It seems incredible, but modern industry of household chemicals created in the late XIX Englishman William Lever.
Inheriting trading business from his father, William set up its own production, has become the richest citizen of the British Empire and received the title of Lord.
He first thought of selling not just soap and trademark.
And his public relations campaign to promote its own products entered the history of marketing.
And he wanted to make people happy - in his own way ...
One day in 1922 a small English town of Port Sunlight, located near Liverpool, filled with luxury coaches and cars, he walked the streets of the men in tuxedos and ladiesin furs and diamonds.In this remote place so brilliant company gathered for the opening of Lady Lever Art Gallery.Luxury building was couched in classic style: the portico entrance propped pillars and crowned with snow-white dome of the building.The gallery housed the personal collection of its owner - William Lever, Baron Leverhulme and peer of England.A collection made up mostly of British artists painting XVIII and XIX centuries.The opening ceremony was headed by Princess Beatrice gallery of the English royal family, the Windsors, especially come to cut the ribbon.Lever Baron smiled, touched and fussed around her highness, who gratefully accept these tokens.And here present aristocrats am not surprised, although originally Lever was just a son of a grocer.After all, who came to the celebration, as well as the royal family and the majority of British subjects, washed manufactured in factories Lever soap.
Pure Honey
William Hesketh Lever (William Hesketh Lever) was born September 19, 1851 in Bolton, Lancashire, is located in the north of England.The fate of a son for his parents was quite obvious.After William was the first boy in the family Lever birth to six daughters, and that he would inherit his father's business.A Lever-dad was the head of the family firm, engaged in wholesale and retail trade of tea, coffee, pepper, bay leaf, and other groceries.
parents and William did not disappoint.He grew up well-mannered and discreet boy, I remember the good commandments of the Church of England and parental guidance.Yes, in general, and William himself had nothing against a secure future heir to a successful trading company.His father was of the opinion that none of the universities will not replace the sweat and blood of experience.And at age 16, William left school and devoted his time to work in the company of his father.Dad was quite pleased with them.The family business grew steadily and in a few years, Le Verrier became the largest grocers in Liverpool and Manchester.And gradually expand the range of their trade.So, since 1874, when William was 23 years old, his firm started selling soap and water.According to the customs of the time, this product is available in stores in the form of large bars, from which, as from a long loaf of sausage, cut off a piece of the right buyer and sold wrapped in packing paper.Even the proud name of which was of a commercially Lever soap, - Lever's Pure Honey ("pure honey from the Lever") - was nothing more than a tribute to tradition.The names are a combination of the name of the owner of the company, and the phrase "pure honey", received in the retail trade almost all soap.Before that, it was quite impersonal product and releasing dozens of small soap plant.Therefore, the composition, quality, and even the smell of Lever's Pure Honey could change literally from a piece to piece.But for the time of William the situation did not care.
Lever But life changed dramatically when he passed for 30. William faced with what is now called a midlife crisis.Successful merchant, the head of his own company, a rich and prosperous man, he lost interest in life.Do not help even a wedding with Elizabeth Hulme, he fell in love with in high school.So much so that Lever was about to retire, buy a small island off the coast of Britain and settled there with his wife away from the bustle.Although the blues soon passed, William to trade is no longer desired.Instead, he decided to take into their own hands the production of Lever's Pure Honey.
Sunlight
First of all in 1884 Lever bought a small soap factory in the town of Warrington.It is no longer possible to buy soap on the side and full control over its composition and quality.Surplus of soap could sell to other shops, and they in turn would sell it under their own names.Tutte and Lever could expect to recoup their investments over several years.But it was too boring for William, and, in his opinion, can not be compared with life on its own island.William decided to "reinvent the wheel" - to offer customers "better soap".
Lever With the filing of this sweet product first began at the factory to cut our usual small pieces.And that is "standardized" soap could be sold at any store, William decided to give it a neutral and memorable name.After going through a lot of options, he gave her the name of the soap Sunlight (Sunlight) - "sunlight".The name is printed on the paper, which was wrapped in a factory cutting soap.
effect of clearance of goods Lever reinforced advertising.In newspaper ads reported that female skin fade faster men because a woman washes a lot of low-quality soap.But mild soap Sunlight only skin care.But the real masterpiece has become advertising ballad about beauty Lady Gwendolyn, whose face from the cares and sorrows suddenly began to fade before the deadline.Terrified, the poor girl tried many means, but all to no avail.Only one woman saved her wise cousin, Gwendolyn advised to immediately buy a box of Sunlight.
not surprising that after such a compelling argument women customers in the least interested in whether mylitsya Sunlight general.To enhance the effect, in the course of the bonus system was launched.Each label on the Sunlight equated with a certain amount of money.The amount due in the office, you could choose the goods you like.The size of the prize if unfettered, resulting in a curious cases.For example, one consumer cunning managed to collect 25 thousand. Leverovskogo packages of soap and in return received a car worth £ 250 and a few bicycles to 9 pounds.
