Unilever is one of the world's oldest MNC. Its origin goes back to the 19h century when a group of companies operating independently, produced soaps and margarine. In 1930, the companies merged to form Unilever that diversified into food products in 1940s. Through the next five decades, it emerged as a major fast-moving consumer good (FMCG) multinational operating in several businesses. In 2004 the Unilever 2010 strategic plan was put into action with the mission to bring vitality to life and to meet every day needs for nutrition, hygiene and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life. The corporate strategy was of focusing on core businesses of food, home care and personal care. Unilever operates in more than 100 countries. It derives 41 percent of its income from the developing and emerging economies around the world. It has 179000 employees and is a culturally-diverse organization with its top management coming from 24 nations. Internationalization is based on the principle of local roots with a global scale aimed at becoming a 'multi-local multinational'.

The genesis of Hindustan Unilever (HUL) goes back to 1888 when Unilever exported Sunlight soap to India. Three Indian subsidiaries came into existence in the period 1931-1935 that merged to form Hindustan Lever in 1956. Mergers and acquisitions of Lipton (1972), Brooke Bond (1984), Ponds (1986), TOMCO (1993), Lakme (1998) and Modern Foods (2002) have resulted in an organization that is a conglomerate of several businesses that have been continually restructured over the years.

HUL is one of the largest FMCG Company in India with total sales of Rs. 39518 crore and gross profit of 10,000 (approx.) crore in 2020. There are over 15000 employees, including more than 1300 managers.

The present corporate strategy of HUL is to focus on core businesses. These core businesses are in the home and personal care and food. There are 20 different consumer categories in these two businesses. For instance, home and personal care are made up of personal wash, laundry, skin care hair care, oral care deodorants, color cosmetics and ayurvedic personal and health care, while food businesses have tea, coffee ice creams and processed food brands. Apart from the two product divisions, there are separate departments for specialty exports and new ventures.

Strategic management at HUL is the responsibility of the board of directors headed by a chairman. There are five independent and five whole-time directors. The operational management is looked after by a management committee comprising the Vice Chairman, CEO and Managing Director and Executive Directors of the two business divisions and functional areas. The divisions have a tot of autonomy with dedicated assets anagement is the responsibility of the functional head. For instance, a marketing manager has a team of brand managers looking after individual brands. Besides the decentralized divisional structure, HUL has centralized some functions such as finance, human resource management, research technology, Information technology and corporate and legal affairs

Unilever globally and HUL nationally, operate in the highly competitive FMCG markets. The consumer markets for FMCG products are finicky it's difficult to create customers and much more difficult to retain them. Price is often the central concern in a consumer purchase decision requiring producers to be on continual guard against cost increases. Sales and distribution are critical functions organizational. HUL operates in such a milieu. It has strong competitors such as the multinationals. Proctor & Gamble, Nivea, or L'Oral and formidable local companies such as Amul, Nirma, or the Tata FMCG companies to contend with. Rivals have copied HUL's strategies and tactics, especially in the area of marketing and distribution its innovations such as new style packaging or distribution through women entrepreneurs are much valued but also copied relentlessly, hurting its competitive advantage. HUL is identified closely with India. There is a ring of truth to its vision statement: "to earn the love and respect of India by making a real difference to every Indian". It has an impeccable record in corporate social responsibility. There is an element of nostalgia associated with brands like Lifebuoy (introduced in 1895) and Dalda (1937) for senior citizens in India. Consequently, Indians have always perceived HUL as an Indian company rather than a multinational. HUL has attempted to align its strategies in the past to the special needs of the Indian business environment. Be it marketing or human resource management. HUL has experimented with new ideas suited to the local context. For instance, HUL is known for its capabilities in rural marketing, effective distribution systems and human resource development. But this focus on India seems to be changing. This might indicate a change in the strategic posture as well as a recognition that Indian markets have matured to the extent that they can be dealt with by the global strategies of Unilever. At the corporate level, it could also be an attempt to leverage a global scale while retaining local responsiveness to some extent.

Inline, with the shift in corporate strategy, the locus of strategic decision-making seems to have moved from the subsidiary to the headquarters. Unilever has formulated a new global alignment under which it will develop brands and streamline product offerings across the world and the subsidiaries will sell the products. Other subtle indications of the shift of decision-making authority could be the appointment of a British CEO after nearly forty years during which there were Indian CEOs, the changed focus on a limited number of international brands rather than a large range of local brands developed over the years and the name-change from Hindustan Lever to Hindustan Unilever.

The shift in the strategic decision-making power from the subsidiary to headquarters could, however, prove to be a double-edged sword. An example could be of HUL adopting Unilever's global strategy of focusing on a limited number of products, called the 30 power brands in 2002. That seemed a perfectly sensible strategic decision aimed at focusing managerial attention to a limited set of high-potential products. But one consequence of that was the HUL s strong position in the niche soap and detergent markets suffering owing to neglect and the competitors were quick to take advantage of the opportunity. Then there are the statistics to deal with: HUL has nearly 80 percent of sales and 85 percent of net profits from the home and personal care businesses. Globally, Unilever derives half its revenues from the food business. HUL does not have a strong position in the food business in India Though the food processing industry remains quite attractive both in terms of local consumption as well as export markets. HULs own strategy of offering low prices, competitive products may also suffer at the cost of Unilever's emphasis on premium-priced, high-end products sold through modern retail outlets.

There are some dark clouds on the horizon. The issues of sustainability have assumed significance. Post Covid the profits may take a beating as sales are sluggish, input costs have been rising and new food products introduced in the market have not yet to pick up that well. All this while, in one market segment after another a competitor pushes ahead. In a company of such a big size and overpowering presence, these might still be minor events or developments in a long history that need to be taken in stride. But, pessimistically, they can also be pointers to what may come.

Case Questions: 1.

1.Comment on the way strategy is formulated in HUL. What are its key elements of its strategy?

2.If you were to crystallize the strategy of HUL, which ideas of Porter and Prahalad you might invoke in crystallizing the strategy of HUL.

3.More things change more they remain the same. In the context of this statement identify the core unchanging strategic landscape for HUL. Also identify the key elements which shall undergo a major transformation in the post Covid world.