Brand icons

Citroën

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Citroën–a French automobile manufacturer, founded in 1919 by André Citroën, was the

world's first mass-production car company outside

of the USA. Since 1976 it has been part of PSA

Peugeot Citroën.

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Originally a mass-market car maker with relatively

straightforward designs, Citroën shocked the world

in 1934 with the innovative Traction Avant, the

world's first mass-production front wheel drive

car (1934–56).

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Citroën was a keen marketer—he used the Eiffel

Tower as the world's largest advertising

sign, as recorded in the Guinness Book of

Records. The Eiffel Tower served as a

billboard for Citroën from 1925 to 1934.

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Citroen is opening a new page in its history,

with a new visual identity, new customer

relations and a new line of products. The

updated visual identity has been created by

branding agency Landor Associates.

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Also introduced is a new punchline–'Créative Technologie'.

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Citroen is credited with some of the automotive world's greatest innovations, and one that

is still used in almost every car on the road today–the helical gear.

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It has also been announced that Citroen is to resurrect its premium marquee, DS, with a

new model to be released next year. DS, which has its roots in the French word 'déesse',

meaning goddess, was first introduced in 1955 before being phased out in 1976.

Oakley

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Oakley was started by Jim Jannard in 1975 in his garage

with an initial investment of $300. Jannard began by

selling what he called 'The Oakley Grip' out of the back

of his car at motocross events. His motorcycle grips were

unlike other grips riders had seen at the time.

 

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Although the grips were successful, brand recognition was limited as the grips were

usually concealed by the riders' hands.

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In 1980, Jannard released a pair of goggles called the O-Frame. With the 'Oakley' logo

present on the strap, onlookers began to recognize the brand.

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In 1984, Oakley introduced a pair of sunglasses called the Eyeshade, which were made of

plastic and featured removable lenses. They were popularized by Tour de France winner

Greg LeMond and other professional cyclists. Oakley continued to introduce new

models of sunglasses, including the Blades, Razor Blades, Frogskins, and the Mumbos,

which eventually evolved into the M-Frame series of glasses.

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Oakley is now in the portfolio of Milan-based Luxottica group, along with other brands

such as Ray-Ban, Persol, and Vogue.

LG

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Formed in 1947 by the Koo and Huh families, Lucky-Goldstar started out selling face

creams, and quickly grew to become dominant in the national

chemical manufacturing business.

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In 1958, Lucky-Goldstar entered the electronics industry with

the formation of Goldstar Co.

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Goldstar became the first Korean company to build a radio in

1959, refrigerator in 1965 and television in 1966.

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In 1995, the company abandoned the Lucky-Goldstar name and

adopted a new corporate name, LG Electronics and the slogan "Life's Good".

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The company now known as LG Electronics was formed out of a company called Lucky

Chemical Industrial Corp who initially manufactured a cosmetic called Lucky Cream.

Schick

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Schick traces its origins to the inventive US Army

Lieutenant Colonel Jacob Schick.

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In 1921, inspired by the army repeating rifle,

Colonel Schick invented a new type of safety razor–

the Magazine Repeating Razor. It had replacement

blades stored in the handle ready to be fed into shaving position without the chore and

danger of handling a sharp blade.

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Schick has been first to market with a number of products: the first triple bladed

disposable, the Xtreme3; the first all-in-one women's shaving system, Intuition; as well

as the first four-bladed razor, Quattro. The Xtreme3 disposable is currently the number

one selling disposable brand.

 

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Valvoline

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Valvoline traces its beginnings to 1866, when an American physician,

Dr. John Ellis, became fascinated with various claims relating to the

medicinal value of crude oil.

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Although he quickly concluded that the medicinal claims were

unfounded, Ellis became consumed with the notion that it might be

possible to create a machinery lubricant from the crude oil.

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Ellis built the world's first mineral lubricating refinery in Binghamton, New York.

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In 1873 the product that he called Binghamton Cylinder Oil was given the first mineral

lubricating trademark ever registered: Valvoline.

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In 1940, Valvoline became the first company to offer an unconditional money-back

guarantee on its motor oil.

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Valvoline was acquired by Ashland Oil in the late 1950s.Valvoline is the oldest

trademark in the entire petroleum industry; in fact Valvoline's founder Dr John Ellis

produced America's first crude-based lubricating oil in 1866.

Schweppes

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In 1783 Jacob Schweppes, a German born jeweller and an amateur

scientist invented a method of producing carbonated water on a

commercial scale.

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This invention set the foundations of a multi-billion dollar soft drinks

industry.

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Several products launched in the World War I era are still around

today – Schweppes Tonic Water, Schweppes Ginger Ale,

Schweppes Ginger Beer and Schweppes Bitter Lemon.

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The four-ringed Audi emblem symbolises the amalgamation in 1932 of four

previously independent motor vehicle manufacturers: NSU, DKW, Horch

and Wanderer.

