“AN OVERVIEW OF UNILEVER BANGLADESH”

An assignment for ‘BRAND MANAGEMENT’

Lecturer:Mst. Shabiha Islam Mishu
Program:EMBA
Student name: Ummay Habiba
ID : 200104007
UNILEVER BANGLADESH LIMITED

The History :
Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. is one of the world’s most successful fast
moving consumer goods manufacturing companies with local
manufacturing facilities, reporting to regional business groups for
innovation and business results.

Lever Brothers Bangladesh Ltd. as a subsidiary of Unilever is leading the

home care, personal care and food product market of Bangladesh. On
25th February 1964 the eastern plant of Lever Brothers Pakistan Ltd.
was inaugurated at Kalurghat, Chittagong with a soap production
capacity of approximately 485 metric tons. It was a private limited
company with 55% share held by Unilever and the rest by the
Government of Pakistan. After independence the eastern plant was
declared abandoned. But on 5th July 1973 it was registered under the
name of Lever Brothers Bangladesh Ltd. as a joint venture company of
Unilever PLC and the Govt. of Bangladesh with a share arrangement of
60.75% to Unilever and 39.25% to the Bangladesh Govt.
Unilever today:

Unilever brands are trusted everywhere and, by listening to the people

who buy them, they’ve grown into one of the world’s most successful
consumer goods companies. In fact, 150 million times a day, someone
somewhere chooses a Unilever product. UBL is the market leader in 7
of the 8 categories it operates in, with 20 brands spanning across Home
Care, Personal Care and Foods.

UBL have a portfolio of brands that are popular across the globe – as
well as regional products and local varieties of famous-name goods.
This diversity comes from two of their key strengths:

 Strong roots in local markets and first-hand knowledge of the

local culture.

 World class business expertise applied internationally to serve

consumers everywhere.
BRAND ELEMEANTS :

NAME :

William Hesketh Lever founded Lever Brothers in 1885. Lever

established soap factories around the world. In 1917, he began to
diversify into foods, acquiring fish, ice cream and canned foods
businesses. In the Thirties, Unilever introduced improved
technology to the business. The business grew and new ventures
were launched in Latin America. The entrepreneurial spirit of the
founders and their caring approach to their employees and their
communities remain at the heart of Unilever’s business today.

LOGO : Unilever Logo Design and History:

In 2005, Unilever decided to change their logo to represent their new theme of
vitality. The new logo was also planned to coincide with the 75th anniversary of
the company. The new logo tells the story of Unilever and vitality. It brings
together 24 different icons representing Unilever and its brands, the idea of
vitality and the benefits Unilever brings to consumers.
 Marketing Mix :
Tools for Business Professionals The marketing mix is a business tool
used in marketing and by marketing professionals. The marketing
mix is often crucial when determining a product or brand's offering,
and is often synonymous with the four Ps: Product, Price, Place and
Promotion;

Type of business:
Fast Moving Consumer Goods Company with local manufacturing
facilities, reporting to regional business groups for innovation and
business results.

Operations: Home and Personal Care, Foods, Water Purifier.

Constitution: Unilever – 60.75% shares, Government of Bangladesh –

39.25%

Product Categories: Household Care, Fabric Cleaning, Skin Cleansing,

Skin Care, Oral Care, Hair Care, Personal Grooming, Tea based
Beverages.
Brands: Wheel, Lux, Lifebuoy, Fair & Lovely, Pond’s, Close Up, Sunsilk,
Taaza, Pepsodent, Clear, Vim, Surf Excel, Rexona, Dove, Vaseline,
TRESemme, Knorr.

Manufacturing Facilities:

The Company has a Soap Manufacturing factory and a Personal

Products Factory located in Chittagong. Besides these, there is a tea
packaging operation in Chittagong and three manufacturing units in
Dhaka, which are owned and run by third parties exclusively dedicated
to Unilever Bangladesh.

Employees:

Unilever Operations in Bangladesh provide employment to over 10,000

people directly and through its dedicated suppliers, distributors and
service providers. 99.5% of UBL employees are locals and they have
equal number of Bangladeshis working abroad in other Unilever
companies as they expatriates.

The employees are recognized there by staying connected and growing

while the company is growing at the same time.
 Price :
In service marketing Affordability of Consumer Product Quantity Price
Lux 150 gm 40 tk Vim 325 gm 30 tk Wheel 500 gm 37 tk Surf Excel 500
gm 99 tk Pepsodent 200 gm 90 tk Close up 200 gm 100 tk They also
maintain these for pricing:

 Product price low and obtain maximum profit on spare parts

 Use different prices and different price lists for different markets.

 Set price at 10% below market leader.

 Reduce price of product to maximize sales (to allow increased

production and reduce unit production cost).

Different pricing strategies adopted by Unilever:

 Optional-features strategy

 Product-line pricing

 Cost-plus pricing

 Competitive pricing

 Distribution pricing.
MISSION :
Unilever’s mission is to add Vitality to life; to meet everyday needs for
nutrition; hygiene and personal care with brands that help people feel
good, look good and get more out of life.

Unilever recognizes growing consumer needs for-

 A healthy lifestyle,
 more variety,
 quality,
 taste and
 enjoyment,
 time, as an increasingly precious commodity,
 helping people to feel good,
 look good and
 get more out of life will enable us to meet these needs and
 expand our business.
CORPORATE VISION :

To make cleanliness a commonplace; to lessen work for women; to

foster health and contribute to personal attractiveness, in order that
life may be more enjoyable and rewarding for the people who use the
products.

