Unilever CEO pledges to PM that company will stay, boost presence on Greek market

Unilever international president and CEO Paul Polman reaffirmed to Prime Minister Antonis Samaras that the Anglo-Dutch food and detergent multinational will remain in and boost its presence in the Greek market, during a meeting on Thursday at the Maximos Mansion government headquarters.

Polman also commented that Greece was on the right track, to which Samaras replied that Greece was indeed on the right track, "but we need to overcome difficulties and obstacles", adding that "the situation is difficult as there are everyday problems", saying that solving these problems is a target, while priority was on "liquidity in order to unlock the economy".

During the meeting, which was also attended by Unilever's president for Europe Jan Zijderveld and president of Elais-Unilever Hellas Spyros Desyllas, the two sides exchanged views on the European and Greek economy and underlined the need to boost investments in Greece, while the Unilever senior executives stressed the importance of the Greek subsidiary to the international group and continuation of its investigation of prospects for further strengthening its presence in Greece.

While in Greece, Polman took the opportunity to see first-hand the conditions in the Greek market, and praised the Greek management and employees of Elais-Unilever Hellas for maintaining the viability f the Greek company and its commitment to stand by the Greek consumers.

Noting that Unilever this year marks the 50th anniversary of its successful presence in Greece, Polman said that although the conditions are difficult "we believe that, through innovation that meets the consumers' needs, the excellent execution of our plans in the market and the ongoing efforts of our employees, we will be able to turn the challenges of the Greek economy into opportunities for substantial growth in the coming years".

In mid-November, Unilever formalized an investment initiative to begin production 110 of its products in Greece, thus generating new jobs, at a meeting with Samaras and Development Minister Costis Hadzidakis.

The British-Dutch dual-listed firm Unilever announced in November its intention to produce 110 of its products that are currently imported to Greece from elsewhere in Europe in Greece itself, covering the needs of the domestic market and transforming its local subsidiary Elais-Unilever Hellas into a strategic arm of the multinational group.The 110 products will not be produced by Unilever's Greek plants but will be outsourced to other Greek companies.

The initiative is expected to increase Unilever's turnover from domestic production to 60 percent in 2013 from the current 55 percent. Unilever-Hellas currently exports products to 19 countries, with a turnover of 30 million euros, accounting for 7.5 percent of its total turnover.

SOURCE: ATHENS NEWS AGENCY