Global Business: Unilever's SWOT & Functional Area Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive SWOT analysis of Unilever, evaluating its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats within the global business environment. The analysis highlights Unilever's strong brand image, extensive global footprint, and investment in research and development as key strengths, while also acknowledging weaknesses such as limited business diversification and intense competition. Opportunities for Unilever include focusing on healthy foods and leveraging its social and environmental responsibility. Threats primarily stem from competitors like Nestle and P&G, and the growing popularity of Ayurveda products. The report further examines how key drivers impact Unilever's functional areas, specifically the research and development and marketing departments, emphasizing the importance of innovation and effective advertising strategies. This detailed analysis offers valuable insights into Unilever's strategic position and potential avenues for growth.

Global business environment

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................2
SWOT analysis of Unilever.........................................................................................................2
Presenting the key drivers can impact upon firm’s functional areas...........................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
Global business environment refers to the environmental factors that have a direct impact
upon national, international and local environment. The present study also based upon Unilever
and describes SWOT analysis to determine the internal capabilities. Along with this, it identify
the impact of key drivers upon firm’s two functional areas.
SWOT analysis of Unilever
SWOT framework is used to identify the internal capabilities of the company and also
determine how the micro environmental factor affects the business performance.
Figure 1: SWOT Analysis
Strength: There is no negative impact upon the brand image of image of Unilever after
Brexit. Currently, the company is operates in nearly 190 countries around the world and also
have a global footprint in the market. It invest huge amount in its research and development
departments in order to offer new innovative products to their customers (SWOT analysis of
Unilever, 2020). Further, due to having a flexible pricing strategy, company is also able to meet
the demand of customers. Moreover, Unilever is also consider the market leader in consumer
products and due to its effective pricing style, company is able to meet the demand of customers.

Further, it also uses right marketing strategy in order to grab attention of many customers
towards it.
Weaknesses: It have limited business diversification which means that customer may
visit to other shops in order to meet their demand. Further, there is almost zero switching cost to
use other available substitute products and this causes adverse impact upon business financial
performance. Also, Unilever is operated in the uber competitive market where already
competitive companies are working and that is why, it causes negative impact upon the overall
business (Vlados, 2019). That is why, Unilever should analyse the social factors and to meet the
same, it have to keep changed their existing strategy in order to meet the defined aim.
Opportunities: in the current era, most of the customer are preferred healthy foods and to
meet the same, Unilever should focused upon the healthy food which assist to create further
opportunity for the company. Also, with the changing economies demand, it is necessary for the
company to grab the opportunity and identify the rights place for offer the suitable products
within a market. With the help of such opportunity, company is able to meet the defined aim of a
business and cater the need of customers as well (Gürel and Tat, 2017). Apart from this, Unilever
also have a good track record of social as well as environment responsibility and with an
emergence of ethical chic consumer, Unilever should grab the opportunity and must invest
within such products to meet the demand. It should also focused upon social media presence that
also assist to grab attention of customers toward it.
Threats: The biggest threat faced by Unilever is related to its competitors like Nestle,
P&G which makes the quoted firm to sustain within a market. It so because continuous launch of
new product with competitive pricing makes creates threats among other companies. Further,
growing popularity of Ayurveda products is consider the biggest threat among commercial
companies (Alalwan and et.al., 2017). That is why, companies like Unilever should focus upon
the need of customers and offer them same in order to improve the overall performance of a
business. Along with this, fluctuation in the economic condition of the company also affect the
overall performance and due to COVID-19, the entire performance of the company is already
affected in opposite manner.

Presenting the key drivers can impact upon firm’s functional areas
By conducting the SWOT analysis, it has been analysed that the company have a strong
brand image at international level, whereas it also have effective marketing strategy which assist
the customers to identify the latest products offered by the firm. Moreover, this directly affects
the department or functional areas of Unilever. These are as mentioned below:
Research and development department: From the strength, it has been identified that
the company invest huge amount for the research and development department that helps to
identify the need and customers of a company. This in turn assists firm to cater the need of
customers and offer innovative product that draw attention of many customers towards it
(Nambisan, Wright and Feldman, 2019). Further, with the help of research and development
department, company is able to analyse the changing requirement and then offer the same to their
customers so that it will become one of the most loved consumer companies at global level.
Focusing upon the research and development department, company is keep meet the changing
trend and able to offer the innovative products within market. This in turn cause positive impact
upon the overall performance and also increases the financial stability in near future.
Marketing department: Company keep focusing upon their advertising style and this
has always been strength of a Unilever for the right people. However, the company did not focus
upon the social media platform. That is why, Marketing department of the company should
ensure that they uses latest advertising pattern that helps to increase the financial performance of
a firm (Hirsch, Parag and Guerrero, 2018). Through marketing department, company is able to
advertise the product at right direction at right place so that they promote the products in target
geographies as well as coming up successfully in the market. Further, focusing upon platform
like Facebook, Twitter and SEO company is able to create further opportunities which assist to
creates positive impact upon business. Hence, marketing department of the company must focus
upon latest strategies used for advertisement in order to meet the defined aim as well as create a
brand image at global level as well (Cooper, 2019).
CONCLUSION
By summing up above, it has been concluded that Unilever has a brand image at global
level and it also able to meet the demand of customer by offering innovative products. Also,

focusing upon changing trend and develop product accordingly can be consider as an opportunity
whereas it faces tough competition from its rivals. Along with this, the key drivers also faces a
direct impact upon Unilever’s functional department i.e. Marketing and research & development
department.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Alalwan, A.A. and et.al., 2017. Social media in marketing: A review and analysis of the existing
literature. Telematics and Informatics. 34(7). pp.1177-1190.
Cooper, R.G., 2019. The drivers of success in new-product development. Industrial Marketing
Management. 76. pp.36-47.
Gürel, E. and Tat, M., 2017. SWOT analysis: a theoretical review. Journal of International
Social Research,.10(51).
Hirsch, A., Parag, Y. and Guerrero, J., 2018. Microgrids: A review of technologies, key drivers,
and outstanding issues. Renewable and sustainable Energy reviews. 90. pp.402-411.
Nambisan, S., Wright, M. and Feldman, M., 2019. The digital transformation of innovation and
entrepreneurship: Progress, challenges and key themes. Research Policy. 48(8). p.103773.
Vlados, C., 2019. On a correlative and evolutionary SWOT analysis. Journal of Strategy and
Management.
Online
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