Colgate-Palmolive
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Colgate-Palmolive Company | |
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| Type | Public (NYSE: CL) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1953 |
| Headquarters | New York City, USA |
| Key people | Reuben Mark,CEO |
| Industry | Personal Products |
| Revenue |  $11.396 billion (2005) |
| Net income | $1.351 billion (2005) |
| Employees | 36,000 |
| Slogan | (none) |
| Website | www.colgate.com |
Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL) is a multinational corporation in the business of the provision of products such as soaps, detergents, and oral hygiene products such as toothpaste and toothbrushes. Under its "Hill's" brand, it is also a manufacturer of veterinary products.
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[edit] History
In 1806, William Colgate opened up a starch, soap, and candle factory on Dutch Street in New York City under the name of "William Colgate & Company". In the 1840s the firm began selling individual bars in uniform weights. In 1857, William Colgate died and the company was reorganized as "Colgate & Company" under the management of Samuel Colgate, his son. In 1872, Colgate introduced Cashmere Bouquet, a perfumed soap. In 1873, the firm introduced its first toothpaste, an aromatic toothpaste sold in jars. In 1908 they initiated selling toothpaste in tubes.
In Milwaukee, WI, the B.J. Johnson Company was making a soap entirely of palm and olive oil. The soap was popular enough to rename their company after it - Palmolive[1].
A Kansas based soap manufacturer known as the Peet Brothers merged with Palmolive to become Palmolive-Peet. In 1928, Palmolive-Peet joined the Colgate Company to create the Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Company. In 1953 "Peet" was dropped from the title, leaving only "Colgate-Palmolive Company".
In the beginning of television, Colgate-Palmolive wished to compete with Procter & Gamble as a sponsor of soap operas. Although the company sponsored many shows in part, they were most famous for being the full sponsor of the serial The Doctors.
George Henry Lesch was president, CEO, and chairman of the board of Colgate-Palmolive in the 1960s and 1970s.
In 2006, Colgate-Palmolive announced the intended acquisition of Tom's of Maine, a leading maker of natural toothpaste, for US$100M. Tom's of Maine was founded by Tom Chappell in 1970. This announcement has received both praise and criticism, with many questioning why a company with a 'No animal testing' policy would sell themselves to a company that does test on animals when not required to by law. Harvey A. Colgate currently manages the company. He and his wife have two children, Kathryn and Carleton, and are currently worth $358 Million.
[edit] Community Involvement
For the past 33 years the Colgate-Palmolive Company has sponsored a non-profit track meet open to women of all ages. This event is called the Colgate Women's Games. The Colgate Women's Games is the nation's largest amateur track series open to all girls from elementary school through college. Held at Brooklyn 's Pratt Institute, competitors participate in preliminary meets and semi-finals over five weekends throughout January. Finalists compete for trophies and educational grants-in-aid from Colgate-Palmolive Company at New York's Madison Square Garden in February.
The goal is to provide an athletic competition that helps the participating young girls and women develop a strong sense of personal achievement, self-esteem, instill the importance of education and provide a training ground for those who might not otherwise participate in an organized sport.
[edit] Corporate governance
Current members of the board of directors of Colgate-Palmolive are: John T. Cahill, Jill Conway, Ronald E. Ferguson, Ellen Hancock, David W. Johnson, Richard Kogan, Delano Lewis, Reuben Mark, Elizabeth Monrad, and Howard Wentz.
[edit] Brands
- Afta
- Ajax
- Axion
- Colgate (toothpaste)
- Crystal White Octagon
- Dermassage
- Dynamo
- Fab
- Fabuloso
- Hill's Science Diet
- Hill's Prescription Diet
- Irish Spring
- Kolynos
- Mennen
- Murphy Oil Soap
- Palmolive (soap)
- Softsoap
- Speed Stick
- Suavitel
- Tom's of Maine
[edit] Diversity
Colgate-Palmolive was named one of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" in 2004 by Working Mothers magazine.
[edit] Trivia
- Colgate has become synonymous with toothpaste - a fact that is a blessing and a curse. In many countries the brand has become a generic, with people walking into shops and asking for "Colgate" when they actually mean toothpaste. This has prompted numerous local toothpastes to come up with copy-cat artwork on their packs, especially in India. Consequently, the legal department of Colgate-Palmolive (India) Ltd. has been involved in multiple litigations. [See links below]
- Colgate has subsidiary organisations spanning 200 countries, but it is publicly listed in only two: the United States and India.
- It's a common fun-fact that colgate translates to "hang yourself" in varieties of Spanish that use voseo (for example in Rioplatense Spanish).
- In 1890, Colgate University was re-named in honor of the Colgate family following decades of financial support & involvement.
- The iconic hand on the Palmolive dishwashing soap label belongs to Elizabeth Barbour. The image is a highly illustrated photograph taken in 1985 when the Colgate-Palmolive Company updated the image and hired Barbour who was a hand model with the Ford Agency in New York.
