External Environment Analysis of Unilever

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1. 0 Introduction External environment analysis allows firms to discover threats and opportunities; better understand the nature of competition in an industry as well as make more informed strategic choices .Thus in this paper I will identify and analysis the external environment that influencing the strategy of the organization . The chosen company is Unilever. Unilever is one of the world's leading fast moving consumer goods companies. The company principally focuses on offering everyday consumer needs for nutrition, hygiene and personal care. Unilever's portfolio of foods, home and personal care brands includes Axe/Lynx, Blue Band, Dove, Flora/Becel, Heart brand ice creams, Hellmann’s, Knorr, Lipton, Lux, Omo, Rexona, Sunsilk, Surf and many others(Unilever business at a glance,2012). It offers products across foods, home and personal care categories. The group primarily operates in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa. It is headquartered in London, the UK, and employs about 168,000 people. 2. 0 History of Unilever Unilever’s debut as a company began in 1930, however its history dates back much earlier, to the late 19th century. Its origins began with a partnership between British soap maker Lever Brothers and the Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie. Oils and fats were essential raw materials for both companies, thus a partnership to import such materials was created in order to purchase in larger volumes. With increased competition for raw materials and deteriorating economic conditions in the 1920s, the partner companies aligned their strategies to create Unilever as is known today. (Strategic growth for Unilever, 2012) 3.0 Strategy of Unilever Unilever adapted “Path to Growth Strategy” as its strategies in international business. Under the “Path to Growth Strategy”, there are some specific business strategies that was used by
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