Company Analysis : Hindustan Unilever Limited

                                                                        Hindustan Unilever Limited 

  

                                         Mr. Harish Manwani  Non-Executive Chairman of HUL


Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is India's largest Fast Moving Consumer GoodsCompany, touching the lives of two out of three Indians with over 20 distinct categories in Home & Personal Care Products and Foods & Beverages.

A few words to start with ............

•India's largest FMCG

•A subsidiary of Unilever which                                    

  holds 52% of the equity

•2 out of 3 Indians use its products

•Over 42 factories across India

•Around 45% of HUL’s sales turnover of

  Rs. 17,524 crore comes from rural markets,

  valued at around Rs. 8,000 crore

Brief History 

History:

Lever Brothers started its operations in India in the summer of 1888. Crates full of Sunlight soap bars, imprinted with the words "Made in England by Lever Brothers" were shipped to the Kolkata harbour from England. This was  the first product through which Lever Brothers made their presence felt in the Indian market.

Within few years Unilever started to expand their business in different parts  across India. Lever Brothers appointed agents in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, and Karachi(part of Undivided India). For the next three decades Unilever launched many varied products in the Indian market.

Milestones

1895 - Lifebuoy soap was launched

1902 -Pears soap was introduced

1903 - Brooke Bond Red Label tea launched

1905 - Lux flakes introduced.

1913 -Vim scouring powder introduced.

1914 - Vinolia soap launched in India.

1918 - Vanaspati introduced.

1922 - Rinso soap powder introduced.

1924 - Gibbs dental preparations launched

1996 -Formation of Hul

1969- Rin bar an  

1972 ClinicPlus were introduced both of which made HuL take a firm platform.

1968 - Mr. V. G. Rajadhyaksha takes over as Chairman from Mr. Prakash Tandon (the first indian director) 1982-  the Government allowed 51% Unilever shareholding.

1993 -HLL's largest competitor, Tata Oil Mills Company (TOMCO), merged with the company. Brooke Bond India acquired Kissan Business from the UB Group and Dollops icecream business from Cadbury . 2007- the company was renamed as “Hindustan Unilever Limited”.

VISION STATEMENT

The four pillars

• Create a better future everyday
• Help people feel good, look good & get more out of life with brands & services that are good for them & for others
• Inspire people to take small everyday actions that can add up to a big difference for the world
• Develop new ways of doing business that double the size of the company while reducing environmental impact. 

Mission 

• Add Vitality to Life            
• Meet everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life
• Total commitment to exceptional standards of performance and productivity

Product Line

• Personal care products.
• Home care products.
• Food products
• ) HOME AND PERSONAL CARE:
  1) Personal wash
  
  Lux                              Breeze
  Lifebuoy                    Dove
  Liril                             Pears
  Hamam                     Rexona
  
  
  2) Laundry               3) Skin Care
  Surf Excel                  Fair and lovely       
  Rin                              Pond’s
  Wheel                        Aviance
  
  
  4) Hair care              5) Oral care
  Sunsilk naturals      Pepsodent                                        
  Clinic                          Close up
  
  
  6) Deodorants         7) Colour Cosmetics
  Axe                             Lakme
  Rexona
                         
  8) Ayurvedic Personal and health care:    Ayush
  B) FOODS
  1) Tea  :       Brooke Bond     Lipton                                2) Coffee                                           

  3) Foods :        Kissan     Knor  Annapurna      

   4) Ice  cream :   Kwality walls
                                                                           
  C) WATER PURIFIER                                                             
  Pureit

Brands.

Chief Command Chart

Swot analysis

• STRENGTH                                                
• ü Variety of products                                                          
• ü Distribution Network
• ü Brand image
• ü Quality Management
• ü Innovation and R&D strength
• 
  
• THREATS
• ü From High Class Competitor
• ü Proctor & Gamble
• ü Pantene
• ü Dabur                                                                                     
• ü  Babool
• ü Dabourlal Dent Manjan
• ü Reckitt Benckiser
• ü Dettol
• ü Palmolive
• ü Colgate, Nirma
• 
  
• OPPORTUNITIES
• ü Huge Market
• ü Increasing per capital income
• ü Increasing consumption pattern
• ü Potential for making more impact of brand image.
• ü Coming in technology e.g. in water purifiers
• 
  
• WEAKNESS
• ü Not able to compete with local competitor in the rural market
• ü Not focus on upper class population
• ü Pricing policy is not good

Integrated Management System

Marketing Strategies

• Straddling the pyramid & deploying full portfolio
• To meet every need of people everywhere

For Rural India

•       For long term benefits, HUL started Project Streamline in 1997

•       Integrate Economic, Environment & Social              objectives with Business agenda

•       Project Shakti, a partnership with Self Help Groups of rural women extended to about 15 states in 80,000 villages with 45,000 women entrepreneurs generating Rs.700 to1000 per month for each woman

 Focus on Service 

• Customer feedback is the best way to improve the product
• Add benefit schemes like discount vouchers for customers who give feedback
• Get feedback from customers on various products and on nutrition, health and hygiene education, empowering livelihoods and eco-efficiency 
• Company image will move from pure product based to product-service based company
• Customer will feel more valued in turn brand loyalty can be created and maintained
• Product is better accepted by customer would result in increased sales

Cost and waste Reduction

• Constantly monitor and re-engineer operations to reduce waste and improve production process
• Putting palm oil waste to good use
• Reusing waste plastic to make jewellery & flower pots

Benefits:-

• Reduced manufacturing cost & waste would result in high margins and more profit
• Better utilisation of resources
• Additional products from waste would add to product portfolio

Corporate Social Responsibility

Watch here Leena Nair , Executive Director of Hul, Speaking about the CSR activities :

•  Women empowerment
•  Water management
•  Rehabilitation of special or underprivileged children
•  Care for the destitute and HIV-positive
•  Rural development.
•  Plays active role in natural calamities

Observations

• Hindustan Unilever ltd. Is a leading FMCG company in India and from last three consecutive years has shown accelerated growth in FMCG portfolio. Customers in India are also spending more in FMCG as their standard of living is growing.
•  HUL has placed itself successfully in the position of market leader in FMCG products. Though there was some downfall in sales and profit of the company in the beginning of this decade but after that HUL has shown considerable rise in both sales and profit. The future of the company is also looking bright as FMCG market in India is still expanding and so we can safely conclude that HUL will be able to secure its number one position in FMCG product.
•  HUL has also started project SHAKTI that has provided it direct reach to rural market. This may be considered a revolutionary step since the urban market is reaching its saturation level and there is a huge scope exploring rural market. 
• This will also be helpful not only increasing its market share but also fight competition.

References :

1.       www.hul.co.in

2.       en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindustan_Unilever

3.       www.moneycontrol.com

4.       www.managementparadise.com

5.       articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com

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