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118-618: Unilever PLC is a British multinational fast-moving consumer goods company founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of British soap maker Lever Brothers and Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie . It is headquartered in London , England . The company's products include baby food, beauty products, bottled water, breakfast cereals, cleaning agents, condiments , dairy products , energy drinks, healthcare and hygiene products, ice cream , instant coffee , instant noodles , pet food, pharmaceuticals, soft drinks, tea, and toothpaste. It

236-544: A profit-sharing program for the company's workforce in 1887. By giving the workers a stake in the company, he correctly assumed that they would be less likely to go on strike. The company began to build factories in other locations in the United States because the demand for products had outgrown the capacity of the Cincinnati facilities. The company's leaders began to diversify its products as well, and in 1911

354-766: A basis in a national ethos , being ultimate without a specific nationhood, and that this lack of an ethos appears in their ways of operating as they enter into contracts with countries that have low human rights or environmental standards . In the world economy facilitated by multinational corporations, capital will increasingly be able to play workers, communities, and nations off against one another as they demand tax, regulation and wage concessions while threatening to move. In other words, increased mobility of multinational corporations benefits capital while workers and communities lose. Some negative outcomes generated by multinational corporations include increased inequality , unemployment , and wage stagnation . Raymond Vernon presents

472-576: A billion dollars in net annual sales. Most of these brands – including Bounty, Crest, Always , and Tide – are global products available on several continents. In 2005, Procter & Gamble made a $ 57 billion deal to buy Gillette, which combined some of the world's top brands including, signature razors, Duracell batteries, Braun, and Oral-B brands. P&G's products are available in North America, Latin America, Europe,

590-527: A colour cosmetics brand. In July, the company then announced that it had acquired the organic herbal tea business, Pukka Herbs. In September 2017, Unilever acquired Weis , an Australian ice cream business. Later that month Unilever acquired Remgro's interest in Unilever South Africa in exchange for the Unilever South Africa spreads business plus cash consideration. Even later that month, Unilever agreed to acquire Carver Korea, with 2.7billion USD,

708-508: A corporation invests in a country in which it is not domiciled, it is called foreign direct investment (FDI). Countries may place restrictions on direct investment; for example, China has historically required partnerships with local firms or special approval for certain types of investments by foreigners, although some of these restrictions were eased in 2019. Similarly, the United States Committee on Foreign Investment in

826-429: A free market system where there is little government interference. As a result, international wealth is maximized with free exchange of goods and services. To many economic liberals, multinational corporations are the vanguard of the liberal order. They are the embodiment par excellence of the liberal ideal of an interdependent world economy. They have taken the integration of national economies beyond trade and money to

944-467: A hair care products business. In 2017, significantly smaller Kraft Heinz made a $ 143 billion bid for Unilever. The deal was declined by Unilever. On 20 April 2017, Unilever acquired Sir Kensington's, a New York–based condiment maker. On 15 May 2017, the company acquired the personal care and home care brands of Quala, a Latin American consumer goods company. In June, the company acquired Hourglass,

1062-655: A holding company Unilever PLC and N.V. with Anglo-Dutch structure, which has its registered office at Port Sunlight in Merseyside, United Kingdom and its head office at Unilever House in London, United Kingdom. The company has been restructured several times, for example in 2018 and 2020 (see "history"). In 2018, Unilever announced its intention to simplify this structure by centralising the duality of legal entities and keeping just one headquarters in Rotterdam, abandoning

1180-537: A merger of UAC Ghana Limited and Lever Brothers Ghana Limited. In 1993, Unilever acquired Breyers from Kraft , which made the company the largest ice cream manufacturer in the United States. In the same year, it acquired the Isaly Klondike Company, makers of Klondike bar , and Popsicle Industries . In 1996, Unilever merged Elida Gibbs and Lever Brothers in its UK operations. It also purchased Helene Curtis , significantly expanding its presence in

1298-591: A merger of the operations of Dutch Margarine Unie and British soapmaker Lever Brothers , with the name of the resulting company a portmanteau of the name of both companies. In the 1930s, the business grew, and new ventures were launched in Africa and Latin America. During this time, Unilever acquired the United Africa Company , created from a merger of the African & Eastern Trade Corporation and

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1416-490: A million troops to help, and by February 1991, Iraqi forces were expelled from Kuwait. Due to the oil boycott from Kuwait and Iran, oil prices rose and quickly recovered. Saudi Arabia once again led OPEC, and thanks to assistance in defending Kuwait, new relations emerged between the USA and OPEC. Operation "Desert Storm" brought mutual dependence among the main oil producers. OPEC continued to influence global oil prices but recognized

1534-769: A new stand-alone beauty business, Elida Beauty, which will own and manage the following brands: Brut, Brylcreem, Timotei, Q-tips, Noxema, TIGI, VO5, Toni & Guy, Matey, Moussel, Monsavon, Impulse, St Ives, Alberto Balsam, Badedas, Fissan, Pento, Pond's, Careess, Lever 2000, Williams, Elida, and Alberto. In August 2021, Florida governor Ron DeSantis placed Unilever on a list of "Scrutinized Companies that Boycott Israel" because it had "no current plan to prevent Ben & Jerry's from terminating business activities in Israeli-controlled territories". The ice-cream brand has 90 days to stop engaging in "the BDS movement ", or

1652-589: A number of other companies that diversified its product line and significantly increased profits. These acquisitions included Folgers Coffee , Norwich Eaton Pharmaceuticals (the makers of Pepto-Bismol ), Richardson-Vicks, Noxell ( Noxzema ), Shulton's Old Spice , Max Factor , the Iams Company, and Pantene , among others. In 1994, the company made headlines for big losses resulting from leveraged positions in interest rate derivatives , and subsequently sued Bankers Trust for fraud; this placed their management in

