Sundial Brands is the latest addition to Unilever’s portfolio
of fast-growing, purpose-led companies as part of broader Company
transformation
Agreement accelerates Unilever’s Personal Care category
growth by addressing underserved needs of multicultural and
millennial consumers
Purpose-driven partnership seeks to create groundbreaking
US$100M New Voices Fund to invest in and empower women of color
entrepreneurs
Unilever today announced an agreement to acquire Sundial Brands,
a New York-based personal care products company.
Sundial Brands is a leading haircare and skincare company
recognized for its innovative use of high-quality and culturally
authentic ingredients. Sundial’s brands include SheaMoisture,
Nubian Heritage, Madam C.J. Walker and nyakio™. Since its founding
in 1991, Sundial has championed inclusive beauty and has served the
unmet needs of consumers of color through its robust innovation
pipeline, product offerings and purpose-driven business model.
Through its Community Commerce business model, B Corp and Fair for
Life certifications, Sundial’s approach complements the Unilever
Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) to accelerate growth while
increasing positive social impact.
Sundial Brands will operate as a standalone unit within
Unilever. Sundial’s founder, Richelieu Dennis, will continue to
lead the business as CEO and Executive Chairman.
As part of the agreement, Unilever and Sundial are creating the
New Voices Fund with an unprecedented initial investment of US$50
million to empower women of color entrepreneurs. The intention is
to scale the Fund to US$100 million by attracting investments from
other interested parties.
“The Sundial team has built differentiated and on-trend premium
brands serving multicultural and millennial consumers that enhance
our existing portfolio,” said Kees Kruythoff, President, Unilever
North America. “Sundial is an important addition to our U.S.
portfolio of purpose-driven companies, which includes Ben &
Jerry’s and Seventh Generation.”
“We are excited to partner with Richelieu and his team to enable
Sundial to bring its unique product offerings and community impact
to more people around the world,” said Alan Jope, President,
Unilever Personal Care. “We look forward to continuing to grow the
business and make an even bigger impact on society through
Sundial’s community programs.”
Additionally, Unilever has appointed Esi Eggleston Bracey, a
seasoned executive with a strong track record of business
leadership in driving cultural relevancy in brand building, as EVP
& COO of Unilever North America Personal Care, effective
January 1, 2018. As a part of her role, Bracey will work closely
with Dennis to further accelerate the growth, purpose-driven
mission and consumer connectivity of Sundial Brands.
“I’ve always wanted Sundial Brands to be an inspiration to other
minority-owned companies of how a business against all odds can
achieve excellence, have significant social impact in our
communities and be successful on a world stage,” said Richelieu
Dennis, founder and CEO, Sundial Brands. “I am excited Sundial and
Unilever have created this partnership, rooted in a purpose-driven
ethos, that represents an incredible opportunity to take our
Community Commerce economic empowerment and impact model to another
level.” Dennis added: “I’ve enjoyed a long-standing relationship
with Esi and look forward to working with her to continue to change
the game in beauty, personal care and community building.”
Sundial’s 2017 turnover is expected to be approximately US$240
million.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Subject to
regulatory approval, the transaction is expected to close in
quarter one 2018.
Multimedia
To learn more, please visit a series of videos featuring
Unilever and Sundial: Watch here
For further information:
About Unilever North America:
Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Food, Home
Care, Personal Care and Refreshment products with sales in over 190
countries and reaching 2.5 billion consumers a day. In the United
States and Canada, the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe,
Becel, Ben & Jerry’s, Breyers, Caress, Clear Scalp & Hair
Therapy, Country Crock, Degree, Dollar Shave Club, Dove, Fruttare,
Good Humor, Hellmann’s, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!, Klondike,
Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton, Magnum, Nexxus, Noxzema, PG Tips,
Pond’s, Popsicle, Promise, Pukka, Pure Leaf, Q-tips, Seventh
Generation, Simple, Sir Kensington’s, St. Ives, Suave, T2, Talenti
Gelato & Sorbetto, TIGI, TRESemmé and Vaseline. All of the
preceding brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of
the Unilever Group of Companies.
Unilever employs more than 9,000 people across North America –
generating more than $10 billion in sales in 2016.
