Specialist
Former VP at Unilever plc
Agenda
- Consumer trends and demand dynamics within the plant-based milks industry
- Review on the competitive landscape and Oatly’s relative competitive positioning
- Oatly business model, unit economics and growth strategy – challenges vs opportunities
- Mid-term growth and profitability outlook
Questions
1.
Could you give an update on the broader trends driving the global personal care and beauty market? Which trends are more relevant to Dove’s specific categories and price points? How might these differ geographically?
2.
What are the key differences in growth rates between emerging and developed markets? Is there anything notable between categories? How should we consider volume and price within this?
3.
Is there any volume contribution towards the 1-2% growth in developed markets that you mentioned?
4.
In developed markets, is there faster growth and perhaps more volume growth in premium price points within personal care?
5.
What market disruption has coronavirus caused in personal care? Might some of these impacts be longer lasting? Will the market return to prior trends post-coronavirus?
6.
What nearer-term demand and supply impacts on personal care and beauty should we monitor over the next 12-18 months? How might cost inflation bleeding through the value chain for CPG and FMCG companies play into pricing demand? What category impacts might a future increase in unemployment have?
7.
What is the Dove brand’s reputation within Unilever? Could you discuss the brand’s history and its USP?
8.
What broad segment splits does Dove comprise? How should we consider the brand geographically? What are the key business, sales, category and geographic combinations to be aware of?
9.
Could you elaborate on Dove’s growth strategy? You’ve mentioned extensions across categories, and there are presumably still geographic extension opportunities. How is the brand managed across categories and geographies?
10.
Where do you think Dove has the greatest growth opportunities, through extensions and new categories or geographically?
11.
To what extent has Unilever tried to premiumise Dove, particularly in skincare, given the opportunity it has to do so? If the company hasn’t been as successful as it might have hoped, what are the barriers there, perhaps around brand perception or technology? Has this just not quite clicked yet?
12.
You mentioned that Dove is one of Unilever’s few genuinely global brands. We think of Unilever as having a very strong emerging market presence, yet Dove is relatively under-indexed to emerging markets. Was this under-indexing around the category development, which has not lent itself to Dove having an opportunity to grow, rather than a lack of Unilever ambition? Could there be a tipping point where the brand begins to play to its audience in markets such as Southeast Asia?
13.
Could you expand on innovation being managed by the brand and the category rather than the category having the final say? How should we understand Dove’s decision-making processes behind innovation?
14.
How successful do you think Unilever’s Connected 4 Growth plan was in improving innovation quality or speed to market? How impactful do you think that’s been on Dove?
15.
Do you think the imbalance within Unilever between local and global focus, with local innovation at the expense of some global innovations, has been corrected? This imbalance was a key driver of Connected 4 Growth. Do you think this correction has led to the improved market share momentum across the business?
16.
How does Unilever consider Dove’s marketing direction? You mentioned it led to digital introduction to marketing at Unilever. Is the brand’s marketing spend competitive? It sounds as if there’s been some correction back to more competitive levels of marketing spend.
17.
How significant is digital marketing for Dove? Could you discuss the differences in economics between digital marketing and traditional media for a large global brand?
18.
Could you discuss Nivea and Olay’s strengths and weaknesses, or anyone else you think are Dove’s closest competitors?
19.
How does Unilever manage profitability across Dove? Does it assess profitability at the brand or category level? How important is brand-level profitability vs market share growth?
20.
How does Dove address Unilever’s requirements to have a brand with purpose? What sustainability challenges might Dove face?
21.
What is your 5-10-year growth and development outlook for Dove? What risks might throw it off course?
22.
How do you assess Baby Dove? You suggested the brand is still worth under EUR 300m. What is this category’s potential?
