú, Pond's, Aqua-Net, Cutex Nail Polish, and Vaseline.
In 1989 Unilever bought Calvin Klein Cosmetics, Fabergé, and Elizabeth Arden, but the
latter was later sold (in 2000) to FFI Fragrances.[4]
In 1996 Unilever purchased Helene Curtis Industries, giving the company "a powerful new
presence in the United States shampoo and deodorant market".[4] The purchase brought
Unilever the Suave and Finesse hair-care product brands and Degree deodorant brand.[5]
Global employment at Unilever 2000-2008
Black represents employment numbers in Europe, light grey represents the Americas and
dark grey represents Asia, Africa, and Middle East. Between 2000 and 2008 Unilever
reduced global workforce numbers by 41%, from 295,000 to 174,000. Note: Europe figures
for 2000-2003 are all Europe; from 2004 figures in black are Western Europe. For 2004-2008
Figures for Asia, Africa and Middle East include Eastern and Central Europe.
Source: Unilever Annual Reports 2004, 2008
In 2000 the company absorbed the American business Best Foods, strengthening its presence
in North America and extending its portfolio of foods brands. In April 2000 it bought both
Ben & Jerry's and Slim Fast.
The company is multinational with operating companies and factories on every 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 also Hindustan Unilever Limited); and Shanghai in
China.
The US division carried the Lever Brothers name until the 1990s, when it adopted that of the
parent company. The American unit has headquarters in New Jersey, and no longer maintains
a presence at Lever House, the iconic skyscraper on Park Avenue in New York City.

Unilever's Lipton brand

The company is said to promote sustainability[6] and started a sustainable agriculture
programme in 1998.[7] In May 2007 it became the first tea company to commit to sourcing all
its tea in a sustainable manner,[8] 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.[9] It declared 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.[10]
Covalence, an ethical reputation ranking agency, placed Unilever at the top of its ranking
based on positive versus negative news coverage for 2007.[11]
In 2008 Unilever was honoured at the 59th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy
Awards for "Outstanding Achievement in Advanced Media Technology for Creation and
Distribution of Interactive Commercial Advertising Delivered Through Digital Set Top
Boxes" for its program Axe: Boost Your ESP.[12]
On August 09, 2010, Unilever has today signed an asset purchase agreement with the
Norwegian dairy group TINE, to acquire the activities of Diplom-Is in Denmark, as of 30th
September 2010.
On September 24, 2010, Unilever today announced that it has entered into a definitive
agreement to sell its consumer tomato products business in Brazil to Cargill
On September 27, 2010, Unilever purchased Alberto-Culver, the maker of personal care and
household products such as VO5, Nexxus, TRESemmé, and Mrs. Dash for $US3.7 billion. [13]
On September 28, 2010, Unilever and EVGA announced today that they have signed an
agreement under which Unilever will acquire EVGA’s ice cream brands (amongst others,
Scandal, Variete and Karabola) and distribution network in Greece, for an undisclosed
amount.
[edit] Products
For a full list of billion dollar brands, see List of Unilever brands.
Unilever owns more than 400 brands as a result of acquisitions, however, the company
focuses on what are called the "billion-dollar brands", 13 brands, each of which achieve
annual sales in excess of €1 billion. Unilever's top 25 brands account for more than 70% of
sales.[14] The brands fall almost entirely into two categories: Food and Beverages, and Home
and Personal Care.
Unilever's brands include:
• Aviance • Lipton
• Axe/Lynx • Lux (soap)
• Blue Band[15] • Omo/Surf (detergent)
• Dove • Rexona/Sure
• Flora/Becel • Sunsilk
• Heartbrand • TIGI (haircare)[16][17]
• Hellmann's
• Knorr

