The Unilever way for clean living

TOMORROW sees half-year results from the mighty Anglo Dutch group, Unilever.

Not surprisingly, its site www.unilever.com is easy to find and easy to navigate. Something of a rarity, it has to be said, in the corporate world.

The group, formed by the merger of Lever Brothers and Margarine Unie in 1929, started with Sunlight soap and stop-me-and-buy-one ice cream carts. It has come a long way since then, with some of its brands, such as Lux, Lifebuoy, Pears and Pepsodent making sure that we have been clean for all those years.

On Wednesday, rapidly-growing Country Gardens announces its interim results. At www.countrygardens.co.uk you learn that, as a shareholder, you can get a 15% discount on anything from compost to cornflowers. The site also carries an independent report from the Small Cap Review which, in a section headed Opportunities And Threats, offers some in-depth strategic investment advice.

"Charlie Dimmock is the best reason to buy shares in Country Gardens. An astonishing 11 million viewers watch her on the TV programme Ground Force.

What she can do for bedding plant sales compares with the legendary Delia Smith's ability to shift mozzarella cheese off the shelves of Sainsbury's."

Quite a thought.

Tomorrow, Majestic Wine holds its annual meeting.

The company has two websites at www.majestic.co.uk, which is the one that gets promoted, and www.majesticwine.co.uk, the one you are more likely to find. The contents appear to be identical, with details of opportunities for undergraduates to become trainee managers and news of its latest, largest store, Vinopolis, which offers a majestic selection of 800 wines. But if you are a shareholder, hop along to the meeting, for there is nothing obvious on the site for you.

NDO YOU know of a business-related website that is topical, informative, amusing or just downright awful?

Reveal all by email to jdbiznetjd@hotmail.com

Hotfoot to a cool look

FOR MANY, tomorrow is dressing down day most welcome in the steamy heat of early August. One way of tackling the tropical temperatures, and setting a trend as well, could be to buy a nice pair of sandals.

The Net offers a wide selection, with www.sanusi.com offering an interesting range. The Swazi and the Pondo styles have a certain attraction but the Nobele is the most colourful and, like the Hiker, does not show your toes, which makes you that touch more elegant.

Shock-absorbing soles could be an advantage in a downsizing situation and non-slip, genuine rubber soles, both oil and diesel resistant, could go down well at Shell's HQ.

An adman's scream

HALF-YEAR figures from Saatchi & Saatchi are due on Monday. Hopefully they will shape up rather better than the current state of its website. The main problem is that www.saatchi-saatchi.com won't let you in to play.

Its people have been very helpful. "Have you spelt Saatchi correctly?"

"Youare probably trying to get into the site where you need a password." "I can give you another site but you mustn't put it in the newspaper." (That one didn't work either.) It appears to be a failure on the part of the Americans who run the site. Hopefully, it will be better soon. Not a whole heap of fun, however, for the company that created the Award for Innovation in Communication.

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