Transcript Unilever - BEST in FRANCE

Unilever Bestfoods in
France
Best in France Case Study
December 15, 2003
Patricio Aylwin, Nicolas Chabut, Matthew Nolan and Björn Seidel
Overview
Unilever & Unilever Bestfoods
–
–
–
–
General presentation
Organization
Values
Reasons for an division in France
The French subsidiary of Unilever Bestfoods
–
–
Characteristics
Work process
The specific aspects and an adaptation to France
–
–
–
Specific activities
The French constraints
The French advantages
Unilever & Unilever Bestfoods
General presentation
• Created in 1930 by the merger of a British soapmaker, “Lever Brothers’’ (founded in 1885) and a
Dutch margarine producer, “Margarine Unie’’ (which
grew through mergers in the 1920s)
• Unilever’s business :
– Food
– Home and personal care
• Main food brands :
Becel, Blue Band, Bertolli, Ben & Jerry’s, Flora,
Knorr, Magnum, Lipton, Maille, Amora, …
Unilever & Unilever Bestfoods
General presentation
• Few key figures :
– Worldwide turnover in 2002 : €48 760 million
– Number of employees : 247,000 people, with 90% of
managers locally recruited and trained
– Every day, 150 million people choose Unilever brands to
feed their families and to clean their homes
– Over half of all sales are generated by the foods division
brands
• Unilever Bestfoods :
• Created in 2000 by acquisition of
Bestfoods gathering Bestfoods and
Unilever’s food division
Unilever as it sees itself
Unilever & Unilever Bestfoods
Organization
• UNILEVER BESTFOODS REGIONS
– Foods North Africa, Middle East and Turkey
– Ice Cream and Frozen Foods
– Unilever Bestfoods Asia
– Unilever Bestfoods Latin America
– Unilever Bestfoods North America & Slimfast
Worldwide
– Unilever Bestfoods, Europe
Unilever & Unilever Bestfoods
Unilever Bestfoods Europe
• HQ : Rotterdam (The Netherlands).
• Local offices in almost all European countries.
• European customer base of some 650 million
people.
• A wide cross section of consumers,
incorporating people in both the developed
markets of western Europe and the
developing markets of former Eastern block
countries.
Unilever & Unilever Bestfoods
Company values
• The core values of the company expressed
through a Code of Business Principles :
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Standard of Conduct
Obeying the Law
Employees
Consumers
Shareholders
Business Partners
Community involvement
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Public activities
The Environment
Innovation
Competition
Business Integrity
Conflicts of Interests
Compliance, Monitoring,
Reporting
• These values are not negotiable and
applicable to the whole world, including
France.
Unilever & Unilever Bestfoods
Reasons for an installation in France
1. Conquest of the market
– Proximity of the market
– Adaptation to local habits
– Development of the products
(A branch of the European HQ in France)
2. Existing in European and French
installations at merger
The French subsidiary of UBF
Characteristics
• Production and commercialization
– HQ in Rueil-Malmaison
– 11 Factories in France
The French subsidiary of UBF
Characteristics
• 2 types of status :
– Local workers
– Expatriates
• Presence of a branch of the
European HQ
French subsidiary of Unilever
Few 2002 key figures
• Sales of Unilever France
– € 3.875 billion of which € 555 million
are exports
• 5250 Employees
• € 420 million in advertising
The French subsidiary of UBF
Work process
• A strong guideline given by the European
HQ :
–
–
–
–
–
Recruitment
Compensation
Planning
Evaluation and assessment
Training
• A free local implementation
• The example of Bestfoods acquisition
An adaptation to France
Specific activities
• A complex business in France
• The strategic axes of Unilever
An adaptation to France
Constraints
• Social laws
• Benchmarking as a consequence
• Example of an economic gathering
An adaptation to France
Advantages
• A firm adapted to the market
• UBF seems not to benefit from ‘’the
French advantages’’
Conclusion
• First reason for being in France :
– To be close to the market
– It seems inconvenient to sell without producing in
France.
• Second reason :
– Management of existing structures
But beware to the benchmark to capture future
installations !
We Thank
• HR Director of the French branch :
Mrs. Andrée Bosset
01 41 96 50 56
[email protected]
• Commercial Manager of Foodsolutions France:
Mrs. Barbara Campos
01 41 96 51 18
[email protected]
23 Rue Francois Jacob
92500 Rueil-Malmaison
France
References
• Web sites :
www.unilever.com
www.you-unilever.com
• Questionnaire
Our Team
• Members :
– Patricio Aylwin
– Nicolas Chabut
– Matthew Nolan
– Björn Seidel
• Address :
MBA / HEC
78351 JOUY-EN-JOSAS CEDEX