For 91 years, the company structure was divided between the Netherlands and Great Britain, with two head offices in London and Rotterdam. The company also had two boards and two types of shares.
To simplify its structure, the company decided in 2018 to opt for one main office. Initially, the choice fell on Rotterdam, possibly partly due to the government's announcement to abolish the dividend tax. However, after opposition from influential shareholders, London became the final choice. In the end, the abolition of the dividend tax in the Netherlands was not passed.
The restructuring means that important strategic decisions will subsequently be made in London. This brings an end to the long Dutch history of the company, but in practice – at least in short term – there won't be much change.
Read more at:
Unilever officially no longer Dutch company | NL Times
Showing posts with label Unilever. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Unilever. Show all posts
11/12/17
The Netherlands: New government under pressure over dividend tax ' corporate blackmail' claims
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| Rutte:"Being good to corporations is good for Holland" |
The move to scrap the tax, which will cost the treasury €1.4bn and only benefit foreign firms, was not included in any of the party manifestos and has been condemned by opposition parties.
Broadcaster NOS reported earlier on Thursday that it had been told Anglo Dutch firms Shell and Unilever and two other companies had urged the new coalition to scrap the tax. ‘There was a real threat that a couple of bigger Dutch firms would go to London,’
NOS correspondent Ron Fresen said. Shell and Unilever have headquarters in both the Netherlands and Britain and both have been considering their position in a post-Brexit economy. Shell said on Wednesday it welcomed the new government’s decision.
It has campaigned for the tax to be scrapped for at least 10 years. Unilever has said it will decide by the end of the year whether or not to keep its dual headquarter structure. The company has also said that it is pleased with all measures which strengthen the Netherlands’ position as an international business centre. Jobs
Prime minister Mark Rutte has said repeatedly that the measure is needed to keep jobs and to make sure the Netherlands remains an attractive location for foreign firms.
However, leading economists and the government’s own macro-economic think-tank CPB have also questioned the move. During Thursday’s debate, GroenLinks (Greens) popular leader Jesse Klaver said the government had laid itself open to being ‘blackmailed’ by big companies.
Read more: New government under pressure over dividend tax 'blackmail' claims - DutchNews.nl
11/9/17
The Netherlands: Dutch government under fire over tax cuts favoring big business - by Bart H. Meijer &Toby Sterling
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| Mark Rutte copies Trump's Tax Proposals favoring corporations |
Shell
confirmed to Reuters it had sought the change, while Philips denied it.
Akzo Nobel declined to comment.
Unilever would not say whether it asked for the change but it “welcomes measures that improve the business climate in countries where we operate.”
Akzo Nobel declined to comment.
Unilever would not say whether it asked for the change but it “welcomes measures that improve the business climate in countries where we operate.”
Prime
Minister Mark Rutte has said the policy will help the country retain its
appeal to foreign investors as it cuts other tax perks in response to
concerns that Dutch tax policies have helped multinationals avoid paying
fair taxes.
Note EU-Digest: Dutch PM Rutte (Conservative) seems to have copied the new US Tax proposals from the Trump Administration, favoring Corporations above the average taxpayers. To make matters worse Dutch tax payers will now pay 9% instead of 6% Vat Tax, on products they buy in the store and super markets. And like Trump, he has also increased the military budget. One should question if PM Rutte is aware that he lives in the Netherlands (EU) and not in the US.?
Note EU-Digest: Dutch PM Rutte (Conservative) seems to have copied the new US Tax proposals from the Trump Administration, favoring Corporations above the average taxpayers. To make matters worse Dutch tax payers will now pay 9% instead of 6% Vat Tax, on products they buy in the store and super markets. And like Trump, he has also increased the military budget. One should question if PM Rutte is aware that he lives in the Netherlands (EU) and not in the US.?
Rutte's government is also cutting its corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 25 percent.
Read more: Dutch government under fire over tax cut favoured by big business
2/18/17
Capitalizing on Capitalism: Unilever's Paul Polman Shares His Plans to Save the World - by Vivienne Walt
Step out of the frigid drizzle into Unilever’s factory outside
Liverpool in northern England, and the brightly lit, automated assembly
line gleams in stark contrast to the gloom outside. Thousands of
bottles shoot down a conveyor belt with a click-clack sound, in a streak
of bright purple.
Look more closely, and there is an important detail. The new bottle is squatter than the older, taller style on another assembly line, with a smaller dispenser and a label explaining that this version of Comfort brand fabric conditioner is good for 38 washes, rather than the 33 of the last-generation package. The message is clear: Customers need to help save one of earth’s most precious resources—water.
This might appear to be a clever bit of marketing by one of the world’s biggest consumer product companies, and marketing it surely is. But to Unilever (ul, +14.00%), its updated, concentrated liquid is also a crucial innovation. It’s one of countless tweaks underway by the Anglo-Dutch company in its more than 300 factories across the world, which churn out more than 400 brands for 2.5 billion or so customers—an astonishing one in every three people on the planet.
Central to these changes is a message Unilever is determined to convey to its investors, as well as to other companies: Big corporations need to change the way they do business, fast, or they will steadily shrink and die.
Read more: Unilever's Paul Polman Shares His Plans to Save the World | Fortune.com
Look more closely, and there is an important detail. The new bottle is squatter than the older, taller style on another assembly line, with a smaller dispenser and a label explaining that this version of Comfort brand fabric conditioner is good for 38 washes, rather than the 33 of the last-generation package. The message is clear: Customers need to help save one of earth’s most precious resources—water.
