Category Big Business

          Amazon is one of the world’s largest e-service providers. Started by Jeff Bezos in 1994, Amazon now provides everything under the sky in their online store.

          When Jeff Bezos began his business, he wanted his enterprise to be known as a technology company that made online transactions simpler. He started his venture in Seattle. The people of Seattle were technology savy as Microsoft was located there. He started with online retailing of books. Though many business experts predicted that Amazon would become a grand failure, the venture exceeded their expectations; they focused on growing big, fast.

          The company went public in 1997 and they diversified into selling music and videos. In 1998, Amazon began international operations by acquiring online booksellers in the UK and Germany. By 1999, the company was also selling consumer electronics, video games, software, home-improvement items, toys and games, and much more.

          Today, Amazon is an ‘everything store’. It also provides other services like Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Alexa, Amazon Robotics and Amazon Prime Now.

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          Foods, cleaning products, personal care items, Unilever has it all. Many of our favourite brands like Pears, Dove, Brooke Bond, Close-Up and Vaseline belong to the Unilever family. Unilever was founded by the Lever brothers in 1885 and it has flooded our markets with a lot of fast moving consumer goods. The company maintained the policy of ‘acquire and grow’ that added more goods to their product line and widened their reach.

          The company has two headquarters- Unilever PLC, based in the United Kingdom, and Unilever N.V., based in the Netherlands. It is one of the oldest multinational companies; Unilever maintains production facilities in 88 countries with products sold in over 190 countries.

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          When it comes to baby products, the first name that comes to most of our minds is Johnson and Johnson. But, the brand name was associated with surgical dressing when it began in 1886.

          Johnson and Johnson was established by Robert Johnson, James Johnson and Edward Johnson in New Jersey, after they split from their former company Seabury & Johnson. It was during the same time that Joseph Lister advocated the use of antiseptics and their importance. Johnson brothers were inspired by his speech and decided to start a business in order to create a line of ready-to-use surgical dressings.

          In 1894, they ventured into baby business. Their maternity kits and baby powder became extremely popular. Today, Johnson and Johnson focuses on three main areas: consumer items, medical devices and diagnostics and pharmaceuticals.

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          Both William Procter and James Gamble migrated to the US. Procter made candles while Gamble sold soaps. Their paths crossed as they married sisters Olivia and Elizabeth Norris, which led to the creation of one of the most recognized brands in the world, P&G.

          For their business, Gamble and Procter needed the same raw materials. Their father-in-law suggested a joint venture to avoid competition and the result was P&G. This happened in 1837. The partnership clicked and business flourished. During the Civil War, the company received a single order that widened their reach; the Union Army ordered for soaps and candles.

          After the war, Procter & Gamble achieved a massive growth, thanks to a new product, Tide. It became a top selling brand as detergent replaced soaps. Their product line further expanded with Pampers – the first disposable diaper, Pringles, and many others. Over the years, the company established its reputation internationally.

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          It wouldn’t be wrong to say that half of the men’s wear won’t be in the market if not for PVH. Many brands such as Van Heusen, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Arrow, Warner’s, True & Co., Perry Ellis, Michael Kors and Geoffrey Beene come from the house of PVH.

          In 1881, Moses Phillips and his family started sewing woollen shirts to sell to miners of Pennsylvania under the name M. Phillips & Sons. Around the same time, Dramin Jones, a Prussian immigrant founded a shirt manufacturing company known as D. Jones & Sons. D. Jones & Sons merged with M. Phillips & Sons in 1907 under the name Phillips-Jones.

          Phillips-Jones was in search of a durable collar. Their improvisations ended in the making of a self-foldable collar for which they received a patent in 1919. The first collar-attached shirt was introduced in 1929 and people liked it.

          The meeting between Isaac Phillips and John Van Heusen began a fresh chapter in their history that resulted in their most popular line of shirts- Van Heusen. The company was later renamed as Phillips-Van Heusen in 1957 and PVH in 2011.

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          Cartier’s history is embellished with royal orders for tiaras and other jewellery. No wonder, this French brand was described by King Edward VII as the ‘Jeweller of Kings and King of Jewellers’.

          Cartier’s history dates back to 1847. Louis-Francois Cartier took over his master’s workshop to found Cartier, but it were his grandsons Louis, Pierre and Jacques who popularized the name worldwide. In 1904, Cartier branched out to making watches. This happened following Louis’s friend Alberto Santo’s complaint about the unreliability of pocket watches while flying. Cartier designed a wristwatch that silenced his friend’s complaint. Since then, Cartier launched several new designs that satisfied many customers. Today, Cartier is one of the top of the line luxury brands with 200 stores across 125 countries. It is now a subsidiary of Richmond Group, a Swiss concern.

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          The luxury brand Prada had its humble beginning at Milan, Italy in 1913 when Mario Prada opened an exclusive store selling handbags, travel trunks, beauty cases and accessories. Due to its high quality and innovative designs, Prada soon became the favourite of Europe’s elite class.

          In 1919, Prada took a step further when it became the official supplier of the Italian royal family. This helped the brand to establish a position that it enjoys even today.

          Prada’s story changed in the 1970s with an epic partnership between Mario Prada’s granddaughter and Tuscan entrepreneur Patrizio Bertelli. This combination of creativity and business resulted in an international expansion of the brand. Prada’s store set the standard for luxury by blending the classic with the modern. Prada also expanded their product line to include women’s footwear, eyewear, perfumes and clothing.

          In 1988, Prada opened their stores in New York and Madrid, followed by London, Paris and Tokyo. In 2016, Prada took another leap with opening an online store.

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          At the age of sixteen, the young Louis Vuitton began his career as an apprentice of a craftsman. It was the 1830s, and people travelled in trains and horse carriages and their luggage was handled roughly. This required tight packing with quality material. Vuitton was fast to learn the skill to design customized trunks.

          After gaining considerable amount of experience, Vuitton started his own business in 1854. He came up with waterproof canvas designs that best suited voyages. Vuitton’s canvas designs were in great demand and his business flourished.

          By 1913, Louis Vuitton became one of the largest travel goods manufacturers. Thanks to the efforts of George Vuitton, his son who took charge after Louis’s death, the brand became international and in 1997, they introduced their first line of clothing for both men and women. The 2000s were a period of expansion for the company; it branched out to produce jewellery, sunglasses, shoes and watches. For many years now, this brand has been one of the most valuable luxury brands of the world.

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          If Levi Strauss created a jeans revolution in the US, it was Lee Cooper who made jeans a household name in the UK. Over the years, Lee Cooper became the go-to-brand of the British Rock and Roll bands and music lovers. In fact, it was Lee Cooper who first identified the connection between music and fashion and Harold Cooper made sure his brand stood for it.

          Lee Cooper began its journey in 1908 in East London. Morris Cooper, Harold’s father and the founder began his business by selling denims to factory workers, much like Levi Strauss. His company was called The Morris Cooper Factory and it soon built a strong reputation amongst customers.

          It was Harold who established the company as Lee Cooper. He worked with legendary artists including the Rolling Stones, UB40, Serge Gainsbourg and Rod Stewart to link denims with music. His attempt fetched good results and soon, denim became a lifestyle element of the youth. Harold also released the first women’s jeans with a front zip. This historic launch was followed by products like coloured jeans, the ones with five pockets and a clothing range inspired by The Beatles.

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