Company Profile HindustanLever Ltd.

HLL

Indians largest F.M.C.G. company with turnover of over Rs.11000 cr. per annum. Has 35 power brands, HLLs Power Brands, which account for 80-85 per cent of the company's domestic consumer business . HLLs brands are present in more than three million retail outlets in India. HLL has 36,000 employees, including about 1,350 managers

HISTORY

In the summer of 1888, visitors to the Kolkata harbour noticed crates full of Sunlight soap bars, embossed with the words "Made in England by Lever Brothers". With it, began an era of marketing branded Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). Soon after followed Lifebuoy in 1895 and other famous brands like Pears, Lux and Vim. Vanaspati was launched in 1918 and the famous Dalda brand came to the market in 1937.

In 1931, Unilever set up its first Indian subsidiary, Hindustan Vanaspati Manufacturing Company, followed by Lever Brothers India Limited (1933) and United Traders Limited (1935). These three companies merged to form HLL in November 1956; HLL offered 10% of its equity to the Indian public, being the first among the foreign subsidiaries to do so. Unilever now holds 51.55% equity in the company. The rest of the shareholding is distributed among about 380,000 individual shareholders and financial institutions.
The erstwhile Brooke Bond's presence in India dates back to 1900. By 1903, the company had launched Red Label tea in the country. In 1912, Brooke Bond & Co. India Limited was formed. Brooke Bond joined the Unilever fold in 1984 through an international acquisition. The erstwhile Lipton's links with India were forged in 1898. Unilever acquired Lipton in 1972, and in 1977 Lipton Tea (India) Limited was incorporated. Pond's (India) Limited had been present in India since 1947. It joined the Unilever fold through an international acquisition of Chesebrough Pond's USA in 1986.

History

The liberalization of the Indian economy, started in 1991, clearly marked an inflexion in HLL's and the Group's growth curve. Removal of the regulatory framework allowed the company to explore every single product and opportunity segment, without any constraints on production capacity. Simultaneously, deregulation permitted alliances, acquisitions and mergers. In one of the most visible and talked about events of India's corporate history, the erstwhile Tata Oil Mills Company (TOMCO) merged with HLL, effective from April 1, 1993. In 1995, HLL and yet another Tata company, Lakme Limited, formed a 50:50 joint venture, Lakme Lever Limited, to market Lakme's market-leading cosmetics and other appropriate products of both the companies. Subsequently in 1998, Lakme Limited sold its brands to HLL and divested its 50% stake in the joint venture to the company. HLL formed a 50:50 joint venture with the US-based Kimberly Clark Corporation in 1994, Kimberly-Clark Lever Ltd, which markets Huggies Diapers and Kotex Sanitary Pads. HLL has also set up a subsidiary in Nepal, Nepal Lever Limited (NLL), and its factory represents the largest manufacturing investment in the Himalayan kingdom. The NLL factory manufactures HLL's products like Soaps, Detergents and Personal Products both for the domestic market and exports to India.

History

The 1990s also witnessed a string of crucial mergers, acquisitions and alliances on the Foods and Beverages front. In 1992, the erstwhile Brooke Bond acquired Kothari General Foods, with significant interests in Instant Coffee. In 1993, it acquired the Kissan business from the UB Group and the Dollops Icecream business from Cadbury India. As a measure of backward integration, Tea Estates and Doom Dooma, two plantation companies of Unilever, were merged with Brooke Bond. Then in July 1993, Brooke Bond India and Lipton India merged to form Brooke Bond Lipton India Limited (BBLIL), enabling greater focus and ensuring synergy in the traditional Beverages business. 1994 witnessed BBLIL launching the Wall's range of Frozen Desserts. By the end of the year, the company entered into a strategic alliance with the Kwality Icecream Group families and in 1995 the Milkfood 100% Icecream marketing and distribution rights too were acquired. Finally, BBLIL merged with HLL, with effect from January 1, 1996. The internal restructuring culminated in the merger of Pond's (India) Limited (PIL) with HLL in 1998. The two companies had significant overlaps in Personal Products, Speciality Chemicals and Exports businesses, besides a common distribution system since 1993 for Personal Products. The two also had a common management pool and a technology base. The amalgamation was done to ensure for the Group, benefits from scale economies both in domestic and export markets and enable it to fund investments required for aggressively building new categories. In January 2000, in a historic step, the government decided to award 74 per cent equity in Modern Foods to HLL, thereby beginning the divestment of government equity in public sector undertakings (PSU) to private sector partners. HLL's entry into Bread is a strategic extension of the company's wheat business. In 2002, HLL acquired the government's remaining stake in Modern Foods. In 2003, HLL acquired the Cooked Shrimp and Pasteurized Crabmeat business of the Amalgam Group of Companies, a leader in value added Marine Products exports.

Some facts

HLL is organised into two self-sufficient divisions - Home & Personal Care & Foods 80 factories, across India HLL's distribution network in rural India directly covers about 50,000 villages, reaching about 250 million consumers, through about 6000 sub-stockists. For managing sales operations, HLL divides the country into four regions, with regional branches in Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai. Headed by a Regional Manager, they comprise Regional Sales Managers and Area Sales Managers, assisted by dedicated field forces, comprising Sales Officers and Territory Sales Incharges.

