Unilever in the recession - the CEO on strategy

Here’s a neat 4 minute video with Paul Polman (CEO of Unilever) which would be useful for BUSS4 students researching recession strategies + perhaps some stronger AQA GCSE (legacy) candidates looking at the pre-released case study on Unilever plc…

Here is the link to the video, which is an interview that the Unilever CEO did with Bloomberg TV in the UK at the end of 2008 (i.e. at the lowest depth of the recession).

I jotted down some key points from my initial viewing (below). Students could be encouraged to identify two important statements made by the CEO and then to explain their significance.

- Economic climate in 2008 was very uncertain - making it almost impossible to produce business forecasts with any great confidence
- Commodity prices (i.e. Unilver’s raw materials) had risen significantly in 2007 and remained volatile
- Unilever (as a global FMCG brand) was exposed to volatility around the globe
- FMCG = Fast Moving Consumer Goods
- Consumers looking for better value
- Unilever needs to ensure that its brands remain competitive
- Recession offers lots of opportunities
- In FMCG, strategy is about creating new gaps in the market
- Restructuring programmes are the strategy for taking costs out of the business, involving streamlining the organisational structure
- Acquisitions - Unilever is always looking to change its product portfolio
- Businesses and brands that don’t perform are sold