[edit] Advertising
A freezer in Queens, NY filled with Strauss ice cream from Israel with the Heartbrand
Unilever has produced many advertising campaigns, including:
• Lynx/Axe click advert with Nick Lachey (US only) and Ben Affleck (Non-US only)
• PG Tips Monkey and Al
• Knorr Chicken Tonight, 'I feel like chicken tonight'
• Flora London Marathon
• Knorr global brand
• Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, including Evolution
• Calve Pindakaas (peanut butter) in the Netherlands
• Comfort Pure recommended by mothercare
• Clear Anti-Dandruff shampoo and conditioner with the entertainer Rain
• Clear Anti-Dandruff shampoo and conditioner with the entertainer Nicole Scherzinger
• Clear Soft and Shiny shampoo and conditioner with the actress Sandra Dewi
[edit] Corporate governance
Unilever's highest executive body is called the Unilever Executive which is led by the Group
Chief Executive (Paul Polman). It is responsible for delivering profit and growth across the
company.
Members of the Unilever Executive include: Executive and non-executive directors at
• Paul Polman (Group Chief Executive) Unilever are:
• Jean-Marc Huet (Chief Financial • Michael Treschow
Officer) • Professor Geneviève Berger
• Michael B. Polk(President Global • The Rt. Hon. The Lord Brittan of
Foods, Home & Personal Care) Spennithorne, QC
• Professor Geneviève Berger (Chief • Wim Dik
Research & Development Officer) • Charles E. Golden
• Doug Baillie (President Western • Kees J. Storm
Europe)
• Jeroen van der Veer
• Harish Manwani (President
Asia,Africa, Central & Eastern • Byron E. Grote
Europe) • Hixonia Nyasulu
• Dave Lewis (President Americas) • N. R. Narayana Murthy
 • Sandy Ogg (Chief HR Officer) • Lord Simon of Highbury CBE
• Pier Luigi Sigismondi (Chief Supply
Chain Officer)
• Keith Weed (Chief Marketing and
Communication Officer)

[edit] Corporate image

Unilever claims that corporate social responsibility is at the heart of its business.[18] However,
the transition to a responsible and sustainable company is ongoing and Unilever has attracted
a variety of criticisms from political, environmental and human rights activists on not
achieving the high aims it communicates on a number of topics.[19]
[edit] Environmental issues
This section may contain wording that merely promotes the subject without
imparting verifiable information. Please remove or replace such wording, unless you
can cite independent sources that support the characterization.
Phosphate
Unilever is still using Phosphate [20] in the products like OMO & SKIP in South America
sometimes overpassing the law and competing with all the local brands who are Phosphate
free.
Palm oil
Unilever has been criticised by Greenpeace for causing deforestation,[21] Unilever was
targeted in 2008 by Greenpeace UK,[22] which criticised the company for buying palm oil
from suppliers that are damaging Indonesia's rainforests. Unilever, as a founding member of
the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), responded by publicizing its plan to obtain
its palm oil from sources that are certified as sustainable by 2015.[23]
In Côte d'Ivoire, one of Unilever's palm oil suppliers was accused of clearing forest for
plantations, an activity that threatens a primate species, Miss Waldron's Red Colobus.
Unilever intervened to halt the clearances pending the results of an environmental
assessment.[24]
On 4 July 2010, Unilever announced that it has secured enough GreenPalm certificates of
sustainable palm oil to cover the requirements of its European, Australia, and New Zealand
business.[citation needed] GreenPalm is a certificate trading programme, endorsed by the RSPO,
which is designed to tackle the environmental and social problems created by the production
of palm oil.
Rainforest Alliance
Unilever has committed to purchase all its tea from sustainable, ethical sources.[citation needed] It
has asked the international environmental NGO, Rainforest Alliance, to start by certifying tea
farms in Africa.
Lipton and PG Tips will be the first brands to contain certified tea. The company aims to
have all Lipton Yellow Label and PG Tips tea bags sold in Western Europe certified by 2010
and all Lipton tea bags sold globally by 2015.
Animal testing
Unilever states it is committed to the elimination of animal testing, and where it is a legal
requirement in some countries, it tries to convince the local authorities to change the law.[25]
Some activists[who?] argue that this is little more than an effort to gain good publicity and
Unilever continue to use animal experimentation such as the LD50 poisoning test.
[edit] Social issues
Race and advertisements
Hindustan Unilever, had been showing television advertisements for skin-lightening cream,
Fair and Lovely, depicting depressed, dark-skinned women, who had been ignored by
employers and men, suddenly finding new boyfriends and glamorous careers after the cream
had lightened their skin.[26]
The Austrian branch of Unilever (Eskimo) is producing and marketing an ice-cream under
the name Mohr im Hemd. "Mohr" (moor), is a colonial German word for African or black
people, has a heavily colonialist and racist connotation.[27][28], "Mohr im Hemd" (moor in the
shirt) is a traditional Austrian chocolate speciality which refers to naked, "wild" Africans.
Unilever refutes any racist intentions and claims that it has tested the name in broad market
studies in Austria without any critical feedback.
On 22 April 2010, Unilever distanced itself from the far-right British National Party, after a
jar of Marmite was featured on a BNP election propaganda film.[29] The company statement
said: "It has been brought to our attention that the British National Party has included a
Marmite jar in a political broadcast shown currently online. We want to make it absolutely
clear that Marmite did not give the BNP permission to use a pack shot of our product in their
broadcast. Neither Marmite nor any other Unilever brand are aligned to any political party.
We are currently initiating injunction proceedings against the BNP to remove the Marmite jar
from the online broadcast and prevent them from using it in future."
Sexism in advertisements
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood criticized Unilever for the 2007 Axe
marketing campaign, which they considered sexist.[30] Unilever's response is that the Axe
campaign is intended as a spoof and "not meant to be taken literally".[31]
Unilever has launched the Dove "Real Beauty" marketing campaign, which encouraged
women to reject the underfed and hyper-sexualized images of modern advertising in 2007.[32]
Child labour
In 2003 Hindustan Unilever was accused of making use of child labour,[33] among others.
Relief support
On 15 January 2010, Unilever donated a $500,000 monetary donation to the victims of the
devastating earthquake in Haiti, through its global partnership with the United Nations World
Food Programme (WFP).
[edit] See also
London portal

