Despite the Brexit Vote, Unilever Faces Negative Impact
Despite having its presence felt in over 130 countries, Unilever which is a consumer giant would still be negatively impacted by the Brexit vote (Campbell 2016, p.13). A vote to move Britain organization out of the European Union would greatly influence service delivery segment and a number of changes are expected once the decision is made. Unilever spokesman Paul Polman confirms that, despite the fact that Britain organizations can still be successful outside the European Union, the company will have to restructure much of its operation to fit the new market segment (Ziegler 2010 p.13). Previously, Paul Polman found it unnecessary for the United Kingdom to live the European unions and stand on their own. According to the company’s spokesman and the top officials, Unilever owes much of its success to the probably the biggest single market share on earth in Europe (Matti & Zhou 2017 p.78). According to recent statics by Matti and Zhou (2017), European market comprises a single market share of over 500 million consumers (78). In addition, a joint letter wrote by Paul Polman to the Guardian, Unilever confirms that the European market has single-handedly allowed the company to open most of its other branches across the globe. The letter clearly shows how important the European market is to the United Kingdome organization including Unilever.
Supporters of Brexit in the United Kingdom
Contrary, some organizational bosses in the United Kingdom support the idea of Brexit. For instance, the JCB chairman Lord Bamford explicitly explained to his employees through a letter as to why he favored the Brexit idea (Goodwin & Heath 2016, p.24). In his letter, the chairman was so confident that the UK organization would perfectly do well outside the European market. The argument by Load Bamford was echoed by his counterpart James Dyson who believed that Britain would gain more than it would lose to live in the huge European market (Goodwin & Heath 2016, p.24). The business guru located in Britain told the Guardians that Unilever and other UK located company would realize huge revenues from the outside the overemphasized European market than from within (Chalmers 2016). Undeniably, the outcome of the arbitration between European and the United Kingdom is uncertain and hence most of the opinion makes are only making an assumption of what might happen. However, the Unilever bosses have strongly maintained that the Brexit is likely to have a minimum or no impact on the company.
United Kingdom's Priorities and Approaches in Brexit
Apparently, the United Kingdom have incorporated the Brexit white paper as a guideline on how exit plan, negotiation, and partnership will be executed. According to the principles spelled out in a report by the prime minister, the United Kingdom has stipulated very clearly their priorities should there be an agreement between the UK and the EU. According to Chalmers (2016), the scholar believes that the United Kingdom should be able to adopt a more holistic approach in order to ensure that the policies conferred are more effective (16). In order to achieve the best from the Brexit fiasco, Britain must be able to answer the question of what policies depending on the sector it wishes to introduce. Another approach is having interest groups on board during the policy-making process. Most of the interest groups as indicated by Hobolt (2016) are considered to be more conversant with European policy hence reducing the time wasted on deliberation (39).
Possible Changes for Unilever in the Brexit Scenario
Finally, Unilever in its need to adjust to new changes might think of changing its Headquarters to a location outside the European Union. As identified from the Unilever Chairman, the company has a number of headquarters outside Europe located in the Netherlands and London. Despite the fact that the company will continue its primary operation in Europe, changing the company's headquarter will have a minimum or no effect since it has other operational headquarters.
List of References
Campbell, H., 2016. Lessons from the UK’s Brexit vote: will it prove to be a fork in the road or just the same old cul-de-sac?. Letters, 24(16), p 13
Chalmers, M., 2016. Would a new SDSR be needed after a Brexit vote?. Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies.p.16
Coyle, D., 2016. Brexit and globalization. Brexit Beckons: Thinking ahead by leading economists, p.39.
Goodwin, M. and Heath, O., 2016. Brexit vote explained: poverty, low skills and lack of opportunities. Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 29.
Hobolt, S.B., 2016. The Brexit vote: a divided nation, a divided continent. Journal of European Public Policy, 23(9), p.39.
Matti, J. and Zhou, Y., 2017. The political economy of Brexit: explaining the vote. Applied Economics,.p.78
Ziegler, P., 2010. Edward Heath: The Authorised Biography. HarperPress.Forster, K., 2016. Hate crimes soared by 41% after Brexit vote, official figures reveal. The Independent, 13.
