HISTORY OF UNILEVER: HOW THEY MANAGE TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN RECENT YEARS UNTIL NOW
William Hesketh Lever founded lever brothers in 1885. Lever introduced sunlight, the world’s first packaged branded laundry soap. Soon, Lever established soap factories in Europe, North America, Australia and the Far East; He also set up oils mills in the UK and Australia. After 1917, Lever started acquiring fish, canned goods, meat, and ice cram businesses. In 1872, two Dutchmen, Jurgens and Van Der Bergh had ventured into the margarine business, Despite of fierce competition, the businesses of these two Dutchmen grew rapidly. In 1927, they decided to merge to form two companies, Margarine Unie NV, based in the Netherlands and Margarine Union Ltd. Based in the UK. In 1929, Margarine Unie and lever brothers merged to form Unilever. For tax reasons, they decided to retain two separate entities, Unilever PLC (LONDON) and Unilever (ROTTERDAM). In 1930s and 1940s, Unilever continued to expand its operations through the acquisition of US companies, Thomas J. Lipton (1937) and Pepsodent (1944). Unilever’s competitive position in the US eroded rapidly with launch of tide, a synthetic detergent, by arch rival Procter and Gamble (P&G) in 1946. Meanwhile, Unilever continued to prosper in Europe, aided by a post war boom, the increasing popularity of both margarine and personal care products and new detergent technologies. Through the 1970s, the nature of Unilever business underwent a significant change, both in terms of geography and products. By 1980, soaps and edible fats accounted for only 40% of the turnover (90% in 1930). On the other hand, Frozen foods, Ice cream, packaged soups, tea and personal products had grown in importance. By this time, the net profit contribution of countries outside Europe had increased to 40% (20% in 1930) due to the expansion of operations in America, Africa and Asia. Unilever had expanded of overseas establishing a presence in many important markets before World War II. Established in 1926, was given the responsibility of managing international business activities. The committee provided guidance, collected data and monitored performances, but generally left day management to the country units. Due to the tariff and non tariff barriers, local manufacturing became a compelling need in many markets. Catering to the different tastes in different markets was also an important consideration. As a result, even though Unilever had many fierce competitions in business, they still manage to be successful because they give quality products to satisfy their customers, and they still more successful in many years to come.