Introduction

I have been assigned to a multinational company called Unilever. Unilever was founded on
September 2nd, 1929 in London, United Kingdom. Its products include food, personal care
products, beauty products, refreshment products, ice cream, sterilizers etc. Unilever is one of the
world's largest consumer goods firms, producing and distributing about 400 brands in more than
over 190 countries. Unilever is a Transnational Company as it conducts operations in several
countries by coordinating integrating its strategy and operation by varying amounts. Moreover it
has the features of both the global and multi-domestic company. Unilever involves functioning in
different markets across the globe, forming open organizational structures and creating value-
added activities that utilize the similarities and differences between geographies.

Unilever, Bangladesh
Unilever Bangladesh is among the top multinational brands in Bangladesh. It was established at
Kalurghat, Chittagong in 1964. They started off with Sunlight soap at first. Before the liberation
war there were hardly any multinational brands around. So it was advantageous for Unilever
when they targeted the large segment of market in Bangladesh to fulfill consumer needs by
offering household care and personal products. After the liberation war Lever Brothers
Bangladesh Ltd joined with Unilever where Unilever owned 60.75% shares and Government of
Bangladesh owned 39.25% of the shares. During the post liberation period public demands for
hygiene and personal products increased at a very high rate and thus Unilever started the
production of soaps to meet the consumer needs. During that time other cottage soaps were
harmful for the hands and fabric. So in 1972 Unilever launched Wheel cottage soap which had
unique care benefits for hand fabric and it was a success. Later on they introduced more brands
like Lux, Lifebuoy etc. Unilever used Join ventures as their entry mode to enter Bangladesh.
Yes, their entry mode (Join Ventures) was a good choice. It helped the company to share the
costs and risks with the local partner. Unilever’s reputation also increased in Bangladesh. It
helped them to maintain good relation with the government as well. Their roots were strong in
the local markets. They also had the firsthand knowledge about the culture of Bangladesh. Yes,
the business was a success in the new market. After 1999 their growth rate increased at a very
high rate. UBL became Unilever Asia's fastest-growing company in 2003 and had a profitability
of 17%. In 2010 their growth accelerated to 5.8%. This was the best they could achieve for more
than 30 years. Unilevers profit after tax has also risen more than eight times in recent years. Now
Unilevers products are present in 98% households of Bangladesh.
Unilever, China
Unilever entered the china market in 1923 in Shanghai, China. After the communist party took
power in 1949 they shut down. In 1986 Unilever re-entered the china market. In that time
standards of living was very limited in China. Beauty soaps were only used by young people. So
Unilever’s target was to produce affordable beauty soaps (Lux). With the production of soaps
they also started to produce household care products and detergents. By doing so they knew they
would be able to capture the large market in China. After that they started producing food
products like tea (Lipton), soup (Knorr). Unilever entered China as Joint Ventures. A decade
long reform was initiated by Unilever in China in 1997, and now it has been wholly owned. The
launch of a joint venture offered Unilever new insights and expertise. The formation of a joint
venture provided them with better resources, including specialized personnel and technology.
Even if Unilevers partnership was for a specific purpose, they were able to establish long-term
business relationships through this move. Unilever has begun a gradient change since 2000 to
match fierce competition in China as well as the global market to achieve its commitment to
long-term growth. Unilever in China was a success. Today, Lux has become the best-selling soap
in China. Other than that their annual revenue increased by 15-20% and it’s expected to increase
business by five folds within 2020. The Company sought to identify itself as a quality brand,
which is aware of its needs and tastes locally. Unilever China tried by designing approaches to
the needs of its target consumer market to align foreign and local needs.

Unilever, Brazil
In 1930 Unilever established a factory in Brazil to produce soap (Sunlight soap). It was their first
factory. In 1957 Brazil launched their first detergent brand OMO. Brazil was mainly divided into
two parts. Northeast of Brazil and Southeast of Brazil. Northeast was less developed than the
Southeast part. Most of the people in the northeast part were low income earners. Here people
used to wash their clothes with soaps and bleach. So Unilever thought it would be a good idea to
capture the northeast side by producing affordable laundry products. The other side of Brazil
meaning the southeast was more developed. Most of the people there used to wash their clothes
in washing machine and used detergents instead of soaps or bleach. So Unilever didn’t have to
make much change to their product because southeast Brazilians were similar to Europeans.
Other than that government was giving tax incentives to firms to join the Brazil Market. Finally
they came up with an affordable detergent powder (OMO) to meet their targeted customers
(northeast and southeast) needs. Their entry mode was mergers and acquisition. They assumed
that local products would be produced and they will also inject their products through the local
company they purchased in the same line of production. This helped them to increase their
market power as well their share in the market. Also it helped Unilever to reduce their cost and
avoid competition. Unilever in Brazil was a success. In the detergent powder category of Brazil,
Unilever was clear leader. Unilever was able to capture 52% of the market. After that Unilever
launched their low budget detergent called Minerva and Campeiro which helped them to
dominate 81% of the market share. Growth rate of their detergent powder in that region
increased by 17%. Unilever in Brazil was a tremendous success in expanding Unilevers business.

Conclusion
Unilever is one of the most influential companies in the world and they are dedicated to
delivering goods that can benefit customers in their everyday life and also promote sustainable
economic development. They enter different markets using different entry modes which helps
the company grow very well. They create brands for specific countries and regions. Their
production and distribution, both are expanding rapidly. As a transnational company they are
evolving gradually.