HUL - IT Reboot

• India’s largest FMCG company with 65 brands in more than 20 categories.
• A turnover of Rs. 60,680 Crores with an EBITDA of Rs. 15,144 crores.
• The company holds 45000 distributors, 8 mn stores and 1150 suppliers under its vast distribution network.

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 HUL in November 1956; HUL offered 10% of its equity to the Indian public, being the first among the foreign subsidiaries to do so. Unilever now holds 61.9% equity in the company.

Unilever acquired Lipton in 1972 whereas Brooke Bond joined its fold in 1984. In 2007, the company’s name was formally changed to Hindustan Unilever Limited and in 2010, the company’s head office was shifted from the landmark Lever House in Mumbai to its new campus in Andheri East

Product/Business Portfolio-

HUL categorizes its brands under 3 major categories:

Beauty and Personal Care:

The beauty and Personal care segment is the largest segment in the kitty of HUL with 32 brands and clocked a total of Rs. ₹21,831 Cores with an EBITDA of Rs.5,597 crores. The brands that come under the category are as follows:

• Axe
• Dove
• Lifebuoy
• Love Beauty and Planet
• Lux
• Pepsodent
• Rexona
• Sunsilk
• Tresemme
• Vaseline
• Aviance
• Breeze
• Citra
• Clear
• Close Up
• Glow and Lovely
• Lakme
• Pears
• TIGI
• Tony&Guy
• Brylcreem
• Clinic Plus
• Elle 18
• Glow and Handsome
• Hamam
• Indulekha
• Ayush
• Liril
• Pure Derm
• Rexona
• V Wash

Foods and Refreshments:

Foods and refreshment is the next category under HUL. It is the second largest category in terms of the number of brands but falls behind the Home Care category in terms of revenue. In FY 2022, the foods and refreshment category clocked a total revenue of Rs. 14,876 crores with an EBITDA of Rs. 2,662 crores. The brands that fall under the foods and refreshment kitty are as follows:

• Boost
• Cornetto
• Hellman’s
• Horlicks
• Horlicks Cardia Plus
• Horlicks Growth Plus
• Lite Horlicks
• Horlicks Mother’s Plus
• Horlicks Protein Plus
• Horlicks Women’s Plus
• Junior Horlicks
• Knorr
• Lipton
• Magnum
• Bru
• Annapurna
• Brooke Bond 3 Roses
• Brooke Bond Red Label
• Brooke Bond Taaza
• Brooke Bond Taj Mahal
• Kissan
• Quality Walls

3. HomeCare:

The third category classified by HUL is the Homecare category, which achieved a total turnover of Rs. 21,230 crores and an EBITDA of Rs.3,875 crores with 10 brands, which are as follows:

• Cif
• Comfort
• Wheel
• Domex
• Rin
• Surf Excel
• Vim
• Love & Care
• Nature Protect
• Sunlight

Recent Mergers and Acquisitions

• In one of the largest mergers in the FMCG industry, GSK consumer healthcare was merged with HUL for $3.8Bn. This deal will give HUL a strong foothold in the Nutrition and health drinks category with brands like Horlicks
• Another major acquisition in 2019-2020 was that of V-Wash, the female intimate hygiene brand
• HUL also acquired the ice cream and frozen desserts business of Vijaykant Dairy and Food Products Limited, giving it access to ‘Aditya Milk’ and its distribution network
• HUL also acquired Indulekha in 2015, the premium hair oil brand to foray into the upcoming category of Ayurveda

Top 5 Competitors:

• Procter & Gamble India
• ITC Ltd
• Nestle India Ltd
• Reckitt Benckiser
• Patanjali Ayurveda

Recent News and Developments:

• HUL rejigged its top management and appointed Kedar Lele as its Executive Director for customer development.
• HUL sets up a fully owned subsidiary Unilever India Ltd to save on corporate taxes.
• HUL partnered with KVN foundation and Portea healthcare to airlift 4000 oxygen concentrators to bring to India.
• HUL partnered with Invest India to launch the ‘Grand Water Saving Challenge’.
• HUL boss Sanjiv Mehta honored with AIMA-JRD Tata Corporate Leadership Award.
• HUL also joined hands with SBI to provide its retailers with an instant OD facility and transform retailer payments digitally.

Opportunities at HUL:

Main Roles offered to Students: For management students, HUL hires them as Management Trainees and takes them through their 15-18 month training program known as the Unilever Future Leaders Program. After completion of the training program, the trainees are employed in various areas of work like Sales and Marketing, HR, Supply Chain, Finance, etc.