1770-417: A product called Chux. Babies always wore cloth diapers, which were leaky and labor-intensive to wash. Pampers provided a convenient alternative, albeit at the environmental cost of more waste requiring landfilling . Amid the recent concerns parents have voiced on the ingredients in diapers, Pampers launched Pampers Pure collection in 2018, which is a "natural" diaper alternative. Procter & Gamble acquired

1888-616: A result, Unilever began to operate a "hands-off" policy towards the subsidiaries and left American management to its own devices. Sunsilk was first launched in the United Kingdom in 1954. Dove was first launched in the US in 1957. Unilever took full ownership of Frosted Foods in 1957, which it renamed Birds Eye . The US-based Good Humor ice cream business was acquired in 1961. By the mid-1960s, laundry soap and edible fats still contributed around half of Unilever's corporate profits. However,

2006-701: A skincare business brand of AHC in North Asia. In October 2017, Unilever acquired Brazilian natural and organic food business Mãe Terra. In November, Unilever announced an agreement to acquire the Tazo speciality tea brand from Starbucks . Later in November 2017, the company acquired Sundial Brands, a skincare company. In December 2017, Unilever acquired Schmidt's Naturals , a US natural deodorant and soap company. In December 2017, Unilever sold its margarine and spreads division to investment firm KKR for €6.8bn. The sale

2124-488: A stagnant market for yellow fats (butter, margarine, and similar products) and increasing competition in detergents and soaps from Procter & Gamble forced Unilever to diversify. In 1971, Unilever acquired the British-based Lipton Ltd from Allied Suppliers . In 1978, National Starch was acquired for $ 487 million, marking the largest ever foreign-acquisition of a US company at that point. By

2242-608: A statement made by William Gipson, P&G's chief global diversity officer. In November 2015, P&G was named the Careers in Africa Employer of Choice 2015 following a survey of over 13,000 African professionals from across the globe. P&G was also recognized as the most desirable FMCG business to work for in Africa. P&G was recognized as one of Forbes World's Most Reputable Companies in 2016, 2017, and 2023. As of 2015, 21 of P&G's brands have more than

2360-499: Is executive director. Jope will be proposed as joint executive director at Unilever's 2019 AGM. Previously, Paul Polman was CEO for ten years, succeeding Patrick Cescau in 2009. In November 2019, Unilever announced that Nils Andersen would be replacing Chairman Marijn Dekkers, who stepped down after three years in the role. In January 2023, it announced Hein Schumacher as its new CEO, effective July 2023. The three markets of

2478-450: Is now made up of 25 distinct symbols, each icon representing one of the company's sub-brands or its corporate values. The brand identity was developed around the idea of "adding vitality to life". Unilever's largest brands include Dove , Knorr , Axe (Lynx) , Ben & Jerry's , Hellmann's , Lifebuoy , Lux , Magnum , Omo (Persil) , Rexona , Sunlight , Sunsilk , and Wall's (Heartbrand) . Multinational corporation Most of

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2596-410: Is often handled through international arbitration . The actions of multinational corporations are strongly supported by economic liberalism and free market system in a globalized international society. According to the economic realist view, individuals act in rational ways to maximize their self-interest and therefore, when individuals act rationally, markets are created and they function best in

2714-541: Is the largest producer of soap in the world, and its products are available in over 190 countries. The company is organised into five business groups: Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, Nutrition, and Ice Cream. It has research and development facilities in China, India, the Netherlands, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In the 1930s, Unilever acquired the United Africa Company . During

2832-865: Is usually a large corporation incorporated in one country that produces or sells goods or services in various countries. Two common characteristics shared by MNCs are their large size and centrally controlled worldwide activities. MNCs may gain from their global presence in a variety of ways. First of all, MNCs can benefit from the economy of scale by spreading R&D expenditures and advertising costs over their global sales, pooling global purchasing power over suppliers, and utilizing their technological and managerial experience globally with minimal additional costs. Furthermore, MNCs can use their global presence to take advantage of underpriced labor services available in certain developing countries and gain access to special R&D capabilities residing in advanced foreign countries. The problem of moral and legal constraints upon

2950-656: The Birds Eye brand in the UK) and Batchelors Peas , one of the largest vegetables canners in the United Kingdom. In 1944, Pepsodent was acquired. In 1933, Unilever Indonesia was established in December as Lever Zeepfabrieken N.V. and had operations in Cikarang , West Java at Rungkut , East Java and North Sumatra . After 1945, Unilever's once-successful American businesses (Lever Brothers and T.J. Lipton) began to decline. As

3068-848: The Dutch East India Company (VOC) founded in 1602. In addition to carrying on trade between Great Britain and its colonies, the British East India Company became a quasi-government in its own right, with local government officials and its own army in India. Other examples include the Swedish Africa Company founded in 1649 and the Hudson's Bay Company founded in 1670. These early corporations engaged in international trade and exploration and set up trading posts. The Dutch government took over

3186-542: The FTSE 100 Index . When it appeared that the vote would fail, due to uncertainty over the Netherlands dividend tax, the scheme was cancelled on 5 October 2018. In October 2018, it acquired a 75% stake in the Italian personal-care business Equilibra and acquired the high-end, eco-friendly laundry and household cleaning products company The Laundress for an undisclosed sum. In 2018, UK recruitment website Indeed, named Unilever as

3304-505: The Hallmark Channel in 2013. In 2013, PGP rebranded itself as Procter & Gamble Entertainment (PGE) with a new logo and an emphasis on multiple-platform entertainment production. P&G funded a six-episode series, Activate , on National Geographic in 2019 focusing on extreme poverty, inequality and sustainability in conjunction with not-for-profit Global Citizen and production company Radical Media. The company agreed to

