Case Study: Hindustan Unilever

Limited
About
Established in 1933 as Lever Brothers of United Kingdom, Hindustan Unilever Limited is the Indian
subsidiary of Unilever which is a British Dutch multinational company. It is headquartered in Mumbai
and offers a vast rage of products.

HUL is the market leader in Indian consumer products with presence in over 20 consumer categories
such as soaps, tea, detergents and shampoos amongst others with over 700 million Indian
consumers using its products.

Categories Name of Brands and Products

Annapurna salt and atta, Knorr Soups and meal makers,
Food Bru coffee, Brook Bond Tea, Kissan squashes, ketchups,
juices and jams, Lipton ice tea, Kwality Walls frozen
dessert, Magnum ice cream, and Horlicks
Detergents like Active Wheel, Sunlight, Surf Excel, and Rin,
Homecare Cif Cream cleaner, Comfort fabric softeners, Vim dishwash,
Domex disinfectants, Love and Care fabric gentle wash,
and Magic- water saver
Aviance Beauty Solutions, Axe deodorants and after
shaving lotion and soap, Lakme beauty products and
salons, Lever Ayush Ayurvedic Healthcare, International
Breeze, Lifebuoy soaps and handwash range, Liril 2000
Personal Care soap, Lux soap body wash and deodorant, Pears soap and
body wash, Pepsodent and Close up toothpastes, Clinic
Plus shampoo and oil, Clear anti dandruff products, Pond’s
talcs and creams, Dove skin cleansing and hair care range,
Tre Semme, Rexona, Sunsilk, Vaseline petroleum jelly,
Indulekha Hair Oil, Glow and Lovely skin lightening cream

Water Purifier The Pureit Water Purifier

A picture showing some of the brands

owned by HUL
Marketing Strategy
Through high penetration in the market, HUL had managed to hold their high market share in
different product categories.

• Whether one buys Surf /Wheel /Rin detergent it will go to HUL’s pockets. HUL’s strategy to
offer different products for different income groups (selective targeting) has been successful
in having share of wallet of a consumer.
• By signing popular celebrities for the advertisements of their products HUL has created
positive word of mouth over the ages which helped them in social acceptance of their
products intelligently targeted & meant for different income groups.
• HUL has understood the importance of Information Technology and Social Media in today’s
world and it is using these platforms to promote its products and opportunities.
• With its vast product range and reasonable prices, HUL has also targeted and is successfully
managing to increase consumption levels of rural areas as well. By creating jobs for the rural
people it has increased the purchasing power of the people and with more disposable
income they demand more.

Business Growth in India

FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) announced a 15.98% development in solidified net
benefit at Rs 6,060 crore for the monetary year finished March 31, 2019, when contrasted with Rs
5,225 crore in 2018. Remarking on profit, HUL Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv Mehta stated,
"We have conveyed a solid execution for the quarter regardless of some balance in rustic market
development. Our attention to fortifying the centre and driving business sector advancement has
been reliably conveying great outcomes. We have now developed top line and primary concern for
the eighth continuous year and our 2019 outcomes were a demonstration of both our technique and
execution."

HUL’s Distribution System

HUL’s brands are every household’s name which has been possible only due to its 4-tier distribution
system namely:

1. Direct Coverage through common stockist within a town of population under 50000 people.
2. Indirect coverage: Villages closer to larger urban markets have been targeted.
3. Streamline: Leveraging the rural wholesale market to reach markets inaccessible by road.
4. Project SHATKI AMMA: It targeted the very small villages (2000 population) & tapped into
pre-existing women’s SHG (self-help groups). Markets have been segmented based on their
accessibility & business potential.
HUL’s SWOT Analysis

Strenghts
Brand visibility
Market leader in Consumer Goods
Innovative FMCG Company
Extensive and Integrated Distribution System
Product Line
Weaknesses
Decreasing Market Share
Large number of brands in different product
categories leading to confused positioning
High Advertising costs

Opportunities
SWOT
Threats
Expanding market
Competition in the Market
Awareness in usage rate of consumer goods
Price of Commodities
Increasing income levels
Buyers' power
Changes in rural India's source of Income
Mimic of Brands

Controversies
• Mercury Pollution: In 2001 a thermometer factory in Kodaikanal run by Hindustan Unilever
was accused of dumping glass contaminated with mercury in municipal dumps, or selling it
on to scrap merchants unable to deal with it appropriately. Protests by local NGOs and
Greenpeace lead to the shutting of the factory in March 2001. After protest by activists led
by Dr Deepak Malghan of IIM, Bangalore Hindustan Unilever admitted before court to being
guilty in the case in 2010.
• Triclosan: Several academic papers have pointed out the firm's continued use of
the antibacterial agent Triclosan ('Active B') in India because it is under review by the
American Food and Drug Administration (US FDA).
• Skin Lightening Creams: Hindustan Unilever's "Glow & Lovely" is the leading skin-
lightening cream for women in India. The company had to cease television advertisements
for the product in 2007. Advertisements depicted depressed, dark-complexioned women,
who had been ignored by employers and men, suddenly finding new boyfriends and
glamorous careers after the cream had lightened their skin. The company rebranded the
cream from Fair and Lovely to Glow and Lovely, removing the word Fair from the brand.
• Kumbh Mela Ad: In March 2019 HUL's advertisement for its beverage Brooke Bond Red
Label tea was criticised on social media. A company tweet referred to the Kumbh Mela as a
place where elderly people get abandoned by their family members. This resulted in a
severe backlash in the form of an adverse hashtag trending on Twitter
'#BoycottHindustanUnilever'.
Corporate Social Responsibilities
HUL is committed to operate and grow its business in a socially responsible way. Its vision is to grow
its business whilst reducing the environmental impact of its operations and increasing its positive
social impact.

• HUL’s aim is to achieve responsible growth and it will inspire to bring this to life by
encouraging people to take small everyday actions that will add up to make a big difference.
• The FMCG Giant has embraced Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) which contributes to
activities listed in the Schedule VII of Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013. The USLP has
three global goals namely help more than a billion people take action to improve their
health and wellbeing, reduce the environmental footprint of their products and enhance
the livelihoods of people as they grow their business.
• Additionally, considering India as a water scarce region and the water availability is expected
to go down further, HUL has identified water as a key area of intervention. It will focus in
this area by creating capacities in conserving water through significant investments in
partnership with relevant stakeholders with the objective of water conservation.

Even the logo of HUL is unique in itself, it depicts all the product categories HUL has in its portfolio

Sources: Google Search, Wikipedia, HUL Website, and Google Images