Hindustan Unilever Limited, a famous consumer goods company in India, is engaged in manufacturing and selling household and personal care products and food products in the country along with a global intervention. The company has mainly three segments of operation, which are: Home Care, Beauty & Personal Care and Foods & Refreshment. The Home Care segment of the firm is mainly offering detergent products such as bars and powders and liquids too. Scourers and water business products are also provided by the segment.
The Foods & Refreshment sector is providing several staple and culinary products such as tomato-based and soup-based products. Besides that, this segment is offering tea, coffee, frozen desserts etc. Company’s Beauty & Personal Care segment is providing several beauty products such as deodorants, cosmetics, talcum powder and other beauty services such as saloon and parlour services. The company was incorporated in the year of 1933 with the name Lever Brothers Ltd. The company is headquartered at Mumbai, and it is a subsidiary of Unilever PLC.
About Company Information:
In the year 1956, a merger procedure took place between the company, Hindustan Vanaspati Mfg. Co. Ltd. and United Traders Ltd which resulted as the formation of Hindustan Lever Ltd. Lipton was acquired by the company in 1972, which led to the incorporation of Lipton Tea (India) Ltd in 1977.
In 1984, an international acquisition took place between the company and Brooke Bond. Unilever fold was joined by Ponds (India) when an international acquisition took place between the company and Chesebrough Ponds USA in 1986. In the year of 1991, when the liberalization of the Indian economy took place, the growth curve of the company experienced an inflexion.
Tata Oil Mills Company, often called TOMCO was merged with the company in April 1993. A 50:50 joint venture was started between the company and Lakme Ltd, which resulted in the formation of Lakme Unilever Ltd. Kimberly-Clark Lever Ltd, a 50:50 joint venture firm was inaugurated by the company and USA-based Kimberly Clark Corporation. This company is engaged in the marketing of Huggies Diapers and Kotex Sanitary Pads.
In 1998, all the brands of Lakme Ltd were sold to the company, and the 50% of its stake in the joint venture was divested to Hindustan Unilever. Seventy-four per cent of equity in Modern Foods was acquired by the company from the government in January 2000.
Ayurvedic Health sector, as well as the beauty sector, was intervened by the company in 2002 by the introduction of Ayush product range and Ayush therapy centre. Amalgam Group of Companies, a leading firm in the marine product export business, gave up its Cooked Shrimp and Pasteurised Crabmeat business, in the company’s hand in 2003.
A year later, a new brand of water purifier, namely Pureit was launched by the company 2004. A large amalgamation procedure took place in 2005 when the company acquired Lever India Exports Ltd, Merry weather Food Products Ltd, International Fisheries Ltd, Lipton India Exports Ltd and Toc Disinfectants Ltd. Vashisti Detergents Ltd was merged with the company in February 2006.
Several immovable properties were transferred to Brooke Bond Real Estates Pvt Ltd, following a demerger with the company in April 2008. The scheme of amalgamation with the company’s solely owned subsidiary Bon Ltd had received approval from the Board of Directors in 2010.
The proposal for signing an agreement with the parent company Unilever, regarding the technology and trademark license-related support was approved by the Board of Directors of the firm in February 2013. On December 2015, the company acquired Indulekha Premium Ayurvedic Hair Oil brand, through signing an agreement with Mosons Group.
In March 2016, Hindustan Unilever Limited declared that an agreement had been signed by it for selling its eminent business of rice exports, which is carried under the famous brands such as Gold Seal Indus Valley and Rozana to LT Foods Middle East DMCC, which belongs to the LT Foods Limited that owns Daawat.
How Hindustan Unilever Limited is categorised under Personal Care Sector and Personal Care Industry:
The personal care industry comprises of companies that derive its business by producing consumer products that are used for personal hygiene and beautification. Few of the products that are labelled as personal care wet wipes, toilet paper, toothpaste, talcum powder, moisturizers, perfumes, cosmetic products, shaving creams, razors and more. The demand for Personal Care Sector is extremely diversified and can be bifurcated into personal care products and personal care devices. Personal care appliances have become standard across the globe in the last few years owing to the invasion of new and innovative tools in the market every year.
Hindustan Unilever Limited is categorised under Personal Care Sector and Personal Care Industry. The global market for personal care Sector is anticipated to witness extraordinary growth over the upcoming years owing to the swelling disposable income of consumers, thus allowing them to spend on extravagant personal care products. While the personal care cosmetic segment for women is a leading category, the initiation of the men’s product line for grooming has reinforced the growth of the market extensively.
Hindustan Unilever Limited Competitors and Sector Peers:
Ador Multiproducts Ltd.ADOMUL
Bajaj Consumer Care Ltd.BAJCOR
Fem Care Pharma Ltd.[Amalgamated]FEMCAR
Gillette India Ltd.GILIND
Godrej Consumer Products Ltd.GODRCO
Godrej Industries Ltd.GODIND
Hindustan Unilever Ltd.HINUNI
J L Morison (India) Ltd.JLMORJH
S Svendgaard Laboratories Ltd.JHSSVE
Jyothy Consumer Products Marketing Ltd.[Amalgamated]HENIND
Magna Industries Exports Ltd.MAGNIN
Paramount Cosmetics (I) Ltd.PARCOS
Polo Queen Industrial and Fintech Ltd.SEARIN
Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Healthcare Ltd.PROC
Rajnish Wellness Ltd.RAJWEL
RayBan Sun Optics India Ltd.RAYSUN
Synergy Cosmetics (Exim) Ltd.JYOCOS
Tiaan Ayurvedic & Herbs Ltd.RACCAP
Velvette International Pharma Products Ltd.VELINT
Zydus Wellness Ltd.CARNUT
