Shelves full of success

How do you stay relevant in a market that never stands still? For Unilever, it’s all about flexibility, visibility, and showcasing more than 40 leading brands — including Dove, Robijn, and Knorr — in the right way across the Netherlands. With a dedicated team of 65 specialists, Hamilton Bright ensures perfectly executed shelves, strong sales, and impactful brand activations every single day. Practical and effective, always with a focus on quality and results.

A global player with deep roots in the Netherlands — that’s Unilever. With an impressive portfolio of over 400 brands worldwide, including Andrélon, Calvé, Hellmann’s, and Lipton Ice Tea, Unilever reaches millions of consumers every day.

Unilever operates across four business groups: Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, and Foods. This structure allows them to combine innovation with scale to maintain their leadership in the market.

The challenge: Staying on top in a changing market

Unilever Netherlands’ challenge? Remaining a market leader in an ever-evolving retail landscape. This requires flexibility and a partner who truly understands how retail works. Not a one-size-fits-all solution, but a team that knows how to motivate people and deliver measurable results. Unilever was also looking for a partner that invests in people — ensuring not only short-term performance, but long-term, sustainable impact. A mix of expertise, efficiency, and motivation was key.

Why did Unilever choose Hamilton Bright?

Retail is in our DNA. Our teams understand exactly what it takes to make brands stand out on the shop floor. We deliver professionals who are well-trained, flexible, and always motivated to achieve the best results. People who know how to create visibility and impact where it matters most – in-store.

As a market leader in the Benelux, backed by the global Advantage Smollan network, we provide the expertise and reliability Unilever is looking for. And with our focus on people development, we don’t just deliver today’s results — we help build long-term, sustainable growth for the future.

What do we do for Unilever?

A lot! Over the past 13 years, we’ve supported Unilever in the Netherlands across a wide range of areas. Here’s what we do:

Field Sales:
19 field sales representatives handle everything related to activations and displays. They promote secondary placements and present cross-selling ideas — always backed by data. They analyze On Shelf Availability (OSA) and distribution to determine whether the right products are on the shelf and where revenue is lost due to out-of-stock situations. Based on these insights, they advise on promotional materials and negotiate prime in-store placements for Unilever brands. The result? Greater visibility and higher sales.

Retail Merchandising:
19 merchandisers are in stores every day, visiting major supermarket chains like Albert Heijn, Jumbo, and Plus. They install promotional materials — including displays — and ensure shelves are well-organized and sales-ready. (Fun fact: we visit nearly 1,000 supermarkets every week on behalf of various clients!)

Retail Shelf Service:
Another 19 shelf specialists keep shelves up-to-date. They manage planogram resets, for example during seasonal transitions. Think: more shelf space for soups in winter or extra meters for BBQ sauces in summer.

Everything is coordinated by a team of 3 leads, 3 field coaches, a junior field manager, and a senior field manager. Together, they guide and support our 57 FTE who bring energy and expertise to Unilever every single day.

But what exactly do these people do? The leads keep a close eye on results and performance across all three disciplines: retail merchandising, retail shelf service, and field sales. The field coaches focus on developing our people, coaching them in skills and competencies. Both roles are mostly based on the shop floor — right where the action happens. The senior field manager oversees the bigger picture — monitoring KPIs, analyzing results, and ensuring the team is deployed effectively. The junior field manager takes a hands-on approach, supporting the senior manager across the project and handling operational tasks like onboarding and offboarding — ensuring everything runs smoothly from day to day.

With the right focus and clear goals in mind, we work every day to deliver strong results. Our aim? Increased sales, consistent execution across all 19 regions in the Netherlands, and low absenteeism thanks to highly motivated teams.

And the numbers speak for themselves. In just one year, we carried out no less than 36,506 store visits to optimize brand visibility and availability. Over the past few years, we’ve sold 34,970 secondary placements, ensuring Unilever products get the extra attention they deserve on the shop floor. In 2024 alone, we completed 10,595 shelf resets, aligning shelf space perfectly with seasonal transitions and promotional campaigns.

These results show that with the right people, a smart approach, and a strong partnership, we truly make an impact.

What truly makes this partnership special? The long-term relationship. For years, we’ve worked closely with Unilever — building a strong and trusted collaboration. Our long-standing partnership means we deeply understand Unilever’s brands, goals, and challenges. Together, we continue to build visibility, drive growth, and achieve success.