Sustainable Living:

One of the key aspects of UBL’s vision is to make sustainable living a

commonplace. They are developing new business practices that grow
both the company and the communities. They are meeting people’s
ever-increasing desire for more sustainable products and creating a
brighter future for everyone. The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan will
help the company to double the size of the business while reducing the
environmental footprint and increasing the positive social impact. And
the company is working in partnerships where they can help change
things on a global scale: deforestation and climate change; water,
sanitation and hygiene; and sustainable agriculture and smallholder
farmers.
A SWOT ANALYSIS :

A SWOT analysis its external environment. Strategies based on business

strengths and market opportunities can boost Unilever’s performance
in the long term.

Unilever’s Strengths (Internal Strategic Factors)

Unilever’s organizational and business strengths are identified in this
section of the SWOT analysis. Strengths are internal strategic factors
based on the company’s conditions, such as human resources,
production processes, organizational structure and investments. The
following strengths are significant in Unilever’s consumer goods
business:

 Strong brands
 Broad product mix
 Economies of scale
 Strong global market presence

Unilever has some of the strongest brands in the consumer goods

industry. This strength enables the company to penetrate markets and
effectively compete against other firms. The broad product mix shows
the extent of Unilever’s business growth. For example, the company
has increased its product portfolio through years of mergers and
acquisitions, leading to organizational growth and corresponding
increases in revenues. On the other hand, economies of scale support
production efficiency necessary for competitive pricing strategies, as
shown in Unilever’s marketing mix. Through years of international
expansion, the company has also increased its market presence, which
is a strength that reinforces brand popularity. The internal strategic
factors in this section of Unilever’s SWOT analysis show strengths that
the company can use to sustain global growth and success in the
consumer goods market.

Unilever’s Weaknesses (Internal Strategic Factors)

Despite its strong market position, Unilever has weaknesses that limit
its potential growth. This section of the SWOT analysis presents the
internal strategic factors that impose barriers to organizational and
business development. Unilever must address the following
weaknesses:

 Imitable products
 Limited business diversification
 Dependence on retailers

One of Unilever’s weaknesses is the imitable nature of its products. For

example, even though the company heavily invests in its product
development processes, other firms can imitate Dove and Rexona
products. Also, in spite of its broad product mix, Unilever is weak
because of limited diversification in businesses outside the consumer
goods industry. Moreover, the company lacks direct strong influence on
consumers, considering that retailers are the ones who directly affect
buyers. Thus, based on the internal strategic factors in this section of
the SWOT analysis of Unilever, the weaknesses emphasize the
importance of diversification, innovation, and enhanced marketing
efforts.

Opportunities for Unilever (External Strategic Factors)

Unilever must take advantage of growth opportunities in consumer
goods markets around the world. This section of the SWOT analysis
determines such opportunities or external strategic factors that can
facilitate business development. The following opportunities are
significant in Unilever’s external environment:

 Business diversification
 Product innovation for health
 Business enhancement for environmental conservation
 Market development

Unilever has opportunities to diversify by entering businesses outside

the consumer goods industry. Diversification reduces market-based
risks and improves business resilience. On the other hand, product
innovation can increase Unilever’s product attractiveness by addressing
the needs of increasingly health-conscious consumers. Similarly, the
company has an opportunity to make its business more sustainable and
environmentally friendly to attract and retain environmentally
conscious consumers. In addition, market development can grow
Unilever’s business by increasing revenues from the sale of its current
products in new market segments. For example, the company can
market its Lipton products as health drinks for consumers with special
diets. The external strategic factors in this section of Unilever’s SWOT
analysis point to major opportunities to grow the business despite its
weaknesses.

Threats Facing Unilever (External Strategic Factors)

A variety of external factors can limit or reduce Unilever’s business
performance. The SWOT Analysis model considers these external
factors as threats that the company must strategically tackle. The
following are the threats relevant to Unilever’s consumer goods
business:

 Tough competitive rivalry

 Product imitation
 Increasing popularity of retailers’ house brands

Unilever faces tough competition, which is a threat based on the

strengths of other firms in the industry. Competitors threaten to reduce
the company’s market share and corresponding financial performance.
Product imitation is also a major threat against Unilever. For example,
local firms can develop products highly similar to Unilever’s. Also,
retailers impose a threat by selling their own brands. These brands are
known as house brands, store brands or generic brands. For example,
Costco uses Kirkland Signature as a house brand, and Walmart has its
own house brands that directly compete against Unilever’s products.
Based on the external strategic factors in this section of the SWOT
analysis of Unilever, strategies must focus on improving the company’s
competitive advantage.

Unilever’s SWOT Analysis – Recommendations

This SWOT analysis of Unilever highlights a number of internal and

external strategic factors that managers must include in strategy
development. For example, the weaknesses of limited business
diversification and imitable nature of products are significant because
they influence business stability and performance. In this regard, a
recommendation is to diversify Unilever’s business through acquisition
of related firms not in the consumer goods industry. Also, Unilever
needs to consider product innovation as an opportunity to boost
business performance. It is recommended that the company must use
its strengths, such as economies of scale, for product innovation to
address competition and the threat of imitation.
 Conclusion

Today's market is characterized by highly competitive organizations

which are all for consumer's loyalty. Firms are faced with the challenge
to maintain their own competitive edge to be able to survive and be
successful. Unilever was built on the theory of touching consumer lives
with brands that make life a little better every day in Bangladesh. They
continue to connect with consumers by offering affordable products
and packaging specially designed to meet consumer needs. UBL must
maintain an innovative approach by introducing new products and re-
facing existing product lines to compete and satisfy consumer
demands, to allow them to remain profitable for the next one hundred-
seventy three years.

THE END