Brand Profile: ESQUIRE magazine

ESQUIRE magazine started in the early '30s, in full Great Depression, when David A. Smart, Henry L. Jackson and editor Arnold Gingrich decided to create a fashionable men's magazine. Many have called them crazy. After all, how to launch a new magazine in the middle of the great depression and charge 50 cents. The Esquire debuted with articles written by Ernest Hemingway, Nicholas Murray Butler, Gilbert Seldes, Ring Lardner Jr., Gene Tunney, and tales of John Dos Passos, Erskine Caldwell and Dashiell Hammett. In the 1940s, the popularity of the Petty Girls and Vargas Girls provided a circulation boost. It covered topics such as luxury cars, the drinks fashion, gastronomy sophisticated, jazz news, among other issues.

The Napkin Fiction Project.
In 2007 Esquire launched the Napkin Fiction Project, in which 250 cocktail napkins were mailed to writers all over the country by the incoming fiction editor, in a playful attempt to revive short fiction — "some with a half dozen books to their name, others just finishing their first."

Brand Profile: American Girl

The company was established as Pleasant Company in 1984, founded by Pleasant T. Rowland, a former renowned educator and author of educational materials. When Pleasant T. Rowland started the Pleasant Company in 1984, she announced that she was going to make dolls for girls between 8 and 12 years of age that were both educational and dealt with the topic of girlhood. Her idea found its root during a Christmas shopping trip in 1984, while trying to buy dolls for her two nieces. She felt her only options were Barbie dolls or Cabbage Patch Kids, neither of which appealed to her. On the one hand Barbie dolls encourage girls to grow up and be adults, whereas the Cabbage Patch Kids promoted motherhood, but neither of them focused on girlhood itself. doll maker Pleasant T. Rowland realized that most dolls either depicted girls assuming the role of adults or mothers and none of them dealt with girls just being girls.

The catalog of the brand was made ​​by the first three characters (dolls): Samantha Parkington (a girl in the early 20th century), Kirsten Larson (a Swedish immigrant) and Molly McIntire (a girl from the Midwest during the Second World War). Today it includes:
Kirsten Larson: Kirsten Larson is one of the original three American Girl dolls released, and hers is the only story that hasn’t been changed. She is a Swedish immigrant whose family became pioneers in Minnesota in the mid-1800s.

Samantha Parkington: Samantha Parkington, one of the three original American Girl dolls, is also one of the most popular. She lives a life of luxury in the first years of the 20th century.

Molly McIntire: Molly McIntire, who grows up during World War II, was also one of the three original American Girls. Her father is in Europe aiding the war effort, and Molly must adapt to her changing world.

Nellie O’Malley: Although Nellie O’Malley is an Irish servant and Samantha is a wealthy little girl, the two are friends.

Addy Walker: Addy Walker is an escaped slave fleeing north to Philadelphia with her mother near the end of the Civil War. Addy has been produced since the early ‘90s, prior to the Mattel era.

Kaya: Kaya, a young Native American in the Nez Perce tribe, lives in the West in 1764. The doll’s image and dress are faithful to Nez Perce culture.

Josefina Montoya: Josefina Montoya lives on a New Mexico rancho in the 1820s, just as Americans begin to settle and trade in the area. She was the first Hispanic doll in the American Girl line of dolls, and she was the last doll created before Pleasant Rowland left the company.

Felicity Merriman: Felicity Merriman is a colonial girl who lives just before hostilities erupt in the Revolutionary War. She was the first doll to have a flesh-colored body.

Kit Kittredge: Kit Kittredge lives in the Midwest during the Great Depression. Her family struggles with poverty after her father loses his job.

Trivia:
In 2005, American Girl teamed with Julia Roberts' Red Om production company and to create the first American Girl direct-to-video movie, Samantha: An American Girl Holiday. The film spawned a franchise that was followed by Felicity: An American Girl Adventure (2005), Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front (2006), along with the 2008 theatrically released film Kit Kittredge: An American Girl.

American Girl Place is a store that sells American Girl dolls, clothes, and accessories. The flagship and first store debuted in Chicago followed by stores in New York City, New York and Los Angeles.