3422-604: The Royal Niger Company , which oversaw British trade interests in present-day Nigeria during the colonial era. The Nazi occupation of Europe during the Second World War meant that Unilever was unable to reinvest its capital into Europe, so it instead acquired new businesses in the United Kingdom and the United States. In 1943, it acquired T. J. Lipton , a majority stake in Frosted Foods (owner of

3540-644: The Thomas Hedley Co. , based in Newcastle upon Tyne , England. After this acquisition, Procter & Gamble had their UK Headquarters at Hedley House in Newcastle upon Tyne, until quite recently, when they moved to The Heights, Brooklands . Numerous new products and brand names were introduced over time, and Procter & Gamble began branching out into new areas. The company introduced Tide laundry detergent in 1946, Prell shampoo in 1947 and Joy,

3658-501: The 1920s, P&G advertised its products on the new medium of radio and, from 1932 forward, was one of the biggest sponsors of daytime serials, which soon acquired the nickname of soap operas . In the television era, P&G sponsored and produced some twenty soap operas across six decades before the last of its shows ended in 2010. The company moved into other countries, both in terms of manufacturing and product sales, becoming an international corporation with its 1930 acquisition of

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3776-617: The 19th century, such as the Rio Tinto company founded in 1873, which started with the purchase of sulfur and copper mines from the Spanish government. Rio Tinto, now based in London and Melbourne , Australia, has made many acquisitions and expanded globally to mine aluminum , iron ore , copper , uranium , and diamonds . European mines in South Africa began opening in the late 19th century, producing gold and other minerals for

3894-588: The 2010s, under the leadership of Paul Polman , the company gradually shifted its focus towards health and beauty brands and away from food brands that showed slow growth. Unilever has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and a secondary listing on the Euronext Amsterdam , and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index and the AEX index . In September 1929, Unilever was formed by

4012-551: The English language. Senior officials, although mostly still Swedish, all learned English and all major internal documents were in English, the lingua franca of multinational corporations. After the war, the number of businesses having at least one foreign country operation rose drastically from a few thousand to 78,411 in 2007. Meanwhile, 74% of parent companies are located in economically advanced countries. Developing and former communist countries such as China, India, and Brazil are

4130-477: The European Iams business to Spectrum Brands in December 2014. In August 2014, P&G announced it was streamlining the company, dropping around 100 brands and concentrating on the remaining 65, which were producing 95% of the company's profits. In March 2015, the company divested its Vicks VapoSteam U.S. liquid inhalant business to Helen of Troy , part of a brand-restructuring operation. This deal

4248-860: The Heart: The Ricky Bell Story , which was co-produced by The Landsburg Company , and they continued to produce the People's Choice Awards until the show was sold to E! channel in April 2017. In 2007, PGP teamed up with the now-defunct Cookie Jar Group to produce the Flash-animated children's series Will and Dewitt , which featured the character Dewitt, the mascot for the Pampers baby product line's former sub-brand, Kandoo. With Walmart, PGP sponsored Family Movie Night on broadcast networks in 2010–2011 and Walden Family Theater on

4366-575: The International Energy Agency (IEA), enabling states to coordinate policy, gather data, and monitor global oil reserves. In the 1970s, OPEC gradually nationalized the Seven Sisters. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as the only largest world oil producer, could leverage this. However, Saudi Arabia opted for the correct approach and maintained consistent oil prices throughout the 1970s. In 1979, the "second oil shock" came from

4484-492: The London head office. Business groups and staff would have been unaffected, as would the dual listing. On 5 October 2018 the group announced it would cancel the restructuring due to concern that the United Kingdom shareholders would lose value if the company fell out of the London FTSE100. A shareholder vote was planned to decide for the listing of a new Unilever Dutch entity, which would have seen Unilever dropping out of

4602-482: The Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. In 2018, P&G's fabric and home care division accounted for 32% of the company's total net sales, the highest of all its divisions. The division includes Downy , Gain , Tide , Febreze , and Dawn . According to Advertising Age , Procter & Gamble spent $ 4.3 billion advertising their various brands in the United States in 2015, making it

4720-469: The N.V. to merge into the PLC. In October 2020 Unilever announced that 99 per cent of shareholders in its UK arm agreed with the merger, i.e., voted to base the group in London. The completion of the unification was announced on 30 November 2020. Since then there is one class of shares. In January 2019, Alan Jope succeeded Paul Polman as the chief executive officer. The chief financial officer, Graeme Pitkethly,

4838-451: The Netherlands has become a popular choice, as its company laws have fewer requirements for meetings, compensation, and audit committees, and Great Britain had advantages due to laws on withholding dividends and a double-taxation treaty with the United States. Corporations can legally engage in tax avoidance through their choice of jurisdiction but must be careful to avoid illegal tax evasion . Corporations that are broadly active across

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4956-558: The OLI framework. The other theoretical dimension of the role of multinational corporations concerns the relationship between the globalization of economic engagement and the culture of national and local responses. This has a history of self-conscious cultural management going back at least to the 60s. For example: Ernest Dichter, architect, of Exxon's international campaign, writing in the Harvard Business Review in 1963,

5074-464: The Third World colonies. That changed dramatically after 1945 as investors turned to industrialized countries and invested in manufacturing (especially high-tech electronics, chemicals, drugs, and vehicles) as well as trade. Sweden's leading manufacturing concern was SKF , a leading maker of bearings for machinery. In order to expand its international business, it decided in 1966 it needed to use

5192-636: The U.S. applies its corporate taxation "extraterritorially", which has motivated tax inversions to change the home state. By 2019, most OECD nations, with the notable exception of the U.S., had moved to territorial tax in which only revenue inside the border was taxed; however, these nations typically scrutinize foreign income with controlled foreign corporation (CFC) rules to avoid base erosion and profit shifting . In practice, even under an extraterritorial system, taxes may be deferred until remittance, with possible repatriation tax holidays , and subject to foreign tax credits . Countries generally cannot tax