Netherlands portal

Companies portal

• Morris Tabaksblat, a previous CEO

• Gorton's of Gloucester, a former subsidiary
• Palm Line, a former shipping company
• Unilever Australasia
[edit] References
1. ^ a b c Annual Report 2009
2. ^ Unilever: About us
3. ^ Chronolgy of A&W Root Beer Canada
4. ^ a b New York Times, February 15, 1996 "Unilever Agrees to Buy Helene Curtis".
5. ^ Id.
6. ^ Ethical Corporation article
7. ^ Unilever's sustainable agriculture programme
8. ^ San Diego Times
9. ^ Unilver: Sustainable Tea
10. ^ Unilever press release
11. ^ Covalence Ethical Ranking 2007 Press Release, 2 January 2008
12. ^ 59th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards
13. ^ http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-09-27/unilever-to-purchase-alberto-
culver-for-3-7-billion.html
14. ^ 2008 Annual Report and Accounts pp.2-3.
15. ^ "Blue Band, Rama".
http://www.unilever.com/brands/foodbrands/blueband_rama_countrycrock_doriana/in
dex.aspx.
16. ^ "Unilever Completes TIGI Acquisition". GCI magazine. April 14, 2009.
http://www.gcimagazine.com/business/suppliers/acquisitions/42958262.html.
17. ^ "TIGI consumer site". http://www.tigihaircare.com/consumer/en-NZ/home/.
18. ^ "Beyond Corporate Responsibility:Social innovation and sustainable development
as drivers of business growth". Unilever. http://www.unilever.com/images/Beyond
%20Corporate%20Responsibilty%20-%20Social%20innovation%20and
%20sustainable%20development%20as%20drivers%20of%20business
%20growth_tcm13-95521.pdf. Retrieved 2010-06-20.
19. ^ "Unilever Corporate Crimes". Corporate Watch.
http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=260#cheapresources. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
20. ^ "Unilever-Chile REDUCIRA el uso de los fosfatos". Ultimahora.
http://www.ultimahora.com/notas/282074-Unilever-Chile-reducira-el-uso-de-los-
fosfatos. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
21. ^ "Unilever admits toxic dumping: will clean up but not come clean". Greenpeace.
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/contentlookup.cfm?
CFID=6864301&CFTOKEN=96874361&ucidparam=20010620124942&MenuPoint
=G-A. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
22. ^ "Ape protest at Unilever factory". BBC.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7358071.stm. Retrieved 2008-03-23.
23. ^ "Unilever has announced its intention to have all of its palm oil certified sustainable
by 2015".
 http://www.unilever.com.au/ourcompany/newsandmedia/pressreleases/Sustainable-
palm-oil.asp. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
24. ^ "Manifesto for the Conservation of the Tanoé Swamps Forest".
http://www.manifeste-fmt.org/updates.php. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
25. ^ "Developing Alternative Approaches To Animal Testing".
http://www.unilever.com/sustainability/consumer/testing/. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
26. ^ Dhillon, Amrit (2007-07-01). "India's hue and cry over paler skin". The Daily
Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?
xml=/news/2007/07/01/wskin101.xml. Retrieved 2010-05-26.
27. ^ Der Standard: "I will mohr!: Werberat prüft"
28. ^ FM4: "Will i mohr?"
29. ^ Jeffery, Simon (2010-04-22). "Marmite and the BNP: love them or hate them,
they've added a new taste to the election". The Guardian (London).
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/blog/2010/apr/22/general-election-20101.
Retrieved 2010-05-26.
30. ^ Ax the Axe Campaign
31. ^ Unilever Shuns Stereotypes of Women (Unless Talking to Men) - New York Times
32. ^ Unilever Disrobed: Interview With Dove/Axe Mashup Artist
33. ^ "Monsanto, Unilever use Child Labour in India". India Committee of the
Netherlands.
http://www.indiaresource.org/issues/agbiotech/2003/monsantounilever.html.
Retrieved 2007-08-02.
[edit] External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Unilever