American Girl launched Innerstar University, an online virtual world featuring the My American Girl contemporary doll line, on July 13, 2010. Access to the online world is via a Campus Guide (available separately for a limited time, normally bundled with purchase of one of the 44 My American Girl dolls which contains an access code for the creation of a doll avatar that then navigates the various games, shops, and challenges of the virtual campus of Innerstar U.

Brand Profile: Glock

Glock handguns are used police and military forces worldwide, including the FBI, the U.S. Navy Seals (principal special operations force of the U.S. Navy).

History:
It all started in 1963 in Deutsch-Wagram, a small Austrian town near Vienna, where the engineer Gaston Glock, specializing in alloys and combinations of steel and polymers, decided to start a company to manufacture metallurgy and plastics products.
In the following decade the company became a supplier of accessories for machine guns, grenades exercise, holsters, knives and blades field for the armed forces of his country.
The company's story began to change direction in 1980 when the Austrian army opened a competition for the acquisition of a new pistol-sized semi-automatic for its military. Among the requirements were that the gun should be 9 mm in diameter, have the ability to at least eight cartridges being ambidextrous be disassembled without tools, having less than 58 parts could be changed without major adjustments and still be capable of firing 10,000 shots showing a maximum of 20 faults. The army of Austria called the pistol of this bid "P-80." It was then that Mr. Gaston made ​​a survey of experts from various segments of public safety, military and civilian shooters to gather information that would be the ideal gun. After six months of intensive research, he presented his pistol that should be called to assess the Austrian army and verify that it met the tough operational requirements of that force.
The company filed for an Austrian patent on April 30, 1981 and called it as Glock 17, a pistol that was capable of firing 17 rounds. It was however named so since it was Mr. Glock's seventeenth patent. Glock 17 was soon selected as the official weapon of the Austrian army.

GLOCK, Inc. Opens in U.S.

In November 1986, the company opened its U.S. headquarters, GLOCK, Inc., in Smyrna, Ga. Shortly thereafter, the semi-automatic GLOCK 17 pistol revolutionized the law enforcement industry with the redefining of the modern pistol.

Trivia:
GLOCK has become known worldwide as "plastic pistol". It was named after the large number of parts made ​​of synthetic material.

Brand Profile: Alaska Airlines

The airline originated in 1932 when Linious "Mac" McGee started his own airline, McGee Airways. In 1934 they teamed up with Star Air Service, which at that time, with a fleet of 15 aircraft, was the largest airline in Alaska. Another expansion occurred in 1937 with the purchase of Interior Alaska Airlines. The company then became known as Star Air Lines. Finally on May 2, 1944 the airline made ​​its first flight with the name of ALASKA AIRLINES.
In 1987, the company acquired control of Horizon Air regional airline founded in 1981, and Jet America. Horizon was then transformed into a subsidiary of ALASKA, and soon after adopted the new standardized image of the parent. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the airline also operated regular flights to the Russian Far East, but these were suspended in 1998 due to financial crisis in Russia.

The airline uses special paints in some of its planes to draw attention to their corporate image through color and unusual shapes. Three of them represent the characters in Disney cartoons, and its main task is to promote holidays in Disneyland Resort in California. Others refer to themes commonly associated with the state of Alaska, for example, a Boeing 737-400 painted with a giant salmon (dubbed the "Salmon Thirty Salmon"), or The Spirit of Alaska Statehood, whose painting is very colorful composed by Eskimo sled being pulled by dogs and belugas, which represent the spirit of Alaska.

Logo:

Trivia:
1. It was the first U.S. airline to issue tickets online in 1995 and four years later, a pioneer in offering check-in and boarding pass via the Internet.
2. In 2009, the airline was ranked 7th among 100 best companies to work for, according to the Seattle Business Magazine. It was the only airline listed in the rankings. The airline also received a similar award in 2010 from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation for the airline's treatment of LGBT employees, investors and customers.

Brand Profile: ETIHAD AIRWAYS

It all started in July 2003 when a royal decree by Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan decided to create an airline of the UAE flag. The new airline would have to reflect the warm and exceptional responsiveness Arabic, besides providing services of the highest level. It was named as ETIHAD AIRWAYS (the word "Etihad" means "union" in Arabic), and so a symbol of the bonding among the seven emirates that constitute the UAE.

