Unilever – Sales Transaction
This case study highlights a significant sales transaction and the efforts contributed by Jeff Mercer. This is a perfect example of one of the many Jobs Well Done by the Mercer Company Brokers.
• The Client:
Unilever – www.unilever.com
Unilever’s corporate mission – ‘To add vitality to life’ – shows how clearly the business understands 21st century-consumers and their lives. But the spirit of this mission forms a thread that runs throughout our history, leading right back to the late 19th century. In the 1890s, William Hesketh Lever, founder of Lever Bros, wrote down his ideas for Sunlight Soap – his revolutionary new product that helped popularise cleanliness and hygiene in Victorian England. It was ‘To make cleanliness commonplace; to lessen work for women; to foster health and contribute to personal attractiveness, that life may be more enjoyable and rewarding for the people who use our products’.
This was long before the phrase ‘Corporate Mission’ had been invented, but these ideas have stayed at the heart of their business. Even if their language – and the notion of only women doing housework – has become outdated.
In a history that now crosses three centuries, Unilever’s success has been influenced by the major events of the day – economic boom, depression, world wars, changing consumer lifestyles and advances in technology. And throughout they have created products that help people get more out of life – cutting the time spent on household chores, improving nutrition, enabling people to enjoy food and take care of their homes, their clothes and themselves.
• The Challenge:
The disposition of a fifty year old butter plant and how to determine the top dollar for the client, Unilever.
• The Solution:
All other brokers interviewing for the assignment suggested a sale price of $1,680,000 for this old butter plant. Selling the facility as a one packaged sale. Jeff suggested the possiblilty of breaking up the property and selling it to smaller users at higher prices because of the nature of the Trinity Market (the average user is in less than 10,000 square feet). Unilever saw the results! A combined sale price of $2,480,000 was achieved.
“I wanted to thank you for the fine job that you did on these transactions. By dividing up the parcels and selling them separately, we were able to maximize the value and achieve approximately $800,000 more than originally estimated. I hope that we have an opportunity to work with you in the future.”
Don Smith
Director of Real Estate
Unilever
• Transaction Summary
Address: 1729 Irving Boulevard, Dallas, TX
Submarket: Trinity
Industry: Food Manufacturing
Size: 135,000 SF
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