5310-627: The UK, it merged its Lever Brothers and Elida Fabergé businesses as Lever Fabergé in January 2001. In 2003, Unilever announced the sale of the Dalda brand in both India and Pakistan . In 2003, Bunge Limited acquired the Dalda brand from Hindustan Unilever Limited for reportedly under Rs 1 billion. On 30 March 2004, Unilever Pakistan accepted an offer of Rs. 1.33 billion for the sale of its Dalda brand and related business of edible oils and fats to

5428-549: The US from the United Kingdom. They initially settled in Cincinnati, Ohio , and met when they married sisters Olivia and Elizabeth Norris. Alexander Norris, their father-in-law, persuaded them to become business partners, and in 1837, Procter & Gamble was created. From 1858 to 1859, sales reached $ 1 million. By that point, about 80 employees worked for Procter & Gamble. During the American Civil War ,

5546-478: The United Kingdom's ninth best private sector employer based on millions of employee ratings and reviews. In 2020, Unilever announced it has reviewed its corporate structure again and that the company was to merge Unilever N.V. into Unilever PLC forming one holding company to be based in the United Kingdom. However, a Dutch 'exit tax' plan would require Unilever to reconsider this unification. In September 2020 Unilever's Dutch arm shareholders overwhelmingly voted for

5664-541: The United States sanctions against Iran ; European companies faced with the possibility of losing access to the U.S. market by trading with Iran. International investment agreements also facilitate direct investment between two countries, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and most favored nation status. Raymond Vernon reported in 1977 that of the largest multinationals focused on manufacturing, 250 were headquartered in

5782-506: The United States scrutinizes foreign investments. In addition, corporations may be prohibited from various business transactions by international sanctions or domestic laws. For example, Chinese domestic corporations or citizens have limitations on their ability to make foreign investments outside China, in part to reduce capital outflow . Countries can impose extraterritorial sanctions on foreign corporations even for doing business with other foreign corporations, which occurred in 2019 with

5900-614: The United States as the largest consumer and guarantor of the existing oil security order. Since the Iraq War, OPEC has had only a minor influence on oil prices, but it has expanded to 11 members, accounting for about 40 percent of total global oil production, although this is a decline from nearly 50 percent in 1974. Oil has practically become a common commodity, leading to much more volatile prices. Most OPEC members are wealthy, and most remain dependent on oil revenues, which has serious consequences, such as when OPEC members were pressured by

6018-461: The United States from 2010. The USA became the leading oil producer, creating tension with OPEC. In 2014, Saudi Arabia increased production to push new American producers out of the market, leading to lower prices. OPEC then reduced production in 2016 to raise prices, further worsening relations with the United States. By 2012, only 7% of the world's known oil reserves were in countries that allowed private international companies free rein; 65% were in

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6136-497: The United States shampoo and deodorant market. The purchase brought Unilever the Suave and Finesse hair-care product brands and Degree deodorant brand. In 1997, Unilever sold its speciality chemicals division, including National Starch & Chemical, Quest , Unichema and Crosfield to Imperial Chemical Industries for £4.9 billion. In 1998, Unilever established a sustainable agriculture programme. In 2000, Unilever acquired

6254-629: The United States, 115 in Western Europe, 70 in Japan, and 20 in the rest of the world. The multinationals in banking numbered 20 headquartered in the United States, 13 in Europe, nine in Japan and three in Canada. Today multinationals can select from a variety of jurisdictions for various subsidiaries, but the ultimate parent company can select a single legal domicile ; The Economist suggests that

6372-426: The United States, China and India account for over one third of turnover. Thirteen brands account for over half of sales. Unilever's largest international competitors are Nestlé and Procter & Gamble . In 1930, the logo of Unilever was in a sans-serif typeface and all-caps. The current Unilever corporate logo was introduced in 2004 and was designed by Wolff Olins , a brand consultancy agency. The 'U' shape

6490-766: The VOC in 1799, and during the 19th century, other governments increasingly took over private companies, most notably in British India. During the process of decolonization , the European colonial charter companies were disbanded, with the final colonial corporation, the Mozambique Company , dissolving in 1972. Mining of gold, silver, copper, and oil was a major activity early on and remains so today. International mining companies became prominent in Britain in

6608-507: The West to the post-colonial South and invest either in foreign expenditures or ostentatious economic development projects. After 1974, most of the money from OPEC members ceased as payments for goods and services or investments in Western industry. In February 1974, the first Washington Energy Conference was convened. The most significant contribution of this conference was the establishment of

6726-972: The acquisition of Gillette , forming the largest consumer goods company and placing Unilever into second place. This added brands such as Gillette razors, Duracell , Braun , and Oral-B to their stable. The acquisition was approved by the European Union and the Federal Trade Commission , with conditions to a spinoff of certain overlapping brands. P&G agreed to sell its SpinBrush battery-operated electric toothbrush business to Church & Dwight , and Gillette's Rembrandt toothpaste line to Johnson & Johnson . The deodorant brands Right Guard , Soft and Dri, and Dry Idea were sold to Dial Corporation . In 2001, Liquid Paper and Gillette's stationery division, Paper Mate , were sold to Newell Rubbermaid . The companies officially merged on October 1, 2005. In 2008, P&G branched into

6844-557: The acquisition of the consumer health division of Merck Group (known as EMD Serono in North America) for €3.4 billion ($ 4.2 billion) and renamed it as Procter & Gamble Health Limited in May 2019. In November 2018, P&G unveiled a simpler corporate structure with six business units that will be effective from July 2019. In 2023, the company began optimizing its product offering. As part of this strategy, it plans to eliminate