BUSINESS

Home & Personal Care Personal Wash Fabric Wash Home Care Oral Care Skin Care Hair Care Deodorants & Talc Colour Cosmetics

BUSINESS

Foods Tea Coffee Branded Staples Culinary Products Ice Creams Modern Foods ranges New Ventures Hindustan Lever Network Ayush ayurvedic products & services Pureit water purifiers Exports HPC Beverages Marine Products Rice Castor

Exports

HLL is India's largest exporter of branded Fast Moving Consumer Goods in India. HLL's Exports focuses on two broad areas. It is a sourcing base for Unilever brands in Home & Personal Care (HPC) and Tea for supplies to other Unilever companies. Product portfolio includes Home and personal care,tea,Seafood,Rice and Castor

Some more facts

Hindustan Lever Limited has launched Pureit, the most advanced in-home water purifier in the world. Seafood brands like ocean diamond,ocean excellence, shogun ,lima etc.it also provides surumi,crabstick,shrimps etc. Castor oil brand called TopSol. Rice brand Annapurna,gold seal Indus valley,Rozana etc.

New distribution channels

Project Shakti, HLL's partnership with Self Help Groups of rural women, is becoming an extended arm of the company's operation in rural hinterlands. Started in 2001, Project Shakti has already been extended to about 50,000 villages in 12 states - Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and West Bengal. The respective state governments and several NGOs are actively involved in the initiative. The SHGs have chosen to partner with HLL as a business venture, armed with training from HLL and support from government agencies concerned and NGOs. Hindustan Lever Network (HLN) is the company's arm in the Direct Selling channel, one of the fastest growing in India today. It already has about 3.5 lakh consultants - all independent entrepreneurs, trained and guided by HLN's expert managers. HLN has already spread to over 1500 towns and cities, covering 80% of the urban population, backed by 42 offices and 240 service centres across the country. It presents a range of customised offerings in Home & Personal Care and Foods. Out-of-Home consumption of products and services is a growing opportunity in India, as elsewhere in the world. Hindustan Lever is already the largest player in the hot beverages out-of-home segment, with over 15000 tea and coffee vending points. The company is expanding the network aggressively, in the education, entertainment, leisure and travel segments. HLL's allaince with Pepsi will significantly strengthen this channel. Health & Beauty Services are Hindustan Lever's simultaneous foray to meet the increasing consumer need for such products and services. Lakme Salons provide specialised beauty services and solutions, under the recognised authority of the Lakme brand. The Ayush Therapy Centres provide easy access to authentic Ayurvedic treatments and products. Hindustan Lever, which once pioneered distribution in India, is today reinventing distribution - creating new channels, and redefining the way current channels are serviced. In the process it is converging product availability, with brand communication and brand experience

Lux

Lux stands for the promise of beauty and glamour as one of India's most trusted personal care brands. Lux continues to be a favorite with generations of users for the experience of a sensuous and luxurious bath. Since its launch in India in the year 1929, Lux has offered a range of soaps in different sensuous colors and world class fragrances. Lux is available in four different variants Exotic flower petals and Jojoba Oil, Almond Oil and Milk Cream, Fruit Extracts and Honey in Milk Cream and Sandal Saffron in Milk Cream

Lifebuoy

The world's largest selling soap offers a compelling health benefit to the entire family. Launched in 1895, Lifebuoy, for over a 100 years, has been synonymous with health and value. The brick red soap, with its perfume and popular Lifebuoy jingle, has carried the Lifebuoy message of health across the length and breadth of the country. The 2002 and 2004 relaunches have been turning points in its history. The new mix includes a new formulation and a repositioning to make it more relevant to both new and existing consumers. The new Lifebuoy is targeted at today's discerning housewife with a more inclusive "family health protection for my family and me" positioning. Lifebuoy has made a deliberate shift from the male, victorious concept of health to a warmer, more versatile, more responsible benefit of health for the entire family.

At the upper end of the market, Lifebuoy offers specific health benefits through Lifebuoy Gold and Plus. Lifebuoy Gold (also called Care) helps protect against germs which cause skin blemishes, while Lifebuoy Plus offers protection against germs which cause body odour.

Fair and Lovely

Fair & Lovely, Based on a revolutionary breakthrough in skin lightening technology, Fair & Lovely was launched in 1978. The Hindustan Lever Research Centre (it is among the largest research establishments in India's private sector, including pharmaceutical companies, with facilities in Mumbai and Bangalore) deployed technology, based on pioneering research in the science of skin lightening to develop Fair & Lovely. The brand today offers a substantive range of products, including Ayurvedic Fair & Lovely Fairness cream, Fair & Lovely Anti-Marks cream, Fair & Lovely Oil control Fairness Gel, Fair & Lovely for Deep Skin and Fair & Lovely Fairness Soap. The latest has been the Perfect Radiance, a complete range of 12 premium skincare solutions from Fair & Lovely.

IT Infrastructure

An IT-powered system has been implemented to supply stocks to redistribution stockists on a continuous replenishment basis. To ensure that the right product is available at the right place in right quantities, in the most cost-effective manner. For this, stockists have been connected with the company through an Internet-based network, called RSNet, for online interaction on orders, dispatches, information sharing and monitoring. RS Net covers about 80% of the company's turnover. Today, the sales system gets to know every day what HLL stockists have sold to almost a million outlets across the country. RS Net is part of Project Leap, HLL's end-to-end supply chain, which also includes a back-end system connecting suppliers, all company sites and stretching right upto stockists.

Final note

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