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These companies form the roots of what is today Audi AG.

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Audi's tagline is "Vorsprung durch Technik", meaning "Advantage Through

Technology", implying an unfair advantage due to superior technology

Isuzu

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Isuzu traces its beginnings to 1916, the year Tokyo Ishikawajima

Shipbuilding and Engineering Co, and Tokyo Gas and Electric Industrial Co initiated

plans for automobile production.

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In 1934, a Ministry of Trade and Industry standard model car was launched and named

the "Isuzu", after the river in the Ise Shrine area.

 

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Listerine

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First formulated by Dr Joseph Lawrence and Jordan Wheat Lambert in 1879 as a

surgical antiseptic, Listerine was named after the English

physician Joseph Lister, the "father of modern antiseptics",

who performed the first antiseptic surgery ever in 1865.

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Listerine coined the term "halitosis", meaning bad breath. It is now part of the English

lexicon

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In the 1930s, Listerine gave birth to the famous slogan, "Often a bridesmaid, never a

bride", yet another advertising reflection on the perils of bad breath.

Opel

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The Opel brand's history began with a sewing machine designed by

Adam Opel in 1862.

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When the founder died in 1895, Opel's company was not only leading

European sewing machine sales, but also producing over 2,000 bicycles

annually. Opel shifted its focus from sewing machines to cars in 1898.

Hello Kitty

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Hello Kitty is one of the best-known of many simply drawn fictional characters produced

by the Japanese company Sanrio.

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Designed by Ikuko Shimizu, the first product, a vinyl coin purse,

was introduced in Japan and the US in 1970s.

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Sanrio Puroland is the official theme park of Sanrio featuring

Hello Kitty and her friends.

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Sanrio was started by Shintaro Tsuji as the Yamanashi Silk

Company in 1960, using 1 million yen in capital.

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The word Sanrio comes from "san" (meaning three in Japanese)

and "río" (meaning river in Spanish). He named the company Sanrio to unify the three

rivers of the world.

Business trivia

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In 1934 Peugeot introduced the Peugeot 401 Eclipse, the first car in the world to have an

electric folding roof.

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Vodacom of South Africa launched the first cellphone based solution

(Cell Life) to support and enable people living with HIV/Aids, to

receive the Anti Retroviral treatment they need

 

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Chivas Regal is a brand of premium Scotch whisky. Named for the Chivas brothers –

James and John - who founded the brand in 1801, the name "Chivas" comes from the

Gaelic seamhas, meaning lucky, or blessed with fortune.

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The Cutty Sark brand of whiskey is named after a clipper ship

built in 1869.

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Joyce C. Hall, founder of Hallmark Cards, Inc., lived the

American dream. Hall overcame both

poverty and a lack of a formal education

to become the architect of the greeting

cards industry. His autobiography–'When

You Care Enough'.

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Hall received honours such as French Legion of Honor;

Eisenhower Medallion and winner of the first Emmy ever

awarded to a television sponsor.

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The Great Depression is a term coined by Lionel Robbins (1898 - 1984), a British

economist who taught at the London School of Economics.

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Indage Vintners (formerly Champagne Indage) acquisition include Thachi Wines and

VinCrest Winery in Australia, and Darlington Wines in the UK. The company currently

has two Indian wine brands: Chateau Indage and Indage Vineyard.

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The first four-wheel drive car was the Spyker 60 H.P– introduced in 1903 by brothers

Jacobus and Hendrik-Jan Spijker in Amsterdam.

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Adani Wilmar Limited (AWL), a Rs. 3200 crore company; is a joint venture between

two global corporations.

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The Adani Group of India – the leaders in international trading & private infrastructure,

and Wilmar International of Singapore – agri-business group and leading merchandiser

and processor of edible oils.

 

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Fortune, Raag and Jubilee are the brands under which Adani Wilmar sells its range of

edible oil, vanaspati and bakery shortening.

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Intel Atom is the brand name for a line of microprocessors, previously code-named

Silverthorne and Diamondville, intended for use in smart phones and

ultra-mobile PCs meant for third world countries and other portable and

low-power applications. Ultimately, it ended up being a preferred processor

for netbooks. Because they were targeted for low power consumption rather

than performance the Intel Atoms benchmark significantly lower than

processors designed for laptop and desktop use.

Business legend: John Moody

In 1909, John Moody became the first financial analyst to

assign letter grades to railroad bonds, giving investors an

easier way to evaluate the rail companies' debt. It was the

beginning of one of the most powerful forces in modern

capitalism.

Poor's Publishing (later Standard & Poor's) started selling

its bond ratings to investors in 1916; Fitch followed suit in

1924. In the 1930s, federal regulators began using these

private ratings to evaluate the safety of banks' holdings,

among other things, but the importance of the agencies

waned following World War II as bond defaults became rare.

