Unilever Indonesia said it would continue to manufacture teabags using the brand Lipton after PT Sariwangi bankrupt. President Director of Unilever Indonesia, James Kipps, said that Lipton is a long-standing brand and its production will not be halted due to the legal process being carried out by the company PT Sariwangi.
“We will continue to produce teabags,” he said in Jakarta on Wednesday. Kipps explained that Lipton’s bankruptcy was due to a problem with the management of PT Sariwangi, a subsidiary of Unilever Indonesia. He added that since 2013 Unilever has been trying to resolve the issue but failed to reach an agreement with Sariwangi’s management. Changes in management have occurred several times, sales contracts have been canceled, and we have filed for arbitration,” he said.”From the results of the arbitration, Kipps revealed that there were indeed several violations committed by PT Sariwangi which resulted in losses of around Rp60 billion accumulated until the end of 2018.”The members of Sariwangi’s board of directors are also financially responsible for such losses,” he said
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Unilever Indonesia said it would continue to manufacture teabags using the brand Lipton after PT Sariwangi bankrupt.
Unilever Indonesia said it would continue to manufacture teabags using the brand Lipton after PT Sariwangi bankrupt.
PT Sariwangi is a subsidiary of Unilever, which produces Lipton tea. Sariwangi has been declared bankrupt by a court in Jakarta. The company has owed Rp2 billion to its creditors including PT Multivitamin Tbk, PT Multivitamin Konsumsindo and PT Sinar Baja Asri Tehnik (Sinarba). In addition, Unilever was also among those who had filed bankruptcy cases against Sariwangi at the Central Jakarta District Court (PTUN).
Unilever said it would take over production facilities and assets owned by PT Sariwangi through an asset transfer process initiated by the Ministry of Industry (Kemenindustan) and backed up by regional administrations in Bandung and Bogor West Java province who have expressed their willingness to support this effort so as not to disrupt supply chains or cause unemployment problems for workers at this factory.
President Director of Unilever Indonesia, James Kipps, said that Lipton is a long-standing brand and its production will not be halted due to the legal process being carried out by the company PT Sariwangi.
Unilever Indonesia president director James Kipps said that Lipton is a long-standing brand and its production will not be halted due to the legal process being carried out by the company PT Sariwangi.
“We have been producing this brand for many years. We have an agreement with PT Sariwangi, but because of a problem in management, they went bankrupt,” he said at his office on Monday (6/2).
He explained that although Lipton does not have a license to produce teabags in Indonesia, Unilever still has rights over this product and will continue producing it here.
“We will continue to produce teabags,” he said in Jakarta on Wednesday.
“We will continue to produce teabags,” he said in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Lipton is a long-standing brand, but it has been sold by Unilever to PT Raja Garuda Mas since 2012. Lipton’s bankruptcy was due to a problem with the management of Sariwangi Group, which produces tea for brands such as Lipton, Teh Botol and Kopi Bandung.
Kipps explained that Lipton’s bankruptcy was due to a problem with the management of PT Sariwangi, a subsidiary of Unilever Indonesia.
There are two reasons why this is a big deal. First, Lipton is a long-standing brand in Indonesia (it’s been around since the 1920s) and its teabags have been popular ever since. Second, it means that Unilever will continue to produce teabags for Indonesian consumers —and it also means that Sariwangi’s management is responsible for the bankruptcy.
He added that since 2013 Unilever has been trying to resolve the issue but failed to reach an agreement with Sariwangi’s management.
Unilever has filed for arbitration.
“Since 2013 Unilever has been trying to resolve the issue but failed to reach an agreement with Sariwangi’s management,” said a spokesman from Unilever Indonesia.
He added that since 2013 Unilever has been trying to resolve the issue but failed to reach an agreement with Sariwangi’s management.
“Changes in management have occurred several times, sales contracts have been canceled, and we have filed for arbitration,” he said.
“Changes in management have occurred several times, sales contracts have been canceled, and we have filed for arbitration,” he said.
Unilever has not made any comment on the issue yet.
From the results of the arbitration, Kipps revealed that there were indeed several violations committed by PT Sariwangi which resulted in losses of around Rp60 billion accumulated until the end of 2018.
The arbitration was carried out by the Arbitration Court of the Central Jakarta District which consisted of three arbitrators, namely Mr. Suroto, Ms. Pratama and Mr. Sarwoto as presiding judge.
The arbitration was conducted by a panel of three arbitrators: Ms. Pratama as presiding judge; Mr. Suroto and Mr. Sarwoto as members of the panel that also included 16 witnesses who were called upon to testify during the hearing process (including Kipps).
During the hearing process, Kipps submitted several documents such as its tax return statements and books related to PT Sariwangi’s business activities in order to prove its losses incurred due to PT Sariwangi’s breach of contract with Kipps (Rp60 billion).
“The members of Sariwangi’s board of directors are also financially responsible for such losses,” he said.
“The members of Sariwangi’s board of directors are also financially responsible for such losses,” he said, referring to the period between the end of 2018 and now.
“The losses are in the form of unpaid debts from suppliers and electricity companies,” he explained.
He added that this amount reached Rp60 billion (US$4 million) at the end of 2018.
Conclusion
We can conclude that Unilever Indonesia is committed to continuing the production of teabags using the brand Lipton. The company will not be affected by PT Sariwangi’s bankruptcy. Unilever tried but failed to reach an agreement with its management. Therefore, it filed for arbitration and won a lawsuit which ordered PT Sariwangi to compensate Unilever for losses in addition to paying fines for violating the law on competition.