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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(1,480)
- People (13)
- News (566)
- Research (670)
- Multimedia (10)
- Faculty Publications (157)
Edward G. Gardner
Gardner began mixing hair and beauty products for blacks out of his basement during the 1940s. Around 1960, he began working for another beauty supply business and when it went bankrupt, Gardner took its customers and began producing his own line of Soft Sheen... View Details
Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products
John A. Ewald
Ewald is responsible for taking Avon public and beginning Avon’s international expansion. He is also credited with introducing the historic “Avon Calling” advertising campaign. During his CEO tenure, Ewald produced 23 years of consecutive growth and top level return on... View Details
Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products
- 30 Jan 2021
- News
Finding a Fresh Approach to Dry Cleaning
serviced by Simon’s three full-time drivers, Heath writes. The rest of his business comes from walk-ins: wedding gowns and formal attire, or a homeowner looking for careful cleaning of an antique rug, for example. Over the years Parkway... View Details
- 23 Jul 2024
- Research & Ideas
Forgiving Medical Debt Won't Make Everyone Happier
point—comes too late to have a meaningful impact on people's lives.” “We're not saying that medical debt doesn't matter,” says Harvard Business School Assistant Professor Raymond Kluender, the study’s lead author, noting researchers were surprised by the results.... View Details
Alfred M. Zeien
When he became CEO of Gillette, Zeien immediately began coordinating a change in the firm’s overall business strategy as well as in the mission statement. He aimed to have every one of Gillette’s products, which range from razors to Waterman pens to Duracell batteries,... View Details
Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products
John G. Smale
Known for his patient managerial style, Smale worked at Procter & Gamble for 38 years. Under Smale's leadership as CEO, P&G's earnings and stock price doubled while the company expanded abroad and into higher margin products. Two years after retiring as... View Details
Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products
Naomi Sims
After as short, distinguished career in modeling, Sims decided to pursue her real dreams of being an entrepreneur. An outgrowth of her modeling experiences, Naomi devoted her efforts to manufacturing “realistic” wigs for black women. Though her products met with... View Details
Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products
William C. Procter
Under Procter's guidance, P&G grew out of its mid-western roots as a soap producer into a national consumer goods conglomerate. Procter was responsible for the creation of many famous brands, including Crisco shortening, but also played a large role in improving... View Details
Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products
Howard J. Morgens
Morgens is credited with leading P&G through its most significant growth period. He introduced P&G Productions, funding the first television soap operas, as a means to promote P&G products. During his tenure, he introduced the Pampers, Downy, and Bounce... View Details
Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products
David H. McConnell
McConnell was a pioneer in door-to-door selling. With Avon, he created a significant earning opportunity for housewives and other women before they won the right to vote. His products were sold by women in the communities where they and their customers lived, contrary... View Details
Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products
Reuben Mark
When Mark took over in 1984, the consumer goods giant was in the midst of trying to reinvent itself. The company had grown tremendously in the 70s through a series of less than stellar acquisitions and one of Mark’s first tasks was to sell off those subsidiaries that... View Details
Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products
Robert A. Chesebrough
Chesebrough organized the Chesebrough Manufacturing Company in 1875, of which he was president until 1908. Chesebrough’s firm began with the production of kerosene, but after 1881 focused solely on the manufacturing of Vaseline. Chesebrough quickly established... View Details
Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products
Vincent C. Ziegler
Zeigler presided over Gillette’s strongest financial performance in its 73-year history. He helped Gillette reach the $1 billion mark in revenues in 1973 – up from $340 million when he assumed the CEO position. Under Zeigler, Gillette introduced the Trac II razor,... View Details
Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products
Anthony Overton
A pioneer black manufacturer, Overton established Hygienic in 1898 and produced baking powder, extracts, and toilet preparations. After moving the firm from Kansas to Chicago, he began to manufacture a full line of cosmetics and perfumes under the High-Brown Products... View Details
Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products
David W. Mitchell
Mitchell orchestrated the acquisition of Tiffany’s & Company – expanding Avon to a $3 billion+ operation with over 1 million direct sales representatives. Mitchell produced exceptional financial returns while expanding Avon’s global presence. View Details
Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products
King C. Gillette
Gillette invented the safety razor, creating a new U.S. industry. In 1903, Gillette sold 51 of his razors and 168 blades. He increased these numbers dramatically so that by the end of the next year, he had sold 90,000 razors and 12.4 million blades. Gillette grew his... View Details
Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products
Max (Francis) Factor, Jr.
Taking over the family company after the death of his father in 1938, Factor is regarded as a pioneer in the cosmetics and makeup business. He transformed the company from a Hollywood makeup studio into a worldwide provider of name brand cosmetics, bringing the makeup... View Details
Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products
Mary Kay Ash
Ash created a successful cosmetics company by and for women by utilizing a direct sales force and creative motivational sales techniques. At the end of its first year, Mary Kay Cosmetics boasted $198,514 in sales and 318 salespeople. By 1977, the company had over... View Details
Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products
Richard M. DeVos
In 1959, with his partner Jay Van Andel, DeVos established one of the most profitable direct selling companies in the world. Van Andel and DeVos accomplished their success through the use of an elaborate pyramid-like distribution system in which independent... View Details
Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products
Samuel B. Colgate
Despite the fact that Colgate’s term as head of Colgate-Palmolive came at the height of the Depression, Colgate was able to grow the company significantly. When Colgate took over, the company had $62 million in annual sales. Five years later, Colgate had increased... View Details
Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products