Procter and Gamble (also known as P&G) was created in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio. William Procter was an immigrant from England who became a candle maker in Cincinnati. James Gamble was also an immigrant from Ireland and he was an apprentice to a soap maker. Both men married two sisters, Olivia and Elizabeth Norris, and were convinced by their father-in law, Alexander Norris, to become business partners. He realized that they were competing in the same industry and were always competing for raw materials. A few years later, Mr. Proctor and Mr. Gamble decided to form a partnership. Proctor and Gamble Company on Halloween, October 31, 1937 with a total asset of $7,192.24. The goal …show more content…
P&G is known to be among the first company to invest in research (3). By 1859, Procter and Gamble sales reached $1 million dollars and employed about 80 workers. With employees being tired of working long hours without an increase in pay, workers started striking and holding demonstrations. Protests were even aimed at Procter and Gamble. As a result, Procter created profit-sharing that rewarded loyal workers by giving them a “share” in the company’s profit in the form of annual bonuses (2). The company continued to work during the civil war and produced and supplied candles and soaps to the army. This kept the company alive and also increased the company’s reputation as soldiers were using P&G’s …show more content…
By 1890, P&G moved from being a private to publicly traded company. In order to raise money for the company, they sold stocks and also offered employees opportunities to purchase stock. (3). At this time, Proctor and Gamble company were already producing 30 different types of soap. Fortunately, the demand of soaps was increasing which lead to expansion of the company. In 1915, the company opened its first plant in Ontario, Canada and employed about 75 people to produce Crisco and Ivory Soap. P&G invested in research labs, studying and improving the soap making process, which in turn led to the opening of new plants. They invented new innovative products such as Ivory Flakes, a soap in flake form for washing clothes and dishes; Chipso, the first soap designed for washing machines; Dreft, the first synthetic house-hold detergent (3). The revolution of the cleaning industry was mostly due to the discovery of detergent. These innovations changed the way consumers used soap. In addition, P&G entered into the food industry by inventing a new product called Crisco. This was the first all-vegetable shortening which was an alternative and healthier option to animal fat and was cheaper than butter (3). Overall, Procter and Gamble company took advantage of the growing media, advertising through radio, offering promotional premiums and product