6962-469: The behavior of multinational corporations, given that they are effectively "stateless" actors, is one of several urgent global socioeconomic problems that has emerged during the late twentieth century. Potentially, the best concept for analyzing society's governance limitations over modern corporations is the concept of "stateless corporations". Coined at least as early as 1991 in Business Week ,

7080-414: The board include: In May 2011, Fortune editor-at-large Patricia Sellers praised P&G's board diversity, as five of the company's 11 directors were female and had all been on Fortune 's annual Most Powerful Women list. In March 2011, Rajat Gupta resigned from the board after an SEC accusation of Galleon Group insider trading . In May 2013, Robert A. McDonald announced his retirement and

7198-488: The bottom 25% of SKUs , which contribute very little to absolute retail sales. According to other comparable companies, a similar share of SKUs represents between 2% and 2.5% of its turnover at a global level. For the fiscal year 2018, Procter & Gamble reported earnings of US$ 9.750 billion, with an annual revenue of US$ 66.832 billion, an increase of 2.7% over the previous fiscal cycle. The company's shares traded at over $ 86 per share in 2017, and its market capitalization

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7316-554: The boutique mustard retailer Maille, Ben & Jerry's and SlimFast for £1.63 billion, Bestfoods for £13.4 billion. The Bestfoods acquisition increased Unilever's scale in foods in America, and added brands including Knorr , Marmite , Bovril , and Hellmann's to its portfolio. In exchange for European regulatory approval of the deal, Unilever divested itself of Oxo , Lesieur, McDonnells, Bla Band, Royco, and Batchelors . In 2001, Unilever split into two divisions: one for foods and one for home and personal care. In

7434-742: The collapse of the Shah's regime in Iran. Iran became a regional power due to oil money and American weapons. The Shah eventually abdicated and fled the country. This prompted a strike by thousands of Iranian oil workers, significantly reducing oil production in Iran. Saudi Arabia tried to cope with the crisis by increasing production, but oil prices still soared, leading to the "second oil shock." Saudi Arabia significantly reduced oil production, losing most of its revenues. In 1986, Riyadh changed course, and oil production in Saudi Arabia sharply increased, flooding

7552-654: The companies. This occurred in 1960. Prior to the 1973 oil crisis , the Seven Sisters controlled around 85 percent of the world's petroleum reserves . In the 1970s, most countries with large reserves nationalized their reserves that had been owned by major oil companies. Since then, industry dominance has shifted to the OPEC cartel and state-owned oil and gas companies, such as Saudi Aramco , Gazprom (Russia), China National Petroleum Corporation , National Iranian Oil Company , PDVSA (Venezuela), Petrobras (Brazil), and Petronas (Malaysia). A unilateral increase in oil prices

7670-431: The company announced the sale of 43 of its beauty brands to Coty , a beauty-product manufacturer, in a US$ 13 billion deal. It cited sluggish growth of its beauty division as the reason for the divestiture. The sale was completed on October 3, 2016. In February 2016, P&G completed the transfer of Duracell to Berkshire Hathaway through an exchange of shares. In December 2018, Procter & Gamble completed

7788-509: The company at 15th place of the "World's Most Admired Companies" list. Chief Executive magazine named P&G the best overall company for leadership development in its list of the "40 Best Companies for Leaders". In October 2008, P&G was named one of " Canada's Top 100 Employers " by Mediacorp Canada Inc. and was featured in Maclean's newsmagazine . Later that month, P&G was also named one of Greater Toronto's Top Employers , which

7906-414: The company began producing Crisco , a shortening made of vegetable oils rather than animal fats . Beginning in the 1880s, P&G advertised its wares in full-page advertisements in many general-interest magazines. By 1921, it had become a major international corporation with a diversified line of soaps, toiletries, and food products; in that year, its annual advertising budget reached $ 1 million. In

8024-511: The company won contracts to supply the Union Army with soap and candles. In addition to the increased profits experienced during the war, the military contracts introduced soldiers from all over the country to Procter & Gamble's products. In the 1880s, Procter & Gamble began to market a new product, an inexpensive soap that floated in water. The company called the soap Ivory . William Arnett Procter, William Procter's grandson, began

8142-503: The company would sell Elida Beauty to Yellow Wood Partners, a private equity firm in the United States. In March 2024, Unilever announced plans to spin off its ice cream unit, which makes among others, brands such as Magnum and Ben & Jerry's, into a standalone business starting in March 2024 and planned to complete by the end of 2025. The announcement was part of a cost-savings programme that would cut 7,500 jobs. Unilever has

8260-510: The conception was theoretically clarified in 1993: that an empirical strategy for defining a stateless corporation is with analytical tools at the intersection between demographic analysis and transportation research. This intersection is known as logistics management , and it describes the importance of rapidly increasing global mobility of resources. In a long history of analysis of multinational corporations, we are some quarter-century into an era of stateless corporations—corporations that meet

8378-643: The creation of a "world customer". The idea of a global corporate village entailed the management and reconstitution of parochial attachments to one's nation. It involved not a denial of the naturalness of national attachments, but an internationalization of the way a nation defines itself. "Multinational enterprise" (MNE) is the term used by international economist and similarly defined with the multinational corporation (MNC) as an enterprise that controls and manages production establishments, known as plants located in at least two countries. The multinational enterprise (MNE) will engage in foreign direct investment (FDI) as

8496-487: The current largest and most influential companies are publicly traded multinational corporations, including Forbes Global 2000 companies. The history of multinational corporations began with the history of colonialism . The first multi-national corporations were founded to set up colonial "factories" or port cities. The two main examples were the British East India Company founded in 1600 and

8614-700: The debate from a neo-liberal perspective in Storm over the Multinationals (1977). Procter %26 Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company ( P&G ) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio , founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble . It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer health, personal care and hygiene products; these products are organized into several segments including beauty; grooming; health care; fabric and home care; and baby, feminine, and family care. Before

