Last week I attended the opening of Unilever’s new archives storeroom. It marked not just the opening of new facilities, but also the transfer of the Dutch archives to Port Sunlight, Liverpool.
The new archives were opened in a ceremony at Lever House by the CEO of Unilever, Fernando Fernandez, Chief of Global Business Services, Juan-Carlos Parada, and, of course, Claire Tunstall, the Global Head of Art, Archives and Records Management.
Apart from being a great event, all participants got a bespoke tour of the new archives, and the post today is largely images of the great stuff they have in Unilever’s corporate archives.
Check out the gallery below to get a sense of what the new archives space is like. Also spot the Colman’s Mustard Club advertising in there. Apparently they had 2,000 new applications every week when it ran in the newspapers and on the sides of buses.
But there were some special gems in there, and I’ve left those for the full subscribers as a special treat!
And don’t forget, companies like Unilever actually allow vetted researchers to access their archives by prior agreement. But even if not, it is always worthwhile checking out their website for information about the archives and seeing their digitised collections here: https://www.unilever.com/our-company/our-history-and-archives/.
For full subscribers, some highlights from the archives, and a reflection on the strategic narratives that Unilever is weaving around its archives and history.