Unilever is an Anglo–Dutch multinational consumer goods company. Its products include foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. It is the world's third-largest consumer goods company measured by 2011 revenues (after Procter & Gamble and Nestlé) and the world's largest manufacturer of ice cream. One of the oldest multinational companies, it currently has operations in over 100 countries. Unilever owns over 400 brands, although its 25 largest brands account for over 70% of total sales. Its largest selling brands include Aviance, Axe/Lynx, Ben & Jerry’s, Dove, Flora/Becel, Heartbrand, Hellmann’s, Knorr, Lipton, Lux/Radox, Omo/Surf, Rexona/Sure, Sunsilk, Toni & Guy, TRESemme, VO5, Wall’s and PG Tips. It is a dual-listed company consisting of Unilever N. V., based in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and Unilever PLC, based in London, United Kingdom. Both companies have the same directors and they operate as a single business. Unilever is organised into three main global divisions - Foods, Home Care, and Personal Care. It has research and development facilities in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, China, India and the United States. Unilever was founded in 1930 by the merger of the British soap maker Lever Brothers (founded in 1885 by William Hesketh Lever) and the Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie. During the second half of the 20th century the company increasingly diversified from being a maker of products made of oils and fats, and expanded its operations worldwide. It has made numerous corporate acquisitions, including of Chesebrough-Ponds (in 1987); Best Foods, Ben & Jerry's and Slim Fast (in 2000); and Alberto-Culver (in 2010). Unilever sold its speciality chemicals businesses National Starch & Chemical, Quest, Unichema and Crossfield to Imperial Chemical Industries in 1997. Unilever has received criticism from environmental groups for causing deforestation through its purchases of Indonesian palm oil. a) Give any five (5) brands other than those stated in the case.
b) Explain any three (3) influences on consumer buying behaviour Unilever should pay attention to, and why?
c) What two uses can Unilever apply social media to apart from marketing?
d) Describe three examples of environmental sustainability that Unilever has been involved in, in the last two years.
e) Identify and explain the form of business ownership that Unilever operates as.
f) Discuss Unilever’s response to the criticism by Green Peace about deforestation in Indonesia.