Vicks VapoRub

Lunsford Richardson sold his drugstore and moved to Greensboro with wife, Mary Lynn and their three children in 1891.

He then purchased the Porter Drug Store at 121 South Elm Street.  It served as a popular spot to socialize as well as shop. In 1905 at age fifty, he left the wholesale business and with $8,000 capital launched the wholly owned Vick Family Remedies Companies.

Lunsford mostly found his passion in developing home remedy, creating his own formulas to help customers relive headaches, coughs, and other common ailments.

He experimented with a new remedy to ease his children’s croup symptoms in 1894, blending an ointment of menthol, eucalyptus and other natural ingredients.

Richardson blended menthol into petroleum jelly and produces Richardson’s Coup and Pneumonia Cure Salve.

When rubbed on the chest the stuff did produce the sensation of heat, and as the menthol evaporated it did clear the nasal passages.

The products name was too long, however, so Richardson christened his line Vick Family Remedies, borrowing the name from his brother–in-law, Dr. Joshua Vick. The name Vicks was short, catchy and easy to remember.

In 1917 the company began a widespread distribution of samples on a house to house basis in many areas of the Northeast. Vick was probably the first drug company to hire a doctor to review the medical accuracy of all its advertising copy.

Sales increased each year and by 1929, Vicks products could be purchased in sixty foreign countries.

In 1938 the Richardson acquired the William S. Merrel Company. From this small town operation, Richardson Merrell grew into multi-national $500 million enterprise.

In 1956 Bendectin was introduced to the market, it was a product of Richardson Merrell, whose parent was Vicks.

In October 1985, the board approved the friendly sale to Procter & Gamble, securing a more favorable stock price and outcome for employees.
Vicks VapoRub

History of Duracell battery

Ruben cell is a zinc-mercuric oxide alkaline cell, more commonly called a mercury battery. It is a type of primary cell, developed by Samuel Ruben during World War II in response to a requirement for battery with a high capacity to volume ratio.

It was licensed to the P. R. Mallory Co., (later became Duracell, International). When Kodak required a new cell size battery for its integrated flash camera, the company developed the AA size alkaline battery, combining the two words ‘durable’ and ‘cell’ into Duracell. The Mallory Battery Company, as it came to b known during World War II, introduced the Duracell brand in 1964.

Duracell is the bestselling brand of batteries because it is the one with the clearest and most singular identity.

In 1974, Duracell became the first company to advertise alkaline batteries on television.

In1978, the Mallory Battery Company and the Duracell name was acquired by Dart Industries. During 1987, Duracell use Laurel and Hardy dolls in a car chase US TV advert, as well as featuring them in drawings in competitions.

The company was acquired by Gillette in 1996, and in 2005 Procter and Gamble acquired Gillette.
History of Duracell battery

The history of Gillette

The American Safety Razor Company was chartered on September 28, 1901 with King C. Gillette as president. Originally chartered in the state of Maine, it was capitalized at $500,000. The company later to be renamed the Gillette Safety Razor Company.

Gillette patented a very thin and strong blade that would keep it sharp edge through numerous shaves. The disposable blade also would need to snap firmly into the permanent razor handle. The patent was granted in 1904.

Its annual sales in 1904 were 91,000 razors and 124 000 blades. The U.S military helped the Gillette Company during the First World War by purchasing 3.5 million razors for servicemen.

The Gillette Company was one of the first great multinational organizations and a marvel of marketing effectiveness.

Only four years after founding the form in Boston, King Gillette opened branch office in London and rapidly obtained sales and profits throughout Western Europe.

In 1905 the company adopted a trademark which featured King Camp Gillette’s portrait and signature.

By 1910 Gillette was well established in France and Germany. The Gillette Company lowered the price of its original razor to one dollar in 1921, its product became affordable to working class men.

In 1962, Gillette’s U.S market share hovered around 70 percent, and its success abroad was even better. 

In January 2005, the Procter and Gamble Company announced that it had signed a deal to buy 100% of the shares of the Gillette Company. The transaction was valued at approximately $57 billion making ti the largest acquisition in P & G history.
The history of Gillette

Procter and Gamble Company

On 12 April 1837 William Procter and James Gamble produced and sold soap and candles.

William Procter was an English storekeeper and candle maker. James A. Gamble an Irish soap maker. Both men had apprenticed in their respective trades made the way separately to Cincinnati and settled in to begin business.

They married sisters – Olivia and Elizabeth Ann Norris. During sharp economic downturn in 1837, their father in law, Alexander Norris, suggested that the two entrepreneurs unite their operation.

The company grew steadily as the two men made good use of the nation’s rivers and developing railway system to transport good place to place.

By 1859, they were selling $1 million worth of products. Procter and Gamble was the leading supplier of soap and candles to Union troops during the US Civil War (1861-1865).

In 1860, realizing that a war was imminent, Procter and Gamble sent William and James Norris Gamble, his cousin to New Orleans to purchase a large supply of rosin, which as necessary for making soap.

When the Civil War erupted several months later, Procter and Gamble had more suppliers that their competitors for making soap.

In 1886 Procter and Gamble started production at the Ivorydale factory a facility recognized for its progressive approach towards creating a pleasant work environment for its employee.

Procter and Gamble continued to expand its product lines. Its Head and Shoulders became one of the world’s leading antidandruff shampoos.

Procter and Gamble turned to radio advertising early in the 1920s. Camay soap was the first Procter and Gamble product to be advertised on network radio.

In 1930 Procter and Gamble established its first overseas subsidiary in England and it built a manufacturing company in the Philippines in 1935.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Procter and Gamble acquired Max Factor and Noxell, two beauty products companies that produces for use on hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes.
Procter and Gamble Company

History of Pringles Potato chips

In the 1960s, Procter & Gamble introduced Pringles, which are made from dehydrated and reconstituted potatoes.

Their researchers developed the basic Pringles formula of dehydrated potato flakes combined with starch and water that was beaten into dough. The dough was then rolled into a flat sheet molded into individual pieces and fried.

 It was first advertised as a ‘new fangled’ potato chip and promoted as a technological marvel. Unlike potato chips Pringles are a uniform size and shape, making possible their packaging in a long tube.

Pringles chip also achieved durability status, allowing it to sit on a shelf for a year without tasting stale.

As a result, the product could then be advertised nationally, creating a significant advantage.

Revenues surpass $105 million in 1973, speeding toward a target of $250 million in sales within five years.

The potato chips industry went to court to prevent Procter & Gamble from calling Pringles ‘potato chips’.

It was resolved in 1975, when the US Food and Drug Administration defined Pringles as ‘potato chips made from dehydrated potatoes.’

Protector & Gamble marketers follow a global marketing strategy for Pringles potato chips, a leading experts brand. Procter & Gamble began by selling one product with a consistent formulation in every country and meets 80 percent of worldwide demand with only six flavors of Pringles and one packaged design.

In 2012 Pringles has been acquired by Kelloggs for a figure reported as nearly $3 billion.

History of Pringles Potato chips