Esquire Shoe Polish was the best selling shoe polish brand in America from the 1940s to the 1960s.
During the Great Depression, Sam and Albert Abrams, chemists and entrepreneurs from Brooklyn, took over an ailing boot polish maker, the Knomark Manufacturing Company of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. [1] In 1938 they purchased the Esquire brand. [1] After a saturation advertising campaign in 1944, the company became the best selling shoe polish manufacturer in the US. [1] A 1951 advertising campaign featured the singer and television star Kate Smith. [2] In the late 1950s, they sold the Esquire brand and the 1914-built [3] Esquire Building on 330 Wythe Avenue [3] in Brooklyn. In 1957, Revlon acquired the Esquire brand which made annual sales of 15 million dollars. Revlon sold the Esquire shoe polish brand and other Esquire product brands in 1969. The Sara Lee company purchased the Esquire brand in 1987, which discontinued it in favor of their Kiwi brand. In 1994, Papercraft Corp. of Pittsburgh purchased the Esquire brand from Sara Lee. In 2010, Griffin Brands acquired the brand. It still exists in the form of shine polish today.
The Esquire Building was acquired in 1984 and converted to condominiums by Stephanie Eisenberg [3] in 2000.
Revlon, Inc. is an American multinational company dealing in cosmetics, skin care, perfume, and personal care. The headquarters of Revlon was established in New York City on March 1, 1932, where it remains. Revlon was founded by brothers Charles and Joseph Revson, and chemist Charles Lachman. Revlon products are sold in 150 countries and the company has many global locations including Mexico City, London, Paris, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Sydney, Singapore, and Tokyo.
The J.M. Smucker Company, also known as Smuckers, is an American manufacturer of food and beverage products. Headquartered in Orrville, Ohio, the company was founded in 1897 as a maker of apple butter. J.M. Smucker currently has three major business units: consumer foods, pet foods, and coffee. Its flagship brand, Smucker's, produces fruit preserves, peanut butter, syrups, frozen crustless sandwiches, and ice cream toppings.
William Lewis Douglas was an American businessman and politician from Massachusetts. He served as the 42nd governor of Massachusetts from 1905 until 1906. He also founded and oversaw the growth of the W. L. Douglas Shoe Company, a highly successful Brockton, Massachusetts, business that became one of the world's largest shoe manufacturers. He also opened the first nationwide chain of shoe stores devoted to selling the company's products.
The Wonderbra is a type of push-up underwire brassiere that gained worldwide prominence in the 1990s. Although the Wonderbra name was first trademarked in the U.S. in 1955, the brand was developed in Canada. Moses (Moe) Nadler, founder and majority owner of the Canadian Lady Corset Company, licensed the trademark for the Canadian market in 1939. By the 1960s the Canadian Lady brand had become known in Canada as "Wonderbra, the company." In 1961 the company introduced