8732-522: The end of the 1970s through acquisitions, Unilever had gained 30 per cent of the Western European ice cream market. In 1982, Unilever management decided to reposition itself from an unwieldy conglomerate to a more concentrated fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company. In 1984, Unilever acquired Brooke Bond (maker of PG Tips tea) for £390 million in the company's first successful takeover . In 1986, Unilever strengthened its position in

8850-481: The firm makes direct investments in host country plants for equity ownership and managerial control to avoid some transaction costs . Sanjaya Lall in 1974 proposed a spectrum of scholarly analysis of multinational corporations, from the political right to the left. He put the business school how-to-do-it writers at the extreme right, followed by the liberal laissez-faire economists, and the neoliberals (they remain right of center but do allow for occasional mistakes of

8968-520: The first liquid synthetic detergent in 1949. In 1955, Procter & Gamble began selling the first toothpaste to contain fluoride , known as Crest . Branching out once again in 1957, the company purchased paper mills from Charmin and began manufacturing toilet paper and other tissue paper products. Once again focusing on laundry, Procter & Gamble began making Downy -branded fabric softener in 1960 and Bounce fabric softener sheets in 1972. From 1957 to 1968, Procter & Gamble owned Clorox ,

9086-402: The first radio serial dramas in the 1930s. As the company was known for Ivory soap, the serials became known as " soap operas ". With the rise of television in the 1950s and 1960s, most of the new serials were sponsored, produced and owned (20 series) by the company (including The Guiding Light , which had begun as a radio serial, and made the transition to television lasting 72 years). Though

9204-505: The food business in 2012 when it sold its Pringles snack food business to Kellogg's for $ 2.75 billion after the $ 2.35 billion deal with former suitor Diamond Foods fell short. The company had previously sold Jif peanut butter , Crisco shortening and oils, and Folgers coffee in separate transactions to fellow Ohio-based company Smucker's . In April 2014, the company sold its Iams pet food business in all markets excluding Europe to Mars, Inc. for $ 2.9 billion. It sold

9322-416: The hands of state-owned companies that operated in one country and sold oil to multinationals such as BP, Shell, ExxonMobil and Chevron. Down through the 1930s, about 80% of the international investments by multinational corporations were concentrated in the primary sector, especially mining (especially oil) and agriculture (rubber, tobacco, sugar, palm oil , coffee, cocoa, and tropical fruits). Most went to

9440-576: The international oil market. Iran was unable to sell any of its oil. In August 1953, the then-prime minister was overthrown by a pro-American dictatorship led by the Shah, and in October 1954, the Iranian industry was denationalized. Worldwide oil consumption increased rapidly between 1949 and 1970, a period known as the 'golden age of oil'. This increase in consumption was caused not only by the growth of production by multinational oil companies but also by

9558-415: The internationalization of production. For the first time in history, production, marketing, and investment are being organized on a global scale rather than in terms of isolated national economies. International business is also a specialist field of academic research. Economic theories of the multinational corporation include internalization theory and the eclectic paradigm . The latter is also known as

9676-460: The largest recipients. However, 70% of foreign direct investment went into developed countries in the form of stocks and cash flows. The rise in the number of multinational companies could be due to a stable political environment that encourages cooperation, advances in technology that enable management of faraway regions, and favorable organizational development that encourages business expansion into other countries. A multinational corporation (MNC)

9794-533: The last P&G-produced show, As the World Turns , left the air in 2010, The Young and the Restless , produced by Sony Pictures Television and broadcast on CBS, is still partially sponsored by Procter & Gamble; as of 2017, it is the only remaining daytime drama that is partially sponsored by Procter & Gamble. These past serials were produced by Procter & Gamble: Procter & Gamble also

9912-474: The laws and regulations of both their domicile and the additional jurisdictions where they are engaged in business. In some cases, the jurisdiction can help to avoid burdensome laws, but regulatory statutes often target the "enterprise" with statutory language around "control". As of 1992 , the United States and most OECD countries have the donot legal authority to tax a domiciled parent corporation on its worldwide revenue, including subsidiaries. As of 2019 ,

10030-510: The leading American manufacturer of liquid bleach; however, the Federal Trade Commission challenged the acquisition, and the U.S. Supreme Court decided against P&G in April 1967. One of the most revolutionary products to come out on the market was the company's disposable Pampers diaper, first test-marketed in 1961, the same year Procter & Gamble came out with Head & Shoulders . Prior to this point, disposable diapers were not popular, although Johnson & Johnson had developed

10148-434: The market with cheap oil. This caused a worldwide drop in oil prices, hence the "third oil shock" or "counter-shock." However, this shock represented something much bigger—the end of OPEC's dominance and its control over oil prices. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein decided to attack Kuwait. The invasion sparked a crisis in the Middle East, prompting Saudi Arabia to request assistance from the United States. The United States sent

10266-543: The marketplace such as externalities). Moving to the left side of the line are nationalists, who prioritize national interests over corporate profits, then the "dependencia" school in Latin America that focuses on the evils of imperialism, and on the far left the Marxists. The range is so broad that scholarly consensus is hard to discern. Anti-corporate advocates criticize multinational corporations for being without

10384-643: The newly incorporated company Dalda Foods (Pvt.) Limited. In 2002, the company sold its speciality oils and fats division, known as Loders Croklaan, for RM814 million (€218.5 million) to IOI Corporation , a Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia–based oil palm company. As part of the deal, the Loders Croklaan name was maintained. Unilever sold the brands Mazola, Argo & Kingsfords, Karo, Golden Griddle, and Henri's, along with several of its Canadian brands, to ACH Food Companies, an American subsidiary of Associated British Foods . In 2004, Unilever Bangladesh, which

