Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) Sunlight and Lifebuoy soaps were introduced in 1888 and 1895 respectively.

And in 1895, Lever Brothers appointed agents in cities such as Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Karachi. Several products were introduced by this FMCG giant Pears soap (1902), Brooke Bond Red Label tea (1903), Lux flakes (1905), Vim scouring powder (1913), Vinolia soap (1914), Rinso soap powder (1922) and others. In 1924, Gibbs dental preparations were introduced and a year later North West Soap Co. was fully under the control of Lever Brothers. Unilever was later established in 1930 through the merger between Lever Brothers and Margarine Unie. In 1931, Unilevers first subsidiary in India was established under the name Hindustan Vanaspati Manufacturing Co., followed by Lever Brothers India Ltd (1933) and United Traders Ltd (1935). The merger between these three companies resulted in the establishment of HUL in 1956. Indias trade liberalisation in 1991 benefited HULs growth as less trade restrictions allowed this FMCG giant to explore different opportunities without production capacity constraints. With the Ayush range and Ayush Therapy Centres, HUL made its foray into the Ayurvedic health and beauty segment in 2002 and a year later, the company launched Hindustan Lever Network through the acquisition of the Amalgam Group. In 2007, the company was renamed to Hindustan Unilever Ltd. HULs soaps and detergents portfolio registered sound sales growth of 54% with annual segmental margin slightly shrinking by 20 basic points. Despite cost pressures, fabric wash remains its growth momentum and brands such as Surf, Rin, Sunlight and Wheel registered strong value and volume growth. On the personal products front, HUL comprises categories such as hair care, skin care, toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorants and colour cosmetics, while its well-positioned shampoo segment has a powerful brand portfolio that accommodates consumers needs from different income groups - Clinic is a mass market brand, Sunsilk falls into the mid-price market while Dove is in the premium segment.

Opportunities
Large domestic market: There is huge market development opportunity in countries like
India with population of over a billion, as consumption is still one-third that in Indonesia and one-seventh that in China.

Changing Lifestyles: Per capita income of Indian customer is increasing and FMCG
products are relatively elastic in nature hence the expected sale should increase.

Diversification: HUL can enter into the new brand segments like confectionery, medicines etc. Opportunity in Food Sector: The advent of modern trade has opened up greater
opportunities for HUL to diversify its brand and strength its food division. It could look at introducing products from its parents stable like margarines and could also look at expanding its Knorr range of products. Moreover consumer expenditure in food sector rose by 13%.

Untapped rural Market: With the presence of 12.2% of the world population in the villages of
India, the Indian rural FMCG market is something of high importance for HUL.

(Authourstream.com)

Threats
Increasing costs of raw material: input costs have been on a rise. Prices of palm oil and
copra--key components in products like hair oils and toilet soaps--have surged. Copra prices have gone up 4% in the last month and in this financial; rates are expected to advance around 10% from a year ago. Palm oil prices have seen a sharper rise of around 14%. "Every 10% change in palm oil prices affects Hindustan Unilever's operating profit margin by 60 basis points.

(NDTV.com) ITC Entry: ITC has reduced its dependence on the cigarettes business. TC has extended its
presence into areas like foods, retailing, hotels, greetings, agri, paper, etc. With ITC gaining momentum in each of these businesses, it is turning into a consumer monolith, and hence, the greatest threat to HUL's Business.

Segment threat: Laundry is important business for HUL and we have strong share position.HUL
faces competition not only from rival multinational company, Procter & Gamble, but also from a slew of new price-warrior brands that have emerged in the mass segment. There is an extraordinary situation in the laundry market, over 500 new brands of laundry and over 200 washing powders are posing a new threat to Hul.

(Times of India 2010)

Tax & Regulatory Structure: Some FMCG products such as shampoos, processed food, soft drinks and toiletries containing alcohol attract high rates of excise duty and sales tax. Such high tax incidence hampers growth of these product categories.