• Official website
• Foodservice website
• Lady Lever Art Gallery

[show]
v•d•e
Unilever

Axe/Lynx
· Becel ·
Ben &
Jerry's ·
Bed
Head ·
Bertolli ·
Birds
Eye ·
Boursin ·
Bovril ·
Breyers ·
Brooke
Bond ·
Brylcree
m·
Chicken
Tonight ·
Cif ·
Colman's
·
Comfort ·
Conimex
·
Continent
al ·
Cornetto ·
Country
Crock ·
Cup-a-
Soup ·
Degree ·
Domestos
· Dove ·
Findus ·
Flora ·
GB
Glace ·
Golden
Gaytime ·
Good
Humor ·
Good
Humor-
Breyers ·
HB · HB
Wall's ·
Helene
Curtis ·
Hellmann
's/Best
Foods · I
Can't
Believe
It's Not
Butter! ·
Iglo ·
Imperial
Margarin
e·
Impulse ·
Kibon ·
Klondike
· Knorr ·
Kwality
Wall's ·
Lakme ·
Langnese
· Lever
2000 ·
Lifebuoy
· Lipton ·
Lux ·
Mac
Fisheries
·
Magnum
· Maille ·
Marmite ·
Mattesso
ns ·
Omo · PG
Tips ·
Paddle
Pop ·
Peperami
· Persil ·
Persil
Power ·
Persil
Service ·
Pond's
Creams ·
Popsicle ·
Pot
Mash ·
Pot
Noodle ·
Pot Rice ·
Prince
Matchabe
lli · Q-
tips ·
Radox ·
Ragú ·
Rexona ·
Rinso ·
Sana ·
Scottish
Blend ·
Selecta ·
Signal ·
Skippy ·
Slim
Fast ·
Solero ·
Spry ·
Squirrel ·
Stork ·
Suave ·
Sunlight ·
Sunsilk ·
Sure ·
Surf ·
Timotei ·
Twink ·
Unox ·
Vaseline ·
Vermonst
er ·
Viennetta
· Wall's ·
Wish-
Bone

Annual
revenue:
€39.642
billion
EUR
(▲5%
FY
2006) ·
Employe
es:
179,000
·
Stock
symbol:
Euronext:
UNA,
LSE: UL
VR,
NYSE: U
N,
NYSE: U
L·
Website:
unilever.c
om