In 2005, the first time, Etihad Airways carried more than 1 million passengers. In August 2006 the company launched ETIHAD GUEST, an effective loyalty program that currently has over 1 million members. Efforts to transform ETIHAD AIRWAYS an icon of the segment were rewarded in 2008 when the company was considered the 10th best airline in the world. In August 2009, through an investment of U.S. $ 70 million, the company developed a new concept of first class, named Diamond First Class, in which the service and comfort reached a hitherto unprecedented level for the segment. By 2010, Etihad Airways plans to touch 70 international destinations.

Etihad Airways currently sponsors the English club Manchester City Football Club, including the naming right of their stadium, the Ferrari team and also the main sponsor of the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix (even created a special painting for one of its planes , as seen below in the image).

Trivia:
● Due to an agreement with its rival Emirates Airlines, the two airlines do not compete for the same routes.
● Sophisticated flight attendants' uniforms were designed by Italian Ettore Bilotta, and reflect the Arab culture in a global context.
● Etihad Airways, owns 29.2% in Air Berlin and 40% stake in Air Seychelles.

100 Years Skincare for Life: NIVEA

NIVEA displays welcome consumers into the opening of the NIVEA 100 Year House at Grand Central Station on July 25, 2011 in New York City.

NIVEA is a German brand owned by Beiersdorf company, marketed in India by JL Morrison.


1911 is the birth of NIVEA Creme.
1890 Oscar had acquired the Troplowitz Beiersdorf by company founder Paul C. Beiersdorf. He successfully been producing medical plasters and the first rubber-band-aid (the forerunner of Hansaplast), as well as technical adhesive tapes (the forerunner of tesa). The scientific advisor of Oscar Troplowitz, Professor Paul Gerson Unna, drew his attention to the discovery of Dr. Isaac Lifschütz: the emulsifier "Eucerit" for determining the link between fat and water to form a stable cream base.
Eucerit, originally discovered in medicine, has now been used as base material for a new cosmetic cream - the first stable oil and moisturizing cream of the world: the NIVEA - Cream. They possessed due to their stable consistency pure white appearance - hence the name NIVEA, which is derived from the Latin nix, nivis snow.

The product range initially comprised NIVEA - cream - and powder - soap.
In 1924, the company Beiersdorf developed a fundamentally new approach to advertising. The image campaign of "NIVEA Boys" introduced a completely new, modern image, which is still in the familiar blue and white presentation showed all NIVEA products.

The social upheavals of the 20s, began associating naturalness, freshness, associated leisure fun in the sun and nature, with wind and weather with NIVEA.
1928 - 1930 The product range was extended to hair and shaving, and the respective items sold internationally.
Today Nivea has sub-brands such as NIVEA Body, Visage, Beauté, SUN, FOR MEN, Hair Care, Baby, whose history can be to trace the beginnings of NIVEA Creme.

Biz History: Harvey Nichols

Harvey Nichols, founded in 1813, is an upmarket department store chain. Its original store is in London. Founded in 1813 as a linen shop, it offers many of the world's most prestigious brands in womenswear, menswear, accessories, beauty and food. Harvey Nichols attracts more younger shoppers than its rival Harrods.

In 1813 Benjamin Harvey opened a linen shop in a terraced house on the corner of Knightsbridge and Sloane Street in London. Benjamin Harvey bequeathed his business to his daughter Elizabeth in 1820, on the condition that the business’s present silk buyer, Colonel Nichols, was taken on as a partner. This partnership gradually widened the store’s stock to include Oriental textiles and furnishings; Harvey Nichols’ carpets were particularly in demand.

The business flourished in this newly fashionable location, near the original Crystal Palace, which housed the Great Exhibition in 1851. The present splendid premises were opened in the 1880s and extended in 1932. In 1914 a Harvey Nichols advertisement in the Times boasted that their tailor-made suits and mantles are made under the supervision of an expert Viennese cutter and fitter. Perfect style and fit guaranteed.’ But like several other venerable luxury stores in west London, supply difficulties hit their profits during WWI and they merged with Debenhams Ltd. (q.v.) in 1919.

