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Duracell history
Duracell company history timeline
The P. R. Mallory Company of Burlington, Massachusetts, United States, relocated its headquarters to Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1924.
P.R. Mallory and his basic business tenets of "invest in research" and "the customer is King" laid the groundwork for Duracell back in 1935.
Independent inventor Samuel Ruben entered the picture in 1944 and with Mallory introduced the world's first mercury battery, forerunner of the alkaline battery.
In the 1950’s, Samuel Ruben went on to improve the Alkaline Manganese battery, making it more compact, durable, and longer lasting than anything before it.
In 1956, P. R. Mallory & Co. acquired General Dry Batteries, Inc. (GDB) with headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio.
Amway history, profile and corporate video Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos, a pair of direct sales veterans, launched Amway in 1959.
The photographic demand for power put alkaline cells on the map and the Duracell brand was introduced in 1964.
In 1965, Duracell brand name is introduced along with a push for consumer-driven programs and products.
Since the launch of the brand in 1965, it has grown to become a global consumer icon, known for its commitment to quality, reliability and innovation.
In 1969, Duracell products were used in Apollo 11 mission (first step on the moon by humans), and it was the first battery that successfully fueled the equipment to land on a different planetary body.
Soon, the consumer market for Duracell batteries rocketed and supplies had to be rationed in the 1970’s as manufacturing capacity caught up.
In 1971, Duracell introduces its iconic copper & black colors which symbolize the conductivity, strength and superiority of its battery formula.
In 1971 the company became the first to sell alkaline cell batteries to consumers, beginning with a 9-volt model. (An alkaline battery has less tendency to corrode than an ordinary zinc battery, giving it a longer life.)
The boom of 1972 allowed the firm to boost sales of electrical and electronic items to industry, complementing consumer sales.
“Mallory’s Profits Sparkle,” Financial World, November 7, 1973.
The brand symbol had its debut in 1973, when it showed that Duracell batteries last much longer than standard zinc-carbon batteries.
With the beginning of the deep recession in mid-1973, company earnings began to fall sharply.
The black and copper colour marked the brand icon of Duracell, and the launch of Duracell Bunny in 1973, won the hearts of millions, who added a playful charm to it.
In 1974 it became the first consumer battery advertised on television.
In 1977, Fortune magazine ranked Mallory as the 507th largest company, with $323 million in sales and profits of $10 million (which put it in the 170th position). Most of the company's sales were to individual consumers and to makers of consumer durables.
By 1980 the company was again on the market, this time as part of a deal between Kraft Inc. and Dart.
“Duracell Uses Packaging to Sell Lights,” Packaging, December 1983.
Duracell began placing "freshness dating" on alkaline battery packaging in 1987—the first consumer battery producer to do so.
Duracell challenged Germany’s Varta internationally and in 1988 captured almost half of Europe’s alkaline market, despite aggressive advertising by European battery makers, who spent $25 million on advertising that year.
In 1988 Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), famous for their leveraged buyouts, or LBOs, purchased the corporation.
In 1988, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (a global investment firm) acquired Duracell, and the next year, the company went public.
Further, shortly after the buyout, KKR took Duracell public in May 1989, and the share values rose from $15 to $20 in the first hour of trading.
In some cases, companies have cooperated to deflect costs--Europile, the consumer battery makers association, includes Duracell, and Duracell's Richard Leveton chairs the Europile environment committee. For example, the throwaway image of nonrechargeable batteries has provoked concern about the environment, with the European Commission, in 1989, giving battery makers a choice--eliminate dangerous metals (notably cadmium and mercury) or collect batteries for recycling.
Farnham, Alan, “What’s Sparking Duracell?” Fortune, July 16, 1990.
Huhn, Mary, “Batteries and Boxer KO the Competition,” AdWeek, November 12, 1990.
Operating profits in the second quarter of 1990 rose 13 percent over the previous year to $194 million.
Oliver, Joyce Anne, “Duracell CEO Charged Up About His Company,” Marketing News, November 11, 1991.
Established As Power Player: 1991-95
Worldwide sales in 1991 were close to $1.5 billion and netted a 43 percent share of the United States alkaline market.
