Two very different companies’ products have been physically missing from shelves recently, but they have both made headline news.

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 has been taken away from consumers over safety fears, and Marmite was supposedly taken away from people because of Brexit.

Either way, Samsung and Unilever, two huge global brand owners, are going to have to think about how they rebuild their reputation and consumer trust after they each took a very public kicking.

Samsung has finally stopped production of the Galaxy Note 7 – a phone that was meant to take on Apple’s iPhone 7 – this week, but there had been reported cases of the exploding devices in the news for some time.

It tried to recall the product first, but then the replacement phones were just as dangerous.

Even airlines took bold safety steps over the exploding phones before Samsung did, telling passengers they had to turn off the Galaxy Note 7, not charge them and not put them into checked luggage due to the danger they posed.

The debacle has, unsurprisingly, wiped £4.4bn off the company’s value.

‘Marmitegate’

Removing products over safety fears is one thing, but somehow the case of Hellmann’s, Colman’s, Marmite and others being removed from Tesco.com over a 10% wholesale price hike – widely dubbed Marmitegate – became about Brexit.

Unilever needed to recover costs from a weak pound, and its argument with Tesco became very public after the supermarket refused to take on the costs.

In the words of Theresa May: Brexit means Brexit. But we didn’t think it would mean no Marmite.

“Unilever has an added challenge in that it appears to have been caught out by its own argument as some of its products’ ingredients are actually manufactured in the UK”

Samsung made it clear that it was removing its product for the safety of its consumers.

Tesco managed to lead a narrative in the press that it was standing up for the consumer and wouldn’t pass on higher wholesale costs, while Unilever’s actions were presented to suggest that the safety of its profits are more important than its consumers.

The weak pound as a result of the Brexit vote sent a message to consumers: ‘be careful what you vote for.’

Unilever has an added challenge in that it appears to have been caught out by its own argument as some of its products’ ingredients are actually manufactured in the UK.

Though this argument is lessened if its earnings are reported in euros.

But having said that, when the shoe has been on the other foot and the pound has been performing well, it’s not like Unilever has publicly announced it was bringing its prices down to pass the savings onto the consumer.

Arguments between brands and retailers are not uncommon, and nor is the actuality of products being removed from shelves, but the minute this spat became public, Tesco very visibly took the angle that it was looking after the consumer.

And in the grand scheme of price wars, this is the biggest thing the supermarket could have done and it’s a huge win for the Tesco brand.

Image impact

Reputations take a long time to rise and less time to fall.

I’m pretty sure the British public won’t stop buying Marmite, but they might be a bit wary of Unilever from here on out.

Likewise when consumers come to review their phone contracts, there will be a question of whether they trust Samsung enough to choose it over its rivals.

“I am sure both Samsung and Unilever will be quickly looking at how they invest in their brand and rebuild their trust with their consumers”

This is not the first time and it won’t be the last time we see big companies take a kicking publicly.

I am sure both Samsung and Unilever will be quickly looking at how they invest in their brand and rebuild their trust with their consumers.

So perhaps it’s timely that Samsung also announced this week that it is kicking off a creative pitch for its communications across Europe.

We will have to see if Unilever follows suit.

  • Simon Hathaway is the former president and global chief retail officer at Cheil Worldwide

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