Brands that will be affected by Unilever Nigeria’s exit of home and skincare business
By Joseph Ekeng
Nigeria’s leading Fast Consumer Moving Goods company, Unilever Nigeria has recently announced a decision to divest from its home and skincare business.
The company explained that its plans to exit from the segments are designed to alter the business model of the firm in order to accelerate growth.
The 100-year-old consumer goods company will repurpose its portfolio while putting in place measures to make the business more efficient and future fit.
“All companies need to adapt to changing market circumstances and now is the right time for us to reposition Unilever Nigeria to better meet the needs of our consumers, shareholders, and employees,” said Carl Cruz, managing director of Unilever West Africa in a statement.
Cruz noted that Unilever Nigeria will be repurposing its portfolio by exiting two categories, home-care and skin-cleansing, to concentrate on higher growth opportunities as well as strengthening business operations with measures to digitize and simplify processes.
As an FMCG company home and skin cleansing are a major part of the Unilever Nigeria business. And the categories contain some of the company’s most popular and successful products.
And while this may lead to growth in the long run, it will most likely have an immediate impact on the bottom line of the company in the short run.
Brands that will be affected
Without a doubt, the most popular brand in the affected categories is Rexona.
Rexona is a global leader in the antiperspirant segment. It contains a range of products which includes Rexona Motionsense, Rexona Invisible Black + White and Advance
Whitening.
It has also been one of the top performers and key drivers of growth both at the global level and in the Nigerian subsidiary.
Omo
One of the most recognised detergents in Nigeria, Omo is also set to switch ownership away from Unilever Nigeria. Over the years, Omo has made a strong contribution to the performance of Unilever Nigeria.
Its ability to innovate and stay relevant despite changing market conditions and consumer preferences is why it is consistently one of the top players in its category.
Lux
Lux is a brand that has survived several generations of users. Lux is a high-quality soap formulated with special natural ingredients.
Dove
Dove has consistently delivered growth by attracting more buyers every year. Dove has transformed itself from a moisturising soap bar to a fully formed beauty brand that can cover a whole range of personal care needs.
The strategy is to give buyers additional options across traditional category lines. This means, if buyers don’t like the Dove bar soap, they could go for Dove body lotion, shampoo or deodorant. So the options are endless.
Lifebuoy
Lifebuoy has been a success story not just in Nigeria, but across the world. It has been described by Marketing Week as the third most consumer brand in the world.
Its success has been made possible by innovative marketing campaigns. For instance, during the Covid pandemic, the brand was deployed to strengthen advocacy for hand washing as a solution to Covid spread.
Vaseline
Vaseline will also be affected by the divestment.
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