Unilever: Think Global, Act Local

“Half of Unilever’s €50 billion ($65 billion) in annual sales comes from food and drinks, one-third are beauty products, and the rest are from household items such as detergents. By focusing its innovation and marketing firepower on fewer, bigger projects with global appeal, Unilever is able to get products like TRESemmé shampoo and Magnum ice cream into stores in São Paulo, Mumbai, and Jakarta faster than ever before. Once there, it uses local knowledge gained over decades operating in developing markets—Unilever has been in Indonesia since 1933, and India since 1888—to lure shoppers to its brands.”

BusinessWeek