Harvey Nichols retained its unique and exclusive character, which has been exploited and amplified by new owners since 1991. They were listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1996 and large premises, their first regional branches, were opened in Leeds and Edinburgh in 1996 and 2002 respectively. From its own-label tailoring to high-end designer concessions of all varieties, Harvey Nichols has maintained its reputation as purveyor of luxury goods and garments to moneyed gentlefolk (both established and aspiring) everywhere for well over a hundred years.

The Spirit of Ecstasy - Rolls-Royce

The Spirit of Ecstasy (famous flying lady mascot), the enigmatic mascot of Rolls-Royce Motor cars, has been carved to perfection and set atop the trademark bonnet grille of every Rolls-Royce car that has ever been produced since February 6, 1911. The Rolls-Royce Motor Car Company was officially founded in 1906, but its iconic radiator mascot — the Spirit of Ecstasy — wasn’t crafted and placed on cars until five years after. 

(Eleanor Thornton)

Spirit of Ecstasy Centenary Collection Phantoms –won’t be identical to one another. Each, however, will offer owners a number of special touches unavailable on other Rolls-Royce models. Up front, the Spirit of Ecstasy itself is cast in silver, while its base is gold plated. The Rolls-Royce emblems applied throughout the car are also unique, as their silver-on-black color scheme is the inverse of the company’s actual logo.

To honor this moment, the Ghost and Phantom models that are built by Rolls Royce in Goodwood will get a special Spirit of Ecstasy that will be engraved with the inscription "Spirit of Ecstasy Centenary – 2011". This inscription can be seen at the base of the mascot and it will be written in a special font named ITC Willow.

Trivia:-

Charles Rolls, Henry Royce and Claude Johnson are the founding fathers of the Rolls-Royce brand. Charles Rolls was an aristocrat, engineer and ran a car import business near Earls Court. Dissatisfied with the quality of foreign cars, Rolls sought and found a kindred spirit in Henry Royce, an established electrical engineer with a car manufacturing business in Manchester. 

The men were brought together in 1904 by Claude Johnson, who became known as the hyphen in Rolls-Royce. Johnson had been secretary at the Motor Club of Great Britain, latterly the RAC Club, but in 1901 had joined Rolls in business. When C.S. Rolls and Co. established exclusive rights to sell Rolls-Royce cars from its dealership in Conduit Street, Mayfair, it was Johnson who helped drive its success. In an early advertisement for Rolls-Royce he famously coined the line ‘The Best Car in the World’. John Scott Montagu was a friend of Claude Johnson and Charles Rolls, as well as a fellow motoring pioneer. He founded The Car Illustrated in 1902 and today his son’s estate in Hampshire continues to guard the Spirit of Ecstasy legend.

Montagu appointed a young sculptor and illustrator called Charles Sykes as resident artist for his magazine in 1903. It was Sykes’ beautiful illustrations and bronzes that signposted the way to the creation of the first Spirit of Ecstasy. The final and most important player in the story is Eleanor Thornton, a British beauty and secretary to Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, founder and editor of The Car Illustrated magazine. Eleanor was the inspiration for many more of Sykes early sketches, paintings and bronzes. The Whisperer is perhaps the most famous example of a Sykes figurine in bronze, which more than hints at the famous bonnet mascot.

The early motor car featured a radiator cap on its hood/bonnet, but by 1910, the hood ornament/car mascot became fashionable. The Rolls-Royce board of directors voiced their displeasure of the gauche hood ornaments that was sat atop its vehicles. So Montague told Sykes to fashion something that would embody “speed with silence, absence of vibration, the mysterious harnessing of great energy and a beautiful living organism of superb grace.” Sykes created the gilded woman he presented in 1911; it became Rolls’ standard bonnet adornment in the 1920s.

Mitticool - a product of Mansukhbhai

Mansukhbhai, a school drop-out, he has achieved a feat that many in the world envy today.  The simple and unassuming Mansukhbhai is not keen on money. His ambition is to make more low-cost and eco-friendly products for the masses. "I failed in the tenth standard. But I was not disappointed as I knew that I was capable of making something new," says Mansukhbhai who holds a patent for Mitticool. He has been popularising earthen products since 1988. Besides, the low-cost fridge, he has developed a water filter, non-stick tava and a pressure cooker all made of clay.