The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan commits to:
- Helping more than a billion people
take action to improve their health and well-being by
2020.
- Halving the environmental impact of
our products by 2030.
- Enhancing the livelihoods of
millions of people by 2020.
The USLP creates value by driving growth and trust, eliminating
costs and reducing risks. The company’s sustainable living brands
are growing 50% faster than the rest of the business and delivered
more than 60% of the company’s growth in 2016.
Unilever was ranked number one in its sector in the 2017 Dow
Jones Sustainability Index. In the FTSE4Good Index, it achieved the
highest environmental score of 5. It led the list of Global
Corporate Sustainability Leaders in the 2017
GlobeScan/Sustainability annual survey for the seventh year
running. Unilever has pledged to become carbon positive in its
operations by 2030.
For more information on Unilever U.S. and its brands visit:
www.unileverusa.comFor more information on Unilever Canada and its
brands visit: www.unilever.ca
About Sundial Brands:
Sundial Brands, a leading skincare and haircare manufacturer
renowned for its innovative use of high-quality and culturally
authentic natural ingredients, is the maker of SheaMoisture, Nubian
Heritage, Madam C.J. Walker Beauty Culture and nyakio™. A certified
B Corp company with a Fair for Life social and fair trade
certification, Sundial engages in ethical and cruelty-free business
practices and manufactures its products at its state-of-the-art
facilities in Long Island, NY. Through its Community Commerce
purpose-driven business model, the company creates opportunities
for sustainable social and economic empowerment throughout its
supply chain and communities in the United States and Africa,
focusing on entrepreneurship, women's empowerment, education and
wellness. In 2015, Sundial was named to the Inc. 5000 list of the
fastest-growing private companies in the United States and received
the WWD/Beauty Inc. award for "Corporate Social Responsibility
Company of the Year." Widely credited with introducing the "New
General Market" inclusion concept to the beauty and retail
industries, Sundial Brands founder and CEO Richelieu Dennis began
the company in 1991 with his college roommate, Nyema Tubman, and
mother, Mary Dennis.
Cautionary Statement/Safe Harbour:
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements,
including ‘forward-looking statements’ within the meaning of the
United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995,
including statements related to underlying sales growth and
underlying operating margin. Words such as ‘will,' ‘aim,'
‘expects,' ‘anticipates,' ‘intends,' ‘looks,' ‘believes,' ‘vision,'
or the negative of these terms and other similar expressions of
future performance or results, and their negatives, are intended to
identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking
statements are based upon current expectations and assumptions
regarding anticipated developments and other factors affecting the
Unilever Group (the “Group”). They are not historical facts, nor
are they guarantees of future performance.
Because these forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by
these forward-looking statements. Among other risks and
uncertainties, the material or principal factors which could cause
actual results to differ materially are: Unilever's global brands
not meeting consumer preferences; Unilever's ability to innovate
and remain competitive; Unilever's investment choices in its
portfolio management; inability to find sustainable solutions to
support long-term growth; customer relationships; the recruitment
and retention of talented employees; disruptions in our supply
chain; the cost of raw materials and commodities; the production of
safe and high quality products; secure and reliable IT
infrastructure; successful execution of acquisitions, divestitures
and business transformation projects; economic and political risks
and natural disasters; the effect of climate change on Unilever's
business; financial risks; failure to meet high and ethical
standards; and managing regulatory, tax and legal matters. These
forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this
announcement. Except as required by any applicable law or
regulation, the Group expressly disclaims any obligation or
undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any
forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change
in the Group's expectations with regard thereto or any change in
events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is
based. Further details of potential risks and uncertainties
affecting the Group are described in the Group's filings with the
London Stock Exchange, Euronext Amsterdam and the US Securities and
Exchange Commission, including in the Annual Report on Form 20-F
2016 and the Unilever Annual Report and Accounts 2016.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171127005578/en/
UnileverUnilever Media
RelationsJoelle Hutcheon,
201-894-7760Joelle.Hutcheon@unilever.comorSundialLatraviette Smith-WilsonSVP,
Communicationsmediainquiries@sundialbrands.com
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