[show]
v•d•e
AEX companies of the Netherlands

Aegon · Ahold · Air France-KLM ·

Akzo Nobel · ArcelorMittal · ASML ·
BAM · Boskalis · Corio · DSM · Fugro ·
Heineken · ING · KPN · Philips ·
Randstad · Reed Elsevier · Royal Dutch
Shell · SBM Offshore · TomTom ·
TNT · Unibail-Rodamco · Unilever ·
Wereldhave · Wolters Kluwer

[show]
v•d•e

FTSE 100 companies of the United Kingdom

As of 24 September 2010.
3i · Admiral Group · African Barrick Gold ·
Aggreko · Alliance Trust · AMEC · Anglo
American · Antofagasta · ARM Holdings ·
Associated British Foods · AstraZeneca · Autonomy
Corporation · Aviva · BAE Systems · BG Group ·
BHP Billiton · BP · BT Group · Barclays · British
Airways · British American Tobacco · British Land
Company · British Sky Broadcasting · Bunzl ·
Burberry Group · Cairn Energy · Capita Group ·
Capital Shopping Centres Group · Carnival ·
Centrica · Cobham · Compass Group · Diageo · Essar
Energy · Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation ·
Experian · Fresnillo · G4S · GKN ·
GlaxoSmithKline · HSBC · Hammerson · ICAP ·
Imperial Tobacco · Inmarsat · InterContinental
Hotels Group · International Power · Intertek Group ·
Invensys · Investec · Johnson Matthey · Kazakhmys ·
Kingfisher · Land Securities Group · Legal &
General · Lloyds Banking Group · Lonmin · Man
Group · Marks & Spencer · Wm Morrison
Supermarkets · National Grid · Next · Old Mutual ·
Pearson · Petrofac · Prudential · RSA Insurance
Group · Randgold Resources · Reckitt Benckiser ·
Reed Elsevier · Resolution · Rexam · Rio Tinto
Group · Rolls-Royce Group · Royal Bank of Scotland
Group · Royal Dutch Shell · SABMiller · Sage
Group · J Sainsbury · Schroders · Scottish and
Southern Energy · Serco Group · Severn Trent ·
Shire · Smith & Nephew · Smiths Group · Standard
Chartered Bank · Standard Life · Tesco · TUI Travel ·
Tullow Oil · Unilever · United Utilities · Vedanta
Resources · Vodafone · WPP Group · Weir Group ·
Whitbread · Wolseley · Xstrata
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unilever"
Categories: Companies listed on the Euronext exchanges | Companies listed on the London
Stock Exchange | Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange | Multinational
companies | Companies established in 1930 | Unilever | Companies based in London |
Multinational food companies | Dental companies | Dual-listed companies | Manufacturing
companies of the Netherlands | Multinational companies headquartered in the Netherlands |
Food manufacturers of the United Kingdom | Household and personal product companies of
the United Kingdom | Organisations based in the City of London
Hidden categories: Articles with unsourced statements from August 2010 | All articles with
unsourced statements | Articles with peacock terms from August 2010 | All articles with
peacock terms | All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases | Articles with
specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from August 2010
Personal tools
• New features
• Log in / create account
Namespaces
• Article
• Discussion
Variants
Views
• Read
• Edit
• View history
Actions
Search
Top of Form
Special:Search

Bottom of Form
Navigation
• Main page
• Contents
• Featured content
• Current events
• Random article
• Donate
Interaction
• About Wikipedia
• Community portal
• Recent changes
• Contact Wikipedia
 • Help
Toolbox
• What links here
• Related changes
• Upload file
• Special pages
• Permanent link
• Cite this page
Print/export
• Create a book
• Download as PDF
• Printable version
Languages
• ‫العربية‬
• Български
• Català
• Česky
• Dansk
• Deutsch
• Español
• Français
• Bahasa Indonesia
• Italiano
• ‫עברית‬
• Basa Jawa
• Magyar
• Nederlands
• 日本語
• Norsk (bokmål)
• Piemontèis
• Polski
• Português
• Română
• Русский
• Suomi
• Svenska
• Türkçe
• Tiếng Việt
• 中文
• This page was last modified on 19 October 2010 at 20:49.
• Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;
additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit
organization.
• Contact us
• Privacy policy
• About Wikipedia
• Disclaimers