Unilever is multinational consumer goods company. It is headquartered in London and Netherland. The main products of the company are confection, food, energy drinks, bottled water, chewing gums, beauty products, breakfast cereals, personal care, healthcare and many more. Unilever is one of the biggest soap producers in the world. It is operating in 190 countries across the globe (Unilever, 2021). Here is the PESTEL analysis of Unilever.
Political Factors
Unilever is one of a known company across the globe with huge product portfolio. The company is working mainly in following divisions, Personal and beauty products, refreshment and food, water purifier, and home care. It generates most of the revenues from fast moving consumer goods. It is necessary for Unilever to abide by the laws and regulations set by Drug and food administration. Unilever has to be updated with every single policy that is set by the government for example Trump changed many policies related to trade reforms, but it is possible that new government will bring new policies (Case study, 2021).
Economic Factors
Unilever is greatly affected by the economic factors. State of the economy indicates towards purchasing power of the customers. Consumers are always looking for cheap consumer goods which are good in quality. There are several companies competing with Unilever, especially in EU. As they are directly affected by the products of Unilever. If in any case products do not remain in demand, the cash flow and revenue of the company will be affected negatively. Hence, Unilever has diversified its risks through huge product portfolio and multiple demographic locations (Frue, 2017).
Social Factors
Unilever worked hard in building strong brand image and good will in the industry. The company give high regards to environmental and social factors. As the company manufactures personal care products, it expresses strong desire for helping people regarding looks, feels, lifestyle, etc. Their marketing for example Dove focused on helping women to feel confident and best all the time. They point out main social issues of society and translate I in their advertisements which create deep connection between the products and consumers (Frue, 2017)
Technological Factors
It is necessary for the Unilever to keeps its pace with technology for sustaining in the industry and to be a market leader. Continuous improvement in its operating departments is needed to increase the productivity and efficient in order to decrease the production costs. Sufficient resources are needed to be invested in Research and development department for designing new products which can be launched by the company to grab the market space. Having the setup facility with the automated operations can help the company in saving time (Albert, 2008).
Environmental Factors
Unilever is promoting renewable and sustainable resources. They design their products to be safe for its consumers in every part of the world they distribute. The resources are eco-friendly from designing to packaging. The company is trying to present itself as environmentally friendly organization. For this, Unilever worked hard towards understanding its corporate social responsibility. It highly respects consumer safety and health. The company ensure compliance with Standard for Occupational Health and Safety Environment Care. And arranged various programs to train its employees (Albert, 2008).
Legal Factors
As the Unilever deals in multiple consumer goods across the globe, it is important for the company to take care of the policies, laws, and regulations. But it is equally important for the company to protect its own products as well. Many fraudulent companies can use other company’s patents as their own selling point and became the leader. As to avoid such mishandling, Unilever has a legal department that is responsible for the vigilant actions against them. Moreover, Unilever also tries to inform customers about legal issues and processes to develop trust among them (Mba skool, 2019).
Conclusion
In conclusion, Unilever abides by various laws and regulations according to the current government in the countries it is operating. the company work hard in building positive image in consumer mind and meet their needs. The company is more responsible towards environment.
References
Albert, U. 2008. PESTEL analysis: a report on Unilever. [Online], Available at: https://www.academia.edu/5617567/Pestel_Analysis_A_report_on_unilever, [Accessed on: 30th April, 2021].
Case study, 2021. Unilever PESTLE analysis. [Online], Available at: https://acasestudy.com/pestle-analysis-of-unilever/, [Accessed on: 30th April, 2021].
Frue, K. 2019. PESTEL analysis of Unilever. [Online], Available at: https://pestleanalysis.com/pestle-analysis-of-unilever/, [Accessed on: 30th April, 2021].
MBA skool, 2019. Unilever PESTLE analysis. [Online], Available at: https://www.mbaskool.com/pestle-analysis/companies/17992-unilever.html, [Accessed on: 30th April, 2021].