(Presenting the national award to Mansukhbhai in 2009, President Pratibha Patil)

Mitticool, a clay refrigerator that works without electricity had turned the world's attention to its creator Mansukhbhai Prajapati, a craftsman based in Gujarat. "A good majority of Indians cannot buy a fridge as it is expensive. Besides this, electricity bills and maintenance cost is also high. Mitticool is an eco-friendly product which has no maintenance costs. It also retains the original taste of vegetables, says Mansukhbhai who has sold 1500 units so far. The upper part of the refrigerator stores water, while the bottom unit has space for fruits, vegetables and milk.

The beginning

Pottery has been the Prajapati family's traditional business. Mansukhbhai’s family belonged to Morbi in Rajkot district. However, his father gave up the profession as it was not getting them any money. It was all hard work without much gain. He being the only son was sent to school on the hope that he would do well in academics and get a good life. However, he disappointed them when he failed tenth standard. To make matters worse, he refused to take up construction work which his father had started doing. He was however forced to do all sorts of odd jobs. He even injured an eye working in a brick factory. "I was fed up. I wanted to start my own factory. But there was no way I could do it without resources. I joined a tile factory. I worked there for sometime. This was a turning point for me," he says.

He found that tiles were manufactured at a fast pace with a machine which was quite expensive. He took a loan of Rs 30,000 and started a small factory. At the age of 18, he made a machine, which could make 600 tavas a day instead of 100 tavas they used to make manually. This gave him lot of confidence to explore and innovate. He got the idea to make a machine for about Rs 4,000, which could help him manufacture more tavas than was being done manually. His initiative to restart the pottery business was not taken positively. But he went ahead despite opposition.

The business

By 1995, he realised the need to build a water filter. The market had steel filters which were not very efficient. After months of research and hard work, he built a water filter. Luck favoured him too. "A person who had settled in Nairobi heard about my project and approached me for 500 units. I was excited. I sold it making Rs 100,000 on the first sale. It was a good start. The product I developed was sold in Nairobi even before it sold in India," he says. The water filters priced at Rs 350 to 400 are quite popular. Later in 2005, he started the non-stick tava (pan) business. "My wife could not buy a non-stick tava as it was costly. So I thought many people would be facing the same problem. That's when I designed the non-stick tavas, priced between Rs 50-100." It took him a year to research and experiment -- testing the material for the non stick coating etc. The food grade test for the pan was done by Tata Chemicals in Mumbai.

Mansukhbhai has sold more than 50,000 tavas. He had to make thousands of tavas before he made the perfect one.

Gujarat Grassroots Innovation Network and professors at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and the National Innovation Foundation, extended their help in the form of grant and guidance for getting the patent, making the packing box and lab testing of products.

The idea behind Mitticool

During the 2001 earthquake, all earthen pots were broken. Some people told me the poor people's refrigerators are broken. They referred to the 'matkas'(pots) as refrigerators.
It struck me then that I must try to make a fridge for those who cannot afford to buy a fridge. The patent winning Mitticool has been the most challenging product for him. It needed a lot of experimenting. He started work on it in 2001; the product was finally ready by 2004.
It took him almost four years of hard labour and an investment of about Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million). An engineer who saw the fridge asked him to make 100 units. This was a great morale booster. It takes 10 people to make a fridge in one day. Made from clay, the refrigerator can store water, fruits, and vegetables for 8 days and milk for one day.

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Heinz tomato soup: 100 years

Heinz's product first went on sale in Fortnum & Mason, London's most upmarket department store in September 1910, the summer of Dr Crippen's trial for murder and at the same time as when the first engine-powered double decker bus entered service in the capital. The cream of tomato soup was originally manufactured in Canada.

Trivia:-

The anniversary is being marked by Fortnum & Mason, which is serving the soup in its restaurant – as well as a fruit cake made from the soup. It is also selling soup in replica packaging to the original 1910 can.

Pinkerton National Detective Agency

Allan Pinkerton founded a detective agency in Chicago that originally gained fame for solving a series of train robberies and later became known for helping management break strikes by the new labor unions.
Pinkerton became famous when he claimed to have foiled a plot to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln, who later hired Pinkerton agents for his personal security during the Civil War. After the war, Pinkerton returned to running his Agency, which made its name in a number of high-profile cases, including that of Frank and Jessie James. By the 1870s, the agency had the world's largest collection of photographs of criminals and suspects.