10502-560: The price collapse in 1998–1999. The United States still maintains close relations with Saudi Arabia. In 2003, U.S. forces invaded Iraq with the aim of removing the dictatorship and gaining access to Iraqi oil reserves, giving the United States greater strategic importance from 2000 to 2008. During this period, there was a constant shortage of oil, but its consumption continued to rise, maintaining high prices and leading to concerns about "peak oil". From 2005 to 2012, there were advances in oil and gas extraction, leading to increased production in

10620-611: The realities of the needs of source materials on a worldwide basis and to produce and customize products for individual countries. One of the first multinational business organizations, the East India Company , was established in 1601. After the East India Company came the Dutch East India Company , founded on March 20, 1603, which would become the largest company in the world for nearly 200 years. The main characteristics of multinational companies are: When

10738-606: The record business with its sponsorship of Tag Records, as an endorsement for TAG Body Spray . P&G's dominance in many categories of consumer products makes its brand management decisions worthy of study. For example, P&G's corporate strategists must account for the likelihood of one of their products cannibalizing the sales of another . On August 25, 2009, the Ireland-based pharmaceutical company Warner Chilcott announced they had bought P&G's prescription-drug business for $ 3.1 billion. P&G exited

10856-691: The remaining 65 brands, which produced 95% of the company's profits. A.G. Lafley , the company's chairman and CEO until October 2015, said the future P&G would be "a much simpler, much less complex company of leading brands that's easier to manage and operate". In 2023, the company was ranked 55th in the Forbes Global 2000 . Jon Moeller is the president and CEO of P&G since 2021. Candlemaker William Procter , born in England, and soap maker James Gamble , born in Ireland , both emigrated to

10974-482: The sale of Pringles and Duracell to Kellogg's and Berkshire Hathaway , respectively, its product portfolio also included food , snacks , beverages , and batteries . P&G is incorporated in Ohio . In 2014, P&G recorded $ 83.1 billion in sales. On August 1, 2014, P&G announced it was streamlining the company, dropping and selling off around 100 brands from its product portfolio in order to focus on

11092-542: The second half of the 20th century, the company increasingly diversified from being a maker of products made of oils and fats, and expanded its operations worldwide. It has made numerous corporate acquisitions, including Lipton (1971), Brooke Bond (1984), Pond's (1987), Hellmann's (2000), Ben & Jerry's (2000), SlimFast (2000), Knorr (2000), Alberto-Culver (2010), Dollar Shave Club (2016), and Pukka Herbs (2017). Unilever divested its speciality chemicals businesses to Imperial Chemical Industries in 1997. In

11210-638: The state will no longer contract with the parent company Unilever or any of its subsidiaries. In November 2021, Unilever agreed to sell most of its tea business under the Ekaterra division to investment firm CVC Capital Partners for €4.5 billion. This deal excluded the Unilever tea business in India, Indonesia and Nepal, and the Lipton Ice Tea joint-venture with PepsiCo. The deal was completed in summer 2022. In December 2023, Unilever announced

11328-501: The strong influence of the United States on the global oil market. In 1959, companies lowered the price of oil due to a surplus in the market. This reduction dealt a significant blow to the finances of producers. Saudi oil minister Abdullah Tariki and Venezuela’s Juan Perez Alfonso entered into a secret agreement (the Mahdi Pact), promising that if the price of oil was lowered a second time, they would take collective action against

11446-428: The syndicated comedy series Throb . In 1985, they produced a game-show pilot called The Buck Stops Here with Taft Entertainment Television in 1985, hosted by Jim Peck ; it was not picked up. Procter & Gamble Productions originally co-produced Dawson's Creek with Columbia TriStar Television but withdrew before the series premiere due to early press reviews. They also produced the 1991 TV movie A Triumph of

11564-558: The top advertiser in the country. Manufacturing operations are based in these countries: In the 2021 review of WIPO 's annual World Intellectual Property Indicators Procter & Gamble ranked ninth in the world, with 57 designs in industrial design registrations being published under the Hague System during 2020. This position is down on their previous sixth-place ranking for 65 industrial design registrations being published in 2019. Procter & Gamble produced and sponsored

11682-481: The unusual position of testifying in court that they had entered into transactions that they were not capable of understanding. In 1996, P&G again made headlines when the Food and Drug Administration approved a new product developed by the company, Olestra . Also known by its brand name 'Olean', Olestra is a lower-calorie substitute for fat in cooking potato chips and other snacks. In January 2005, P&G announced

11800-639: The use of microplastics in the form of microbeads in their personal care products by 2015. In 2014, Unilever agreed to acquire a majority stake in the China-based water purification company Qinyuan for an undisclosed price, acquired Talenti Gelato & Sorbetto, acquired Camay brand globally and the Zest brand outside of North America and the Caribbean from Procter & Gamble . In 2015, Unilever acquired British niche skincare brand REN Skincare, This

11918-496: The world market, jobs for locals, and business and profits for companies. Cecil Rhodes (1853–1902) was one of the few businessmen in the era who became Prime Minister (of South Africa 1890–1896). His mining enterprises included the British South Africa Company and De Beers . The latter company practically controlled the global diamond market from its base in southern Africa. In 1945, the United States

12036-524: The world skin care market by acquiring Ponds (merged from Chesebrough Manufacturing and Pond's Creams ), the maker of Ragú , Pond's , Aqua-Net, Cutex , and Vaseline in another hostile takeover. In 1989, Unilever bought Calvin Klein Cosmetics, Fabergé , and Elizabeth Arden , but the latter was later sold (in 2000) to FFI Fragrances. In 1992, Unilever Ghana was established in July following

12154-573: The world without a concentration in one area have been called stateless or "transnational" (although "transnational corporation" is also used synonymously with "multinational corporation" ), but as of 1992, a corporation must be legally domiciled in a particular country and engage in other countries through foreign direct investment and the creation of foreign subsidiaries. Geographic diversification can be measured across various domains, including ownership and control, workforce, sales, and regulation and taxation. Multinational corporations may be subject to

