Gillette history

However things were firstly slow during in the first year of manufacture which was in the year of 1903, he traded just 51 razor sets, 168 blades – Gillette recognised he was on the right track.

In 1904 Gillette received a patent on the safety razor; sales rose to 90,884 razors and 123,648 blades that year.

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

By 1906 the company had paid its first cash dividend.

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.

1911: Crisco, the first all-vegetable shortening, debuts.

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.

Public Company Incorporated: 1917 as Gillette Safety Razor CompanyEmployees: 30,400Sales: $3.82 billionStock Exchanges: New York Boston Midwest Pacific London Frankfurt Zürich

In 1921 Gillette’s patent on the safety razor expired, but the company was ready for the change.

While King Gillette's personal fortune was ruined after the 1929 stock market crash, the Gillette Company still exists as a subsidiary of the Proctor & Gamble Company.

Gillette made a bold advertising move when it admitted that the blade it had introduced in 1930 was of poor quality.

1931: Brand management system is formally introduced.

Spang purchased radio broadcast rights to the 1939 World Series for $100,000.

1946: P&G introduces Tide laundry detergent.

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

Mockler had been at Gillette since 1957 and had an entirely different background and style than Ziegler.

Amway history, profile and corporate video Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos, a pair of direct sales veterans, launched Amway in 1959.

Once again focusing on laundry, Procter & Gamble began making "Downy" fabric softener in 1960 and "Bounce" fabric softener sheets.

1961: Test marketing of Pampers disposable diapers begins.

In 1962, the English Wilkinson Sword Company began to export stainless-steel blades to the United States.

1963: Company acquires the Folgers coffee brand.

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.

He took over as chairman of the board in 1965.

Ziegler had bought the family-owned business in 1967 to gain entry to the European electric-shaver market and for the quality and style of its small-appliance designs.

1971: Company is organized into four domestic divisions: the Safety Razor Division; the Toiletries Division (featuring Right Guard 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.

By 1980 Gillette had improved profitablity despite the attack by Bic.

1982: Norwich-Eaton Pharmaceuticals is acquired.

Some of this cash was used in 1984 when Gillette added oral care products to its product mix with the $188.5 million purchase of Oral-B Laboratories, Inc.—the leading maker of toothbrushes in the United States—from Cooper Laboratories, Inc.

1985: P&G purchases Richardson-Vicks Company, owner of the Vicks, NyQuil, and Oil of Olay brands.

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

In 1987 two unsolicited requests from Revlon to buy the company were rejected by Gillette's Board of Directors.

In May 1988 Duracell introduced its new Duracell Ultra high-tech battery.

Finally, in August 1989, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway bought $600 million of Gillette convertible preferred shares.

In early 1990 Gillette tried to expand its shaving operation by acquiring Wilkinson Sword.

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.

The Lady Sensor soon followed in 1992, with sales for both products exceeding $500 million that year.

1993: Major restructuring is launched, involving 13,000 job cuts and 30 plant closures.

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

In 1996 the company also launched more than 20 new products, including SensorExcel for Women.

1997: Company acquires Tambrands, Inc., maker of the Tampax line of tampons.

Despite (or perhaps because of) the expense of the expense of introducing the new razor, Gillette saw its worst economic performance in almost a decade in 1998.

1999: Premium pet food maker Iams Company is purchased.

Reidy, Chris, "Boston-Based Gillette to Sell Stationery Product Lines," Boston Globe, June 2, 2000.

2001: P&G acquires the Clairol hair-care business from Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.

Gillette's control of the toiletries market was threatened early in 2003 when rival Schick-Wilkinson Sword introduced the Quattro, the world's first four-blade shaving system.

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.

• Fusion Power is the latest razor developed by Gillette in 2005.

Procter and Gamble (P&G), the global leader in the Beauty and Grooming category, decided to extend its Fusion shaving range with the launch of Gillette Fusion ProGlide Series in the UK, in June 2010.

Gillette Fusion ProGlide looks set to build on its success moving into 2011

Recent estimates from Global Industry Analysts, inc. estimate that the men’s Global grooming market will exceed a global value size of $33.2 billion by 2015.