Hindustan Unilever

Limited

Mrigul Raman Uppal

PGDIM 24
1702212
 About the Company

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is India's largest Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG)
company. HUL was established in 1933 as Lever Brothers and, in 1956, became known as
Hindustan Lever Limited, as a result of a merger among Lever Brothers, Hindustan Vanaspati
Mfg. Co. Ltd. and United Traders Ltd. Thus, it has a heritage of over 84 years in India. The
company was renamed in June 2007 as "Hindustan Unilever Limited".
HUL is a subsidiary of Unilever which is an Anglo-Dutch company and is one of the worlds
leading suppliers of Food, Home Care, Personal Care and Refreshment products. HUL is also one
of the country's largest exporters; it has been recognized as a Golden Super Star Trading House
by the Government of India. Unilever has over 67% shareholding in HUL. HUL which is
headquartered in Mumbai has about 18,000 employees and contributes for indirect
employment of over 52,000 people. It has a net sales of INR 33895 crores (financial year 2016-
17).
Mission
Their mission is to add vitality to life.
They 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.

Their priorities and principle encompasses the following:

1. Standard of conduct
2. Obeying the law
3. Employees
4. Consumers
5. Shareholders
6. Business Partners
7. Community involvement
8. Public activities
9. Environment
10. Innovation
11. Fair competition
12. Business integrity
13. Conflicts of interest

Related Links:
https://www.hul.co.in/about/who-we-are/introduction-to-hindustan-unilever/
https://www.hul.co.in/investor-relations/understanding-hul/purpose-and-principles/
 Brands and Products

With over 35 brands spanning 20 distinct categories such as soaps, detergents, shampoos, skin
care, toothpastes, deodorants, cosmetics, tea, coffee, packaged foods, ice cream, and water
purifiers, the Company is a part of the everyday life of millions of consumers across India.
Its portfolio includes leading household brands such as Lux, Lifebuoy, Surf Excel, Rin, Wheel,
Fair & Lovely, Ponds, Vaseline, Lakm, Dove, Clinic Plus, Sunsilk, Pepsodent, Closeup, Axe,
Brooke Bond, Bru, Knorr, Kissan, Kwality Walls and Pureit.

Sixteen of HULs brands featured in the ACNielsen Brand Equity list of 100 Most Trusted Brands
Annual Survey (2008). According to Brand Equity, HUL has the largest number of brands in the
Most Trusted Brands List. It is a company that has consistently had the largest number of
brands in the Top 50 and in the Top 10 (with 4 brands).

Reference Link:
http://wellsinvest.in/list-of-brands-and-categories-made-by-hindustan-unilever-ltd/
 Market Share

The market share of HUL products can be seen in the below pictures.

Reference Links:
https://www.slideshare.net/gurjantsandhu007/hul-bcg
 Supply Chain

Hindustan Unilever's distribution covers over 1 million retails outlets across India directly and
its products are available in over 7.7 million outlets in India, i.e., nearly 80% of the retail outlets
in India. It has 39 factories in the country.
HUL focuses on short supply chain for distribution. It has a network of 4000 distribution stockist
and has 250 million rural customers. It possesses 35 C&FAs in the country. Around 2000
suppliers and associates serves the manufacturing plants which are decentralized across 2
million square miles of territory all over India.
The company realizes that it has an advantage over its competitors and so has adopted various
methods to reach the customers through independent wholesale and retail outlets with a
minimum of two thousand and nine hundred stockists. Local warehouses are set up at
convenient places from where the C & F agents dispatch the items to the retailers on the
stockists orders.

In order to reach the rural market, Hindustan Unilever has a four-tier system of distribution in
place. The company under the Direct Coverage Scheme has a common stockist that provides for
every outlet under its zone. Under the Indirect Coverage Scheme, the company targets those
retailers in villages that are near urban markets. The stockist is instructed so that he serves all
the villages in its vicinity.
Two out of three Indians use the companys products and HUL products have the largest
consumer reach being available in over 80 per cent of consumer homes across India. This is
possible all because of its efficient supply chain management.

CSR

Some of the major CSR activities of HUL are as follows

1. Greening Barrens (Water Conservation & Harvesting)
It has 2 main objectives:
a) To reduce water consumption in its own operations and generate sub-soil water tables at its
own sites through the principles of 5R Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover & Renew.
b) Help adjacent villages to implement appropriate models of watershed development.

2. Shakti Changing Lives in Rural India

It targets small villages with population of less than 2000. It seeks to empower under privileged
rural women by providing income-generating opportunities, health & hygiene education through
Shakti Vani program and creating access to relevant information through the Shakti Community
Portal.

3. Health & Hygiene Education

Lifebuoy Swastya Chetna is a rural health and hygiene initiative, started in 2002, was initiated in
media dark villages in UP, MP. Bihar, WB, Maharashtra and Orissa for spreading awareness about
washing hands with Lifebuoy soap.
 4. Economic Empowerment of Women
The Fair & Lovely Foundation is HULs initiative which aims at economic empowerment of
women across India. It aims to achieve this through providing information, resources, inputs and
support in the areas of education, career and enterprise.