12272-503: The worldwide revenue of a foreign subsidiary, and taxation is complicated by transfer pricing arrangements with parent corporations. For small corporations, registering a foreign subsidiary can be expensive and complex, involving fees, signatures, and forms; a professional employer organization (PEO) is sometimes advertised as a cheaper and simpler alternative, but not all jurisdictions have laws accepting these types of arrangements. Disputes between corporations in different nations

12390-602: Was announced by the Toronto Star newspaper. In October 2013, the company was named the fourth-most in-demand employer in the world according to analytic data sourced by LinkedIn. In August 2013, P&G was named the 14th-hardest company to interview for by Glassdoor. In November 2013, Glassdoor also named them as a top 25 company for career opportunities. In February 2014, Glassdoor placed P&G 34th on their annual Best Places to Work list. In November 2014, P&G came out publicly in support of same-sex marriage in

12508-409: Was completed in July 2018, and the new company was named Upfield . Upfield's notable brands include Flora , Stork , I Can't Believe It's Not Butter , Rama , Country Crock , Becel , and Blue Band . Unilever announced that to help tackle the global COVID-19 pandemic , it would contribute over € 100m through donations of soap, hand sanitiser, bleach and food. In April 2021, Unilever established

12626-806: Was completed on 6 December 2010. In 2010, Unilever acquired the Diplom-Is in Denmark, Unilever announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to sell its consumer tomato products business in Brazil to Cargill , purchased Alberto-Culver , a maker of personal care and household products including Simple, VO5 , Nexxus , TRESemmé , and Mrs. Dash , for US$ 3.7 billion. acquired EVGA 's ice cream brands, which included Scandal, Variete and Karabola, and its distribution network in Greece, for an undisclosed amount. In 2012, Unilever announced it would phase out

12744-438: Was enabled by multinational corporations known as the 'Seven Sisters'. The "Seven Sisters" was a common term for the seven multinational companies that dominated the global petroleum industry from the mid-1940s to the mid-1970s. The nationalization of the Iranian oil industry in 1951 by Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and the subsequent boycott of Iranian oil by all companies had dramatic consequences for Iran and

12862-510: Was established in 1964 changed its former name Lever Brothers Bangladesh Ltd to its present name in December 2004, is owned 60.4% by Unilever and 39.6% by the Government of Bangladesh . In 2007, Unilever partnered with Rainforest Alliance to sustainably source all its tea. In 2009, Unilever agreed to acquire the personal care business of Sara Lee Corporation , including brands such as Radox , Badedas and Duschdas. The Sara Lee acquisition

12980-421: Was followed in May 2015 by the acquisition of Kate Somerville Skincare LLC. The company also acquired the Italian premium ice cream maker GROM for an undisclosed amount. Unilever also separated its food spreads business, including its Flora and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! brands, into a standalone entity named Unilever Baking, Cooking and Spreading. The separation was first announced in December 2014 and

13098-448: Was fully aware that the means to overcoming cultural resistance depended on an "understanding" of the countries in which a corporation operated. He observed that companies with "foresight to capitalize on international opportunities" must recognize that " cultural anthropology will be an important tool for competitive marketing". However, the projected outcome of this was not the assimilation of international firms into national cultures, but

13216-546: Was labeled as "the largest nonviolent transfer of wealth in human history." The OPEC sought immediate discussions regarding participation in national oil industries. Companies were not inclined to object as the price hike benefited both them and OPEC members. In 1980, the Seven Sisters were entirely displaced and replaced by national oil companies (NOCs). The rise in oil prices burdened developing countries with balance of payments deficits, leading to an energy crisis. OPEC members had to abandon their plan of redistributing wealth from

13334-532: Was made in response to declining worldwide sales in that product category. Unilever bought the United States–based startup company Dollar Shave Club for a reported $ 1b (£764m) to compete in the male grooming market. On 16 August 2016, Unilever acquired Blueair, a supplier of mobile indoor air purification technologies. In September 2016, Unilever acquired Seventh Generation Inc. for $ 700 million. On 16 December 2016, Unilever acquired Living Proof Inc,

13452-458: Was replaced by A.G. Lafley , who returned as chairman, president, and CEO. Procter & Gamble is a member of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition , a Washington, DC–based coalition of over 400 major companies and NGOs that advocates for a larger international affairs budget, which funds American diplomatic and development efforts abroad. Fortune magazine awarded P&G a top spot on its list of "Global Top Companies for Leaders", and ranked

13570-399: Was the first company to produce and sponsor a prime-time serial, a 1965 spin-off of As the World Turns called Our Private World . In 1979, PGP produced Shirley , a prime-time NBC series starring Shirley Jones , which lasted 13 episodes. They also produced TBS ' first original comedy series, Down to Earth , which ran from 1984 to 1987 (110 episodes were produced). They also distributed

13688-523: Was the first health-related divestiture under the brand-restructuring operation. The deal included a fully paid-up license to the Vicks VapoSteam trademarks and the U.S. license of P&G's Vicks VapoPad trademarks for scent pads. Most Vicks VapoSteam and VapoPads are used in Vicks humidifiers, vaporizers and other health care devices already marketed by Helen of Troy. Later that same year in July,

13806-513: Was the world's largest oil producer. However, their reserves were declining due to high demand. Therefore, the United States turned to foreign oil sources, which had a significant impact on the recovery of the West after World War II. Most of the world's oil was found in Latin America and the Middle East, particularly in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. This increase in non-American production

13924-420: Was valued at over US$ 221.5 billion in October 2018. The company ranked No. 42 on the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. As of July 1, 2016 , the company structure has been categorized into ten categories and six selling and market organizations. As of March 2024 the board of directors of Procter & Gamble has 15 members: Previous members of

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