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BRIEF HISTORY
Procter & Gamble was established in 1837 when candle maker William Procter and his brother-in-law, soap maker James Gamble merged their small businesses. They set up a shop in Cincinnati and nicknamed it "porkopolis" because of its dependence on swine slaughterhouses. The shop made candles and soaps from the leftover fats. By 1859, P&G had become one of the largest companies in Cincinnati, with sales of $1 million. The company introduced Ivory, a floating soap, in 1879 and Crisco, the first all-vegetable shortening, in 1911.
In the 1940s and 1950s, P&G embarked on a series of acquisitions. It acquired Spic and Span (1945), Duncan Hines (1956), Chairman Paper Mills (1957), Clorox (1957; sold in 1968) and Folgers Coffee (1963).
In 1973, P&G began manufacturing and selling its products in Japan through the acquisition of Nippon Sunhome Company. In 1981, when John G. Smale became the CEO, P&G's financial performance was under pressure. Manpower strength had crossed 100,000 due to P&G's acquisitions. P&G also faced intense competition from companies such as Kimberley-Clark and Colgate. P&G stumbled in many categories, losing market share and profits. P&G moved into health care when it purchased Richardson- Vicks and G D Searle's non-prescription drugs division in 1985. In the same year, P&G announced several major organizational changes relating to category management, purchasing, manufacturing, engineering and distribution. In 1988, the company formed a joint venture to manufacture products in China. P&G became the biggest cosmetics company in America when it acquired Noxell (1989) and Max Factor (199 ...