Unilever

Unilever is an Anglo–Dutch multinational consumer goods company. Its products include foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. It is the world's third-largest consumer goods company measured by 2011 revenues (after Procter & Gamble and Nestlé) and the world's largest maker of ice cream.

Unilever owns over 400 brands, amongst the largest selling of which are Axe/Lynx, Ben & Jerry's, Dove, Knorr, Lipton, Lux/Radox, Omo/Surf, Rexona/Sure and Sunsilk. Its 25 largest brands account for over 70 % of total sales. Unilever focuses resources on 13 "billion-Euro brands", each of which has annual sales in excess of €1 billion. Unilever organises its brands into four categories: Homecare, Personal Care, Foods and Refreshment (which includes tea, ice-cream and beverages).

Unilever was founded on 1 January 1930 by the merger of the British soapmaker Lever Brothers and the Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie. It has made numerous corporate acquisitions, including of the brand Brooke Bond (maker of PG Tips tea), Chesebrough-Ponds (in 1987); Best Foods, Ben & Jerry's and Slim Fast (in 2000), Body Care products world wide and European Detergents from Sara Lee and Alberto-Culver (in 2010). On 14 October 2011, it was announced that Unilever had agreed to acquire 82 % of the Russia-based beauty company Kalina.

It is a dual-listed company consisting of Unilever N.V., based in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and Unilever PLC, based in London, United Kingdom. Both companies have the same directors and they operate as a single business. Unilever PLC has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It had a market capitalisation of £27.3 billion as of 23 December 2011, the 18th-largest of any company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange. Unilever N.V. has a primary listing on Euronext Amsterdam and is a constituent of the AEX index. Both Unilever PLC and Unilever N.V. have secondary listings on the New York Stock Exchange.

Unilever is multinational with operating companies and factories on every continent except Antarctica and research laboratories in England, the Netherlands, the United States, India and China. The company owns more than 400 brands, although its 25 largest brands account for over 70% of total sales. Unilever focuses resources on 13 "billion-Euro brands", each of which has annual sales in excess of €1 billion. Unilever organises its brands into four categories: Homecare, Personal Care, Foods and Refreshment (which includes tea, ice-cream and beverages).

Unilever is one of the largest media buyers in the world, and invested around €6 billion (US$8 billion) in advertising and promotion in 2010.Unilever's largest international competitors are Nestlé and Procter&Gamble.