Gillette Central Switchboard history

In 1901 he joined forces with William Nickerson, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology-educated machinist.

The renamed Gillette Safety Razor Company began advertising its product in October 1903, with the first ad appearing in Systems Magazine.

In 1904, Gillette received a patent on the safety razor and bought a six-story building in Boston.

He opened his first foreign office, a London sales branch, in 1905.

The company paid its first cash dividend in 1906.

By 1909 he had established manufacturing plants in Paris, Montreal, Berlin, and Leicester, England, and offices in France and Hamburg, Germany.

In 1910 King Gillette decided to sell a substantial portion of his controlling share of the company to the company’s major investor, John Joyce.

When Joyce died in 1916, his longtime friend, Edward Aldred, a New York investment banker, bought out the Gillette shares left to Joyce's estate and took control of the company.

Under Lambert, the Gillette Company made a bold advertising move: it admitted that the new blade it had brought out in 1930 was of poor quality.

The company had introduced Gillette Brushless shaving cream, its first, non-razor, non-blade product, in 1936.

In 1939 Gillette restored the company's advertising budget, relying successfully on heavy broadcast sports advertising.

In 1948 Spang began to diversify by acquiring other companies when he bought the Toni Company, a firm that made home permanents.

What year did they start using letters instead of the first two numbers was it 1958

Vincent C. Ziegler, head of the company’s North American razor operation, had developed the razor-marketing strategy, and when Gillette reorganized on a product line basis in July 1964, Ziegler was named president.

By 1971 Gillette had four domestic divisions: the Safety Razor Division; the Toiletries Division, which featured Right Guard deodorant and antiperspirant; the Personal Care Division; and the Paper Mate division.

Ziegler next tapped Colman M. Mockler Jr. to replace him when he retired in 1975.

Dry Idea was launched in 1978 after two years of development at a cost of $118 million.

In 1986 Ronald O. Perelman, head of Revlon, offered $4.1 billion for Gillette.

In early 1988 Coniston Partners announced that it had acquired approximately 6 percent of the company and was determined to replace four members of Gillette’s 12-member board so it could influence company policy.

In October 1989, Gillette unveiled the Sensor shaving system, which featured thinner blades mounted on springs by lasers so they could follow contours.

Since 1990 firm's earnings grew an average of 20 percent annually.

Mockler, who had had a very successful term as CEO and chairman and who planned to retire at the end of 1991, died unexpectedly in January of that year.

Significant new product introductions and a major acquisition highlighted 1992.

In late 1995 Oral-B’s position in Latin America was bolstered with the purchase of the Pro oral care line.

moody's company data report. moody's investor service, 1996.

A record 49 percent of Gillette sales in 1997 came from products new to the market in the last five years.

canedy, dana. "gillette, long a favorite of investors, finds itself walking an edge as thin as one of its razor blades." the new york times, 28 january 1998.

By the end of the first quarter of 2004, Gillette was able to report a 43 percent increase in profits, much of which was provided by its mens' and womens' wet razors, the Mach 3 and Venus systems.

20/10/2010 at 9:12 am Hi. “BUtterfield 8” would have been the exchange name.