Charles Revson
The huge company we know as Revlon was founded in 1932 by Charles Revson and his brother Joseph as a nail polish company with $300. Charles Haskell Revson was born on October 11, 1906 in Somerville, Massachusetts. After graduating high school, Revson went to work for a dress company and then as a nail polish salesman for the Elka company with his brother Joseph. When they were told they couldn’t sell beyond their New York City territory, they quit and began their own business. Charles and Joseph Revson founded Revlon Nail Enamel Corporation with Charles Lachman, a chemist who had married into Dresden Chemical Company (a manufacturer and distributor of nail polish). The L in Revlon is for Lachman, who had no active role in the company but owned a third of the business. Revson offered opaque nail polish that completely covered the nail and more color options. Most nail polishes at that time were transparent, and only came in three shades of red. Revson used his sales skills to sell to beauty salons, and eventually made a big order to Marshall Fields in 1934. In 1939, Revlon had another huge increase in sales when lipstick that coordinated with the polish colors was introduced using the slogan “matching lips and fingertips”. Revlon sponsored the television show, The $64,000 Question in the 1950’s which also increased sales. In the 1960’s and
1970’s Revlon expanded into skin-care products, shampoo, hair spray, and perfumes. In 1973, the affordable fragrance Charlie became the best-selling fragrance worldwide. On the downside, Revson’s attempt to expand into the fashion field, shoe polish, plastic flowers, and electric razors all failed. However, Revson was a very innovative marketer. He came up with creative nail polish colors, like ‘Fatal Apple’, launched seductive advertising campaigns before they became the norm, and broke tradition in international advertising. Instead of matching the ad to the market, he introduced American style and looks to foreign countries, making a ‘Western look’ popular. Over the years Revson gave many millions of dollars to charities. He was particularly supportive of Jewish, medical, and educational causes. Upon his death almost half his estate of $100 million was used to establish a charitable foundation. Revson passed away from pancreatic cancer on August 24, 1975. Currently, Revlon and its subsidiaries, Almay, Ultima II, and Mitchum lines, sells to large masses of consumers in 175 countries. U.S.-based Revlon went public in 1996 and in 2009 had 5,600 employees.
Tags: background, biography, Charles Revson, history, Revlon
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