The economic turbulence of the 1970s raised the industry's profile again. In 1975, the

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) deemed certain firms "nationally recognized

statistical ratings organizations"– making a sign-off from a ratings agency a necessity for

anyone selling debt. But ratings also became a stamp of actuarial approval that often let

investors and regulators skimp on their own due diligence.

Recent books and authors

Books Authors

ONE UP ON WALL STREET Peter Lynch

EVERY BUSINESS IS A GROWTH

BUSINESS

Noel M Tichy and Ram Charan

THE GREATEST SALESMAN IN THE

WORLD

Og Mandino

LAUNCHING A LEADERSHIP

REVOLUTION

Chris Brady

THE ONE MINUTE ENTREPRENEUR Ken Blanchard, Don Hutson and Ethan

Willis

HOW TOYOTA BECAME #1 David Magee

BUYOLOGY Martin Lindstorm

REALITY CHECK Guy Kawasaki

THE ASCENT OF MONEY Niall Ferguson

 

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Business trivia

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AIG Financial Products (AIG FP), which last year alone piled up $40 billion in losses

related to its dealings in complex mortgage bond derivatives.

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Kindle 2 has a feature called Whispersync, which automatically notes where you left off

reading.

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The G-20 (more formally, the Group of Twenty

Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors)

is a group of finance ministers and central bank

governors from 20 economies: 19 of the world's

largest national economies, plus the European Union (EU).

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Videocon Digi World stores for retailing all its brands — Videocon, Kenstar,

Electrolux, Kelvinator, Sansui, Akai and Hyundai — under one roof

Third World

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Third World is a categorical label used to describe states that are considered to be

underdeveloped in terms of their economy or level of industrialization, globalization,

standard of living, health, education or other criteria for 'advancements'.

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The term "Third World" was coined by Jawaharlal Nehru to refer to those countries that

maintained their independence, allying themselves neither with the West (the "First

World"), nor with the Communist states within the Soviet Union's sphere of influence or

those countries that had centrally-planned economies (the "Second World").

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The economist and demographer Alfred Sauvy, in an article published in the French

magazine L'Observateur, August 14, 1952, coined the term Third World in referring to

countries currently called either "developing" or "under-developed", especially in Hindu

Asia, Latin America, Africa, and Oceania, that were unaligned with either the Communist

Soviet bloc or the Capitalist NATO bloc during the Cold War (1945–1989).

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Former Congress politician Raj Ranjan runs the Netagiri Vidyalaya that has since its

inception in 2001 imparted training to 200 aspiring politicians.

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Prozone, the mall development joint venture between apparel retailer Provogue and the

UK's Liberty International.

 

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Estonia became the first country to allow its citizens to vote over the internet in

general elections in 2008.

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Established in the 15th century, the Firozabad glass industry is one of the country's

biggest glass industry clusters. The fame of bangle industry has earned this small town

located just 50 km away from Agra, the name, Suhag Nagri, as it caters to the entire

domestic demand for this veritable symbol of married women in India.

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Au Bon Pain (Direct French Translation: At the Good Bread) is a fast-casual bakery and

cafe chain headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Louis Rapuano and Louis Kane

founded the first Au Bon Pain in Boston, Massachusetts in 1978.

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FC Barcelona, the largest multi-sports club in the world, has as

its motto–'More than just a club.' It has embarked on the Xarxa

Internacional de Centres (XICS) programme. Translating to

International Network of Solidarity Centres, it has units in nine

countries on four continents, catering to 1400 children.

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Netbooks made their entry when the Taiwan-based multinational PC maker, ASUS,

launched EeePC in 2007. This was followed by MSI (Wind), Dell (Inspiron Mini), HP

(HP Mini), HCL (MiLeap Series), Acer (Aspire one) and Lenovo (IdeaPad).

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Jaiprakash Gaur, an alumnus of IIT, left his secure government job to start his own

venture with an initial capital of Rs 10,000 in 1958. Two decades later, he laid the

foundation for the Jaypee Group by setting up Jaiprakash Associates Ltd, a civil

engineering and construction company. The group has developed core competency in

undertaking hydropower projects and has executed projects such as the Sardar Sarovar

Dam (Gujarat), Tehri Dam (Uttarakhand) and Nathpa Jhakri (Himachal Pradesh).

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Putinka vodka (Vinexim)–named after Vladimir Putin and Medvedeff vodka (TPG

Kristall)–named after President Dmitry Medvedev have taken the Russian vodka market

by storm.

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The US is the partner country at the 10th edition of the annual Federation of Indian

Chambers of Commerce (FICCI) Frames Conference in Mumbai. "Best is yet to

come" was the theme of the conference.

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Sectera Edge by General Dynamics is a heavy-duty highly secure mobile that has been

certified for use by India's National Security Agency.