It is thanks to successful and massive marketing campaigns in just one year of the production of soap from the Lever has grown from 20 to 450 tons per week, and it became the most popular soap in the British Empire.William considered the main components of the high advertising sales and had it not skimp.He once jokingly remarked: "Of course, half are released on advertising money thrown away for nothing. But how do you know which half?"
Garden paternalism
actually creates a new market with their own hands, and William have not hear about any secluded island.Now he wanted nothing less than to bring happiness to as many people and he was ready to play the role of a caring shepherd."The anonymous builder of roads - that's the best servant of humanity. By building the road from town to town, on which then will travel thousands of people with their hopes, joys and fears, he never let them judge and only seeks to be the road became easier," - he said,Lever.Implement their paternalistic idea, he began to build a new soap factory.
for its construction Lever acquired 23 hectares of land on the banks of the River Mersey.On the other side was the city of Liverpool.The project has developed a soap-known Liverpool architect William Owen.Work began March 3, 1888, when Elizabeth, the wife Lever symbolically removed a layer of sod with a shovel.In January next year, the new factory has earned.
Now Lever erected around it for their workers a real garden city.Name of the town he chose the right: Port Sunlight (Holt sunlight).Lever personally supervised all the projects and brought them their fix.Spacious and bright, the house is very green.They were provided even bathrooms, which in the XIX century could be found only in the homes of aristocrats.And in Port Sanlayte Lever built for operating a school, theater, concert hall, sports hall and an outdoor swimming pool.However, in exchange for the citizens of Port Sunlight had to follow established itself Lever rather puritanical rules of conduct.In addition, William did not lost his business sense, and the workers were paying for everything at cost.How to write the British newspapers, Lever as explained next increase the rent: "It will be bad if you are all owed to you for Christmas Prize went to his belly in the form of whiskey, sweets and fat geese. But if you leave the money to me, I use them toprovide you with everything that makes life enjoyable: beautiful house, a comfortable life, and healthy holiday. "
public image of William was not the most brilliant.The famous English writer Gilbert Chesterton once called Port Sunlight "reminiscent of the barracks slaves."When Lever filed a lawsuit on him, he spoke in support of Chesterton himself Bernard Shaw.Lever did not bring the case to court, content with explanations Chesterton, that the word "slavery" is the "usual among educated people, when they discuss the current trends of development of capitalism."However, anyone's opinion a little worried Lever - he preferred not to notice it at all.When he was trying to prove something, he broke off debater: "We will not discuss anything. You're wrong - and everything."
Light of the World
But the dream to make people happy, even against their will is not interrupted William business sense.Already in 1888, his soap company Lever Brothers in the United States had a three-soap factory.However, until the First World War, American housewives soap treated him almost with disgust and convince them that they could not any advertising, nor competitions.Finally, to "break" the stubborn American managed only to 1920, when Lever Brothers sales in the US were $ 12.5 million. - Against only $ 843 thousand. In 1913.
Lever spent his expansion by buying more interesting company.By 1890, in addition to the US, he already had plants in Australia, Canada, Germany and Switzerland.In his native Britain in 1911, Lever Brothers produced every third piece of soap.And between 1910 and 1915 Lever acquired three British soap companies, among them the company its main competitor Pears.Lever remained faithful to the principle of promotion are not goods, and its image.The company continued to manufacture nearly all of the acquired brands.
After World War I the company's sphere of influence has spread even in Africa.There William bought huge plantations of coconut oil, which is used in the manufacture of soap.To expand the scope and influence of the Lever.Along with the growth of personal wealth, William led more and more aristocratic life.He became interested in collecting paintings by British artists of the XIX century, then joined them the masters of the XVIII century.In addition, he was interested in furniture and oriental porcelain.I do not forget it, and his hometown of Bolton.He built a school there and smashed parks.And once I purchased and distributed to local residents of 120 hectares of land.No wonder that in 1906 he was elected to the British Parliament, and in 1918 he became mayor and Bolton.
real shock for the 62-year-old William was the death in 1913 of his beloved Elizabeth.The woman, whom he called not only its half, and the "three-fourths of my best", died of pneumonia.
When in 1917 the king granted him the title of Lord, Lever insisted there and mentioned the name of the deceased spouse.Fully he sounded his title as Lord Leverhulme Bolton-le-Moors.In honor of his wife, William was built in 1922 in Port Sunlight and art gallery.Laid the first stone, he invited the British monarch King George V. Lever refused.
For hardening Lever until the end of life preferred to sleep on the bed, which is carried out.Sometimes he would wake up on the bed, covered with snow.It is not surprising that he died, as his wife, from pneumonia.It was May 7, 1925 at his home in London's Hampstead.He is buried next to his wife in Port Sanlayte in they built in 1904. Church of Christ.The couple are buried side by side in the stone sarcophagi, which on top of a life-size carved their bodies immersed in an eternal sleep.
Photo source: npg.org.uk
Articles Source: Financial newspaper azbukadeneg.com