5. Special Education & Rehabilitation

HUL supports special education and rehabilitation of children with challenges.
a) Asha Daan: Initiated in 1976, HUL supported Mother Teresa and Missionaries in Charity to set
up a home in Mumbai for abandoned, challenged children and the destitute.
b) Ankur: In 1993, HULs Doom Dooma Plantation Division set up Ankur for special education of
challenged children aged between 5 and 15 years. Ankur provides educational. Vocational and
recreational activities to over 35 children with range of challenges like hearing or sight
impairment, polio, cerebral palsy and several learning difficulties.
c) Kappagam: Encouraged by Ankurs success Kappagam (Shelter), the second center for special
education of challenged children, was set up in 1998 on HUL Plantations in South India. It has 17
children. The focus is same as that of Ankur.
d) Anbagam: This is another day care center (Center of Love), which was started in 2003 in south
India plantations. It takes care of 11 children. Besides medical care and meals, they too are being
taught skills such that they can become self-reliant and pursue elementary studies.

Reference links:
http://www.csrplanet.in/casestudy/corporate-social-responsibility-csr-at-hindustan-uniliver-ltd.-
%E2%80%93-a-case-study-cid-5

Achievements/Recognition
Mi

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has emerged as the No. 1 Employer of Choice across all
sectors for the 2014 graduating batch of BSchool students
Awarded top Indian company in the 'FMCG' sector for the third consecutive year at Dun &
BradstreetRolta Corporate Awards, 2009
HUL ranked fourth in the Top Companies for Leaders, 2009' (Asia Pacific region) and 10th
place in the global rankings in a survey carried out by Hewitt Associates
Awarded Customer and Brand Loyalty Award by Business India & Business Standard in 2009
Awarded for Best Corporate Social Responsibility Practice at the Social & Corporate
Governance Awards 0809 by BSE, Nasscom Foundation and Times Foundation
Awarded in the Category 'FMCG Manufacturing Supply Chain Excellence' at the Third Express,
Logistics & Supply Chain Awards by APL Logistics, Indiatimes, Mindscape, Business India
Group in 2009
The companys Orai unit received the Gold Excellence award and the Khalilabad unit received
the Silver Excellence award in the environment category by Greentech Foundation in 2009
 HUL's Goa factory won a Gold Trophy at the Greentech Awards in 2009 the manufacturing
sector category for their outstanding work in Safety Management
Project Shakti won the Silver Trophy at the EMPIIndian Express Indian Innovation Awards,
2009
Kwality Wall's Swirl's awarded 'The Franchisor of the year' for the Icecream parlour category
by Franchise India in 2009
HUL was felicitated for receiving the highest number of patents in the year 2009 at Annual
Intellectual Property Awards 2010. The award was instituted by Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII) in association with Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIIP) and
Intellectual Property India (IPI) in New Delhi.HUL brands have topped Brand Equity's Indias
Most Trusted Brands Survey rankings for 2010. Six HUL brands (Lux, Lifebuoy, Clinic Plus,
Pond's, Fair & Lovely and Pepsodent) featured in the top 10 and eight in the top 20. All
together there are 17 HUL brands among the 100 most trusted brands in the 2010 survey.
Additionally, five HUL brands (Fair & Lovely, Lifebuoy, Lux, Pepsodent and Ponds) featured in
the list of ten Hall of Fame brands. This recognition was accorded to brands which
consistently ranked high in the survey over the last 10 years since its inception. In 2009, three
HUL brands featured in the top ten, and seven in the top twenty.
Received CNBC AWAAZ Consumer Awards in six categories for 2010 Green company of the
year, Value for money brand of the year, Ad effectiveness award, Marketer of the year award
across all categories, Most preferred personal care company in FMCG category (for the third
consecutive year), Most Preferred home care company in FMCG category (for the third
consecutive year).
HUL received the Award for Excellence in HR in 2010 from Confederation of Indian Industry
(CII). This is a rigorous factbased assessment which is conducted by a team of external
assessors. HUL has won this award for the third consecutive year.
Five of HUL's leading brands Lux, Dove, Pears, Clinic Plus and Sunsilk won the Reader's
Digest Trusted Brand 2008 Awards.
Four HUL brands featured in the top 10 list of the Economic Times Brand Equity's Most
Trusted Brands 2008 survey
HUL was awarded the Bombay Chamber Civic Award 2007 in the category of Sustainable
Environmental Initiatives.
HUL was selected as the top Indian company in the FMCG sector for the Dun & Bradstreet
American Express Corporate Awards 2007.
HUL is also one of the country's largest exporters; it has been recognized as a Golden Super
Star Trading House by the Government of India.