Brand Profile: Victorinox

The Victorinox Swiss Army knife can be difficult to define, though there is no doubt that they are recognized worldwide as a symbol of talent, reliability and quality under the name Swiss army knife .
The Museum of Modern Art in New York has designated the Swiss army pocket knife as an example of elegant design and adaptation to its function.

The story
Karl Elsener, company founder, was born on 9 October 1860 in Schwyz in Switzerland. After years of learning in Paris he returned home to open his own business in Ibach, a city next to his home city. At that time there was very little activity in the industrial district of Schwyz, causing many young farmers to emigrate to North America, Australia and New Zealand. Looking up new opportunities for jobs, he took the initiative in 1884, to organize the Association of Swiss Cuteleiros (Swiss Cutlers Association) with the objective of producing knives for the Swiss army, before that the pocket knives used by the army of his country were made in Germany.

Thus, the first activity of the Victorinox Swiss factory was manufacturing the "Soldier's Knife," which incorporated a blade, a screwdriver for a rifle, a can opener for food and a punch for leather seats and harnesses.
At first, Karl had to fight to keep his small Swiss Army knives and lost money in its first contract with the army and the first year after knife colleagues quit because an industrial firm in Solingen, Germany, could make them cheaper.
The "Soldier's Knife" was very robust but relatively heavy, so he developed and manufactured the "Officer's Knife", lighter, more elegant and also included more features, legally registered on June 12, 1897.

In 1909, after the death of his mother, named Victoria, Karl Elsener chose her name as a brand. When stainless steel, invented in 1921, began to be used, to mark primitive knives "Victoria" he added, "Inox" stainless steel international designation, resulting from the merger of the two words the name of the firm Swiss Army Knife "Victorinox".
Also in 1909, he finally managed to distinguish its product from imitations, as the Swiss government allowed him to use the Swiss cross - known as Cross and Shield - in their knives.
In 1918, Karl Elsener died, leaving the factory under the control of the sons Carl and Alois.

The product line
The history of business can be divided into two phases: from 1884 to 2001 and from 2002 until now. It explains itself: during the first 117 years, the VICTORINOX was synonymous with knives. But then came September 11, 2001, aircraft attack on the WTC (World Trade Center), the American paranoia with sharp objects and the company accused the coup. The company then devoted himself to the strategy to turn global brand and diversify activities.

East India Company to be revived

The East India Company, the world’s first and oldest multi-national brand, which is embedded in the hearts and minds of people across the globe, is being brought back to life as a contemporary luxury brand.

Originally established in 1600, through the Royal Charter granted by Queen Elizabeth I, The East India Company is one of the most recognised brands in the world today; over two billion people know of its history. At its height the East India Company (EIC) controlled 50% of world trade, bringing tea and coffee to the breakfast tables of the West and spices around the globe.

Now, 136 years after it was dissolved, the business is being relaunched - by an Indian entrepreneur. And, initially anyway, it will be a rather more modest enterprise.

Sanjiv Mehta, CEO of the The East India Company:

UK based Indian entrepreneur, Sanjiv Mehta graduated from Sydenham College, Mumbai University in finance and went on to study Gemmology. In 1983, Mehta joined the family Diamond trading business. He initiated the Jewellery business & built one of the first mail order businesses of Fine Jewellery in India and initiated wholesale operations in Middle East, USA & Japan. In 1988, he set up an International trading house in London with a special interest in metals, petrochemicals & agro-commodities. He continued to expand his business eastwards by setting up FMCG & engineering businesses in Russia. In 2005, Sanjiv Mehta became the owner of The East India Company.


Key Historical Dates:

1600 Queen Elizabeth I, grants a charter to ‘The Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies’, bestowing her royal patronage and empowering them to trade exclusively in spices, tea, coffee and other luxury goods from the East. The Queen also grants The Company right to bear a Coat of Arms.

1669 King Charles grants control of Bombay to The Company. Later, The Company gets the right to mint currency, have its own army, and hold judicial and administrative power over all parts of India under its control.

