Beer Supplies Atlanta
Seller most extraordinary that ever lived
A friend of mine once asked me this question: Who was the most important seller has ever known or heard of?
After stammering around for a moment, I said I think I have an answer. The person I'm thinking of a great salesman, an inventor, an idealist, a manufacturer and financier.
This particular money was not happy, no doubt about that, and her photo was in every city in the world, almost every street. It was universally recognized.
C. King Gillette, inventor of the safety razor, the seller was most remarkable I've ever heard. In fact, his invention was a high profit margin, the seal removal steel blade and a unique business model. Until his invention, the razor old rule had been in popular use since the 1700s.
Few people know the remarkable story of Gillette. He lived in London during 1904, where he sold "Corona" Seal corks. At that time, his shaving business was unknown and was just getting started.
His razor blade production began in 1903 when he sold A total of 51 razors and 168 blades. The following year, 90,000 razors and blades sold 12.4 million. In 1908, the corporation has established manufacturing facilities in the United States, Canada, England, France and Germany.
Razor sales reached 450,000 units and blade sales exceeded 70 million units in 1915. In 1918, when the U.S. entered the First World War, the Gillette Company provided that all American soldiers with a series of razor on the ground, paid by the government. Provided 3.5 million Gillette razors and blades 36 million U.S. soldiers. These solders became much time, customers much Gillette after the war was over. Gillette was already rich and the company prospered.
Gillette razor sales price of a large sum of $ 5 (almost $ 134 in 2006 dollars). This was about half the average working person weekly payment, but sold it for millions.
Created a new type of razor and sold to millions of people at a good price.
Gillette's full name was King Camp Gillette. Born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, 05 January 1855 and died July 9, 1932 in Los Angeles, California.
King grew up in Chicago. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 devastated the family and lost Gillette everything. Because his father fought for a living, the king had to make his own life in his early years and remained in Chicago, while his family moved to New York.
The King was the youngest of three children. The boys were encouraged to work with their hands, to know how things worked and how it might work better.
Early in his career, King made his living as a salesman. He was a visionary, however, fond of new ideas. Gillette set high goals for themselves same. His biographer, Russell B. Adams says that, "Gillette planned to build a better world first, and then a razor blade better."
In the beginning, his vision was to find a way to remove the slums. He believed that poverty was preventable and said the world's highest crime was to allow children born in squalor and misery. There were strong socialist leanings and wrote several books on the subject.
In 1890, Gillette married Atlanta Ella Gaines, a daughter of an Ohio oilman. They had one son, King Gillette Gaines. Both were at his bedside when he died.
Gillette met William Painter, who had originated the "Crown" Seal of metal cork, a stopper inserted into beer and water bottles. This was the standard used in the bottling industry at that time.
One day in 1891, the painter said Gillette, "Why not invent something that makes a person continue to buy from you while he lives? There is no point selling a single thing to one person. You want something that is used and then discarded. "
This suggestion was the root cause of the razor Gillette. Gillette thought for weeks about how he could invent a need perishable became obsessed with the idea.
One morning, while it was shaving, the razor was dull. His beard was stiff. It was painfully scraping away at your face, when, in an instant, he thought why not invent a better type shaving? I thought, why not invent a removable razor's edge?
He left his razor and foam on his face, began to sketch the design a new razor, which would consist of a blade and a container sheet.
In 30 minutes, he had his plan. Then ended up scraping the face, went out and bought some steel tape, a file and some other things. Gillette then wrote a letter to his wife who was visiting family in Ohio and said: "We I have it our fortune is made. "
In 1895, Gillette razor was patented for the first time. At first, although the knife was a failure. His friends, and always had a lot of them, mercilessly teased about his razor freak.
People laughed at Gillette razor and silly. What is important remember is that every venture capitalist who met Gillette during those early years might have possessed some of the Gillette shares for a pittance.
Before the beginning of the twentieth century, shaving was a nuisance, sometimes even dangerous. All that changed when Gillette founded the Gillette Safety Razor Company in 1901 and began selling disposable razors with blades of security two years later.
In 1900, Gillette met William Emery Nickerson, a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was a man of unusual ability who helped perfect the razor.
With a zeal for his fledgling company, Gillette was able to obtain financing necessary.
Until 1902, it had not sold a razor. In desperation, Gillette began to give them away.
I gave one to John Joyce. Joyce shaved with it, liked it and agreed to buy 60,000 dollars worth of shares.
The razor company started selling soon after a few razors, but Gillette had to continue supporting him and his family by selling steel caps for his friend William Painter.
In 1904, advertising right man entered the scene. He was the last link in the chain of success. In 1904, King C. Gillette obtained another patent for his electric razor.
Razors and began selling the money rained down on Gillette. His former employer, William Painter, bought $ 40,000 of shares.
Gillette was wise enough to maintain a large number of shares for itself.
Gillette invented a MUST perishable, which forced the buyers become permanent customers.
Gillette's success came because he had ideas. The first time I had an idea and then he put his mind and will behind it.
Fame and fortune were now his constant companions.
His business, known as the business model razor blades, does not make money in their own shavers, but in the replacement sheets.
Later, he traveled extensively. It was universally recognized his picture on the packages of razor blades. People surprised that he was a real person and not just a marketing image.
He had financial difficulties at the time of his death, despite having made millions. He lost much of his fortune largely due to spending large sums of money on goods that declined in value. Its corporate stock lost much of its value. The Great Depression was not kind to Gillette.
C. King Gillette always put ideas first, and always had great ideas. He created a new idea. Shape to this idea is a fact, and then sold this to the shaven men of the civilized world.
The Gillette Company continues to thrive and sells products under a variety of brands including Gillette, Braun, Oral-B and Duracell. It did so until 2005, when the company was sold to Proctor and Gamble for $ 57 billion.
On May 4, 2007, the National Inventors Hall of Fame induced C. King Gillette into its Hall of Fame. Today, more than 600 million people around the world shave with a Gillette product. More than 100 years after its removal shaving product is still in use. The razors global business is estimated at $ 11 million today.
If King C. Gillette is not the most notable vendor that has ever existed, no doubt part of the most extraordinary.
About the Author
Bob Bergeth currently consults with and leads hundreds of home-based entrepreneurs. His specialty is recruiting, training, motivating and leading. He has a Ph.D. and is President of International Mergers & Acquisitions. He publishes a popular newsletter, The Freedom Express: An Insiders Analysis of Home-based Businesses. Contact Bob at
Wealth Building 101 or http://www.mymangosteen.com/dream/