This might appear to be a clever bit of marketing by one of the world’s biggest consumer product companies, and marketing it surely is. But to Unilever (ul, +14.00%), its updated, concentrated liquid is also a crucial innovation. It’s one of countless tweaks underway by the Anglo-Dutch company in its more than 300 factories across the world, which churn out more than 400 brands for 2.5 billion or so customers—an astonishing one in every three people on the planet.
Central to these changes is a message Unilever is determined to convey to its investors, as well as to other companies: Big corporations need to change the way they do business, fast, or they will steadily shrink and die.
Read more: Unilever's Paul Polman Shares His Plans to Save the World | Fortune.com
10/23/14
The Netherlands: Unilever share price falls as it records lowest growth in five years - by Catherine Neilan
While Dave Lewis is putting out one fire at his new employer Tesco, things back at Unilever are also looking less than rosy.
The consumer goods business, where Lewis had worked for 28 years before becoming Tesco chief executive, this morning reported its weakest rate of quarterly sales growth in five years.
Underlying sales grew just 2.1 per cent in the third quarter, compared with the 3.7 per cent growth experienced during the first half of the year – well below analyst expectations.
Unilever's share price dropped as much as 4.8 per cent this morning on the back of the news.
Paul Polman said market growth slowed in emerging countries “particularly in China”, while price deflation and a poor summer in Europe also hampered performance, despite an improvement in North America.
Read more: Unilever share price falls as it records lowest growth in five years | City A.M.
The consumer goods business, where Lewis had worked for 28 years before becoming Tesco chief executive, this morning reported its weakest rate of quarterly sales growth in five years.
Underlying sales grew just 2.1 per cent in the third quarter, compared with the 3.7 per cent growth experienced during the first half of the year – well below analyst expectations.
Unilever's share price dropped as much as 4.8 per cent this morning on the back of the news.
Paul Polman said market growth slowed in emerging countries “particularly in China”, while price deflation and a poor summer in Europe also hampered performance, despite an improvement in North America.
Read more: Unilever share price falls as it records lowest growth in five years | City A.M.
12/16/12
The Netherlands: A pessimistic view by Unilever CEO Polman on the economy of Europe
Unilever Chief Executive Officer Paul Polman said Europe is facing 10 years of economic stagnation while the U.S. grapples with the rise of an “emerging poor” class dependent on government benefits.
“We are in for at least 10 years of slow economic growth in Europe, and I don’t see that changing,” Polman said in an interview at Bloomberg headquarters in New York.
“If you run a business like mine and don’t assume that, you are fooling yourself. I hope for the benefit of Europe I am proven wrong, but even then we are in a better position by taking that as our starting point. The key thing is to see reality in the eye.”
Polman said declining consumer confidence in the U.S. has “people worried” and the recovery in the world’s largest economy will be muted, with GDP growth of 2 percent “if you’re lucky.” With 46 million people relying on government benefits to buy food, he said, “people scrape by until the end of the month.”
The maker of Axe body sprays and Hellmann’s mayonnaise generates about 16 percent of its 50 billion euros ($65 billion) in annual sales in the U.S. and about 25 percent in Europe, according to estimates from analysts at Berenberg Bank and RBC Capital Markets.
The London- and Rotterdam-based company has adapted to deteriorating economic conditions by cutting costs, expanding in emerging markets like Indonesia and pushing lower-cost brands like Suave shampoo, Polman said.
Note EU-Digest: this is a pessimistic view by a Multi-National corporation worried about the impact of possible increased regulatory measures on the "unregulated, tax evading multi-national and corporate industry" around the Globe.. Mr. Polman in this report offers absolutely no new ideas as to how Unilever could provide a positive impact on the economy, except cost cutting and the firing of employees.
Read more: Unilever CEO Polman Says Europe Faces 10-Year Economic Slump
“We are in for at least 10 years of slow economic growth in Europe, and I don’t see that changing,” Polman said in an interview at Bloomberg headquarters in New York.
“If you run a business like mine and don’t assume that, you are fooling yourself. I hope for the benefit of Europe I am proven wrong, but even then we are in a better position by taking that as our starting point. The key thing is to see reality in the eye.”
Polman said declining consumer confidence in the U.S. has “people worried” and the recovery in the world’s largest economy will be muted, with GDP growth of 2 percent “if you’re lucky.” With 46 million people relying on government benefits to buy food, he said, “people scrape by until the end of the month.”
The maker of Axe body sprays and Hellmann’s mayonnaise generates about 16 percent of its 50 billion euros ($65 billion) in annual sales in the U.S. and about 25 percent in Europe, according to estimates from analysts at Berenberg Bank and RBC Capital Markets.
The London- and Rotterdam-based company has adapted to deteriorating economic conditions by cutting costs, expanding in emerging markets like Indonesia and pushing lower-cost brands like Suave shampoo, Polman said.
Note EU-Digest: this is a pessimistic view by a Multi-National corporation worried about the impact of possible increased regulatory measures on the "unregulated, tax evading multi-national and corporate industry" around the Globe.. Mr. Polman in this report offers absolutely no new ideas as to how Unilever could provide a positive impact on the economy, except cost cutting and the firing of employees.
Read more: Unilever CEO Polman Says Europe Faces 10-Year Economic Slump
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