In 1991 KKR took the company public.
Duracell pioneered the development of environmentally friendly alkaline batteries in 1992.
Shipman, Alan, “Power Struggle: The World’s Battery Makers Are Fighting Over an Expanding Market as Consumer Demand and Environmental Concerns Put the Combatants on Their Mettle,” International Management, April 1993.
As Duracell moved into 1993, the unbridled growth of the modern "cellular society"--telephones, computers, compact disc players, and power tools--brought double-digit growth to the battery industry and to Duracell.
According to International Management in 1993, this intense struggle showed no sign of slowing down.
Gillette's 1995 revenues were $6.8 billion.
The company sent out buses resembling enormous batteries in the summer of 1996, to promote its then-newly introduced PowerCheck line.
In 1996, the company announced plans to extend its research into new alkaline technologies that could revolutionize the battery by extending its capabilities.
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts bought Duracell in 1988 and took the company public in 1989. It was acquired for $7 billion by The Gillette Company in 1996.
The company was purchased by Gillette in early 1997 for $7.0 billion.
The Duracell Ultra was introduced in early 1998, and the company turned its attention to promoting that enhanced performance, higher priced line.
While Duracell's Ultra sales did grow in 1999, it was at the expense of their regular alkaline sales, resulting in a net loss of overall market share.
During 1999 batteries flew off the shelves, driven by the much publicized possibility of power blackouts related to Y2K computer glitches.
"Alkaline: Duracell, Eveready Joust with AA Upgrades," Battery & EV Technology, February 2000.
The departure of Gillette's top executive in the fall of 2000 was due in part to Duracell's performance, according to the Boston Globe.
In 2000 those batteries by and large were still stockpiled in the homes of consumers.
For 2001, Gillette planned the relaunch of its mid-priced Copper Top line, complete with improved performance, new packaging, and the return of TV ads.
Mendelson, Seth, "Duracell Recharges Its Batteries," Grocery Headquarters , June 2004.
In September 2011, Duracell and Powermat Technologies Ltd. started a joint venture, called Duracell Powermat, to make small wireless chargers for mobile phones and small electronics, with P&G owning 55% of the joint venture shares and Powermat 45%.
In March 2012, along with Powermat Technologies, Duracell, under the Procter & Gamble corporate umbrella, founded the Power Matters Alliance (PMA), an alliance of leading industry and governmental organizations that is dedicated to advancing smart and environmentally sound wireless power.
In 2013, the company released a new "Duracell Quantum" line as their top-performing product series.
On November 14, 2014, Berkshire Hathaway declared its intent to acquire Duracell in an all-stock deal, consisting of $4.7 billion worth of P&G stock then owned by Berkshire Hathaway.
The acquisition received regulatory approval from the European Commission in July 2015.
In 2015, PMA merged with Alliance for Wireless Power and formed AirFuel Alliance.
The transfer was completed on February 29, 2016, with P&G investing $1.8 billion in cash into Duracell, and Berkshire Hathaway giving P&G back 52 million shares.
In September 2016, Duracell announced the shifting of its executive team to Chicago.
In September 2016, Duracell announced plans to move its executive team and 60 employees to Chicago.
Sarich, John; Peippo, Kathleen "Duracell International Inc. ." International Directory of Company Histories. . Retrieved April 16, 2021 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/duracell-international-inc
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Duracell competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energizer Holdings | 1896 | $2.9B | 7,500 | 30 |
| Revlon | 1932 | $2.0B | 5,700 | 32 |
| Whirlpool | 1911 | $16.6B | 78,000 | 133 |
| Burt's Bees | 1984 | $270.0M | 450 | - |
| Kodak | 1892 | $1.2B | 4,500 | 65 |
| Gillette | 1901 | $84.0B | 101,000 | 3 |
| Bose | 1964 | - | 7,000 | 63 |
| Reynolds American | 2004 | $12.5B | 5,400 | 51 |
| Ultralife | 1990 | $164.5M | 580 | 30 |
| Folgers | 1850 | $1.1B | 3,000 | - |
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Duracell may also be known as or be related to Duracell, Duracell Inc. and The Duracell Company.