1757 The East India Company is a powerful multinational corporation with its own army, navy, and treasury. It virtually controls international commerce of China, India, Japan, Far East, West Indies and American East Coast. Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, St. Lucia and many other cities and townships are formed by The Company.

1800 - 1842 The Company is at the pinnacle of success employing one third of the work force of England, and controlling half of the British Empire’s trade. Hong Kong and Singapore are founded by The Company.

1858 The Government of India Act transfers The Company’s powers to the Crown.

1874 Parliament passes the East India Company Stock Dividend Redemption Act dissolving The Company and Queen Victoria becomes Empress of India.

2005 Sanjiv Mehta becomes the sole owner of The East India Company.

2010 The East India Company brand is re-launched and the Company is re-born.

Brand Profile: ELECTRONIC ARTS (EA)

History

It all started when Trip Hawkins, a graduate of Stanford University, who held the post of chief marketing officer of Apple, envisioned a pioneer of a very promising future for the segment of interactive home entertainment. On May 28, 1982 after investing approximately $ 200 thousand, he along with his two colleagues William Gordon and Tom Mott, founded the ELECTRONIC ARTS (which over the years was only known by the abbreviation EA). The company was aimed to develop games for computers and video games system. The company started with 11 employees and $ 5 million from private investors. The new company's first product was launched in May 1983 and it was a game for the Atari video game 800.

I n the early years the company followed to the letter a different philosophy, releasing titles on the market today considered classics, like MULE, Pinball Construction Set and The Bard's Tale. EA was functioning as a seal for talented programmers and developers at the time: with developer’s names placed on the company's advertising campaigns and packaging of the games had the square shape of music albums.

Later the company created a division EASN that was responsible for the creation and development of sports related games. This was changed to EA SPORTS in 1991. In subsequent years this division acquired licenses for professional sports teams & leagues and created realistic games based on success in several sports.

The evolution of Logo

The first corporate logo was known as "Square / Circle / Triangle and was created by Barry Deutsch. Used up to 1999, this logo was represented by a square, a circle and a triangle symbolizing the "alphabet basics of graphic design." This was replaced in 1999 by a new logo that presented a stylized abbreviation EA, which was inspired by the identity of the former games division of sports firm named EASN.

Brand Profile: GARNIER

History

The story began when Alfred Armour Garnier, a young French chemist, created in 1904 the first branded product, a hair tonic that used natural ingredients (plant extracts), launched at a time when people used soap to wash hair. GARNIER then launched shampoos and conditioners, which were advertised in women's magazines and soon became popular. The brand began to expand its product line in 1936 when it was the first to produce a line of sunscreen products for skin. This allowed to expand the line of skin care with the launch of products made with natural ingredients and fruit extracts.

In the 60s, the GARNIER was the first manufacturer to market a complete line of hair dyes for home use. The success of this product, especially in Europe and the United States, drew the attention of the French company L'Oréal, which bought the lab in 1965. Until then, GARNIER had a line of products targeted hair care and skin care.

Products
Garnier currently has three product lines: Fructis, Nutrisse and Nutritionist. Fructis, started in 1996, is the Garner line of haircare and styling products. Nutrisse, Garnier's hair color line released in 2002, was originally called Natea when it debuted in 1998. Natea wasn't as successful in the United States as in Europe, hence the name change. Garnier started selling Nutritionist, its skincare product line, in 2005.

This is a catlog which I made for someone's summer project (in 2009).

Innovation
Besides introducing Alfred Garnier's hair tonic in 1904, when people still used soap on their hair, Garnier has been the first to produce sun-care items (in 1936) and the first to make a permanent home hair color (in 1960). Today Garnier is the number-one brand in Europe using natural ingredients.

Logo
GARNIER recently changed its branding with the launch of a new logo, a concept that is more aligned with the roots of the brand: nature coupled with technology.

Brand Ambassdor
Chitrangda Singh and John

Once upon a time...

Lacoste is paying a tribute to its heritage by launching a lovely online pop-up book dedicated to the brand’s founder, René Lacoste. The online project features visual life-story of one of the most important figures in tennis history, starting from his early years.

The story is split into 6 chapters, and each of them tells (in English) about really notable events in the biography of the brand’s founder and the label itself as well.