Unilever Bestfoods in France Best in France Case Study December 15, 2003 Patricio Aylwin, Nicolas Chabut, Matthew Nolan and Björn Seidel
Dec 24, 2015
Unilever Bestfoods in France
Best in France Case Study
December 15, 2003
Patricio Aylwin, Nicolas Chabut, Matthew Nolan and Björn Seidel
OverviewUnilever & 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 BestfoodsGeneral presentation
• Created in 1930 by the merger of a British soap-maker, “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 BestfoodsGeneral 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 BestfoodsOrganization
• 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 BestfoodsUnilever 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 BestfoodsCompany values
• The core values of the company expressed through a Code of Business Principles :
• These values are not negotiable and applicable to the whole world, including France.
– Public activities– The Environment– Innovation– Competition– Business Integrity– Conflicts of Interests– Compliance, Monitoring,
Reporting
– Standard of Conduct– Obeying the Law– Employees– Consumers– Shareholders– Business Partners– Community involvement
Unilever & Unilever BestfoodsReasons 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 UBFCharacteristics
• Production and commercialization– HQ in Rueil-Malmaison– 11 Factories in France
The French subsidiary of UBFCharacteristics
• 2 types of status :– Local workers– Expatriates
• Presence of a branch of the European HQ
French subsidiary of UnileverFew 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 UBFWork 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 FranceSpecific activities
• A complex business in France
• The strategic axes of Unilever
An adaptation to FranceConstraints
• Social laws
• Benchmarking as a consequence
• Example of an economic gathering
An adaptation to FranceAdvantages
• 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 Bosset01 41 96 50 [email protected]
• Commercial Manager of Foodsolutions France: Mrs. Barbara Campos01 41 96 51 [email protected]
23 Rue Francois Jacob92500 Rueil-MalmaisonFrance
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