Unilever 2010 Annual Report Download - page 10

Unilever Annual Report and Accounts 2010 7
Report of the Directors About Unilever
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out faster to more countries, is at the
heart of our strategy. In 2010 we made
good progress. Innovations launched
inover ten countries increased more than
fourfold, to 40. Innovations likeDove
Men+Care, Clear anti-dandruff shampoo
and Magnum Gold?! rolled out to around
30countries. We also extended our
brands into new markets, with more
than100 new launches in the year. The
percentage of turnover from innovation
increased andis now a third of company
revenues. We rely on many outside
partners for innovation and are increasingly
seen as adesired partnerfor our strong
growth inemerging markets.
Winning in the market place
The way we deploy our brands and
innovations in the market is key to their
success and again we made great strides
in2010. We accelerated joint business
planning with key customers, improved
customer service in every region
andcontinued to develop anetwork
ofleading-edge Customer Insight and
Innovation Centres (CiiCs), which are
wellreceived by our retail partners. We
expanded our footprint in general trade and
modern trade and significantly improved
our in-store execution in emerging markets.
Both Walmart and Tesco recognised
usastheir Global Supplier ofthe Year
– ameasure ofhow far we have come.
Winning through
continuousimprovement
Small improvements every day, the length
and breadth of our supply chain, are
enabling us to increase speed, raise quality
and leverage scale. The move to aglobal
supply chain organisation has improved
responsiveness and brought costs more
into line with competitive levels. The
successful launch last year of our global
shared services organisation, Enterprise
Support, is also helping us to drive cost
and other efficiencies through the whole
organisation. These elements of our
programme of continuous improvement
are generating the fuel forgrowth.
Winning with people
Winning in today’s competitive markets
requires the best people, motivated to
succeed and equipped with the right
capabilities and the best training. This isour
focus as we lookto build an organisation
capable of meeting the company’s
ambitious vision. We made significant
progress in 2010. Employee engagement
reached its highest level; anew
compensation scheme brought asharper
focus on performance and the long term;
and 100of our most senior managers went
through a tailored leadership development
programme, which is nowbeing rolled
out to the next500 managers.
We achieved progress against the
Compass objectives, while we embarked
on our most active acquisition and
disposals programme for many years.
Thisincluded the purchase ofSara Lee’s
Personal Care brands, such as Radox and
Duschdas, and the announced acquisition
of Alberto Culver. We also disposed of
businesses withacombined turnover
ofmorethan €600million, notably the
frozenfoods business in Italy.
These developments have left us with
asharper portfolio and an even stronger
presence in faster growing categories.
Combined with our highly competitive
geographical footprint in emerging markets,
we are increasingly wellplaced to win
consistently in the areas offastest growth.
Conclusion
Progress in 2010 was significant, but 2011
willbe a challenging year and weneed to
quicken the pace of transformation if we
areto stay ahead. Ihave every confidence
inthe 167,000 wonderful men and women
ofUnilever. They achieved some of the best
results inthe company’s recent history while
staying true to the values that make Unilever
such a special organisation. It is atribute to
them that 2010 ended with Unilever being
named Most Admired Company of the Year in
a poll of industrypeers. Well deserved praise
indeed, butalso a recognition that
expectations have been raised. Weneed
therefore to set the bar higher inpassionately
serving our consumers acrossthe world.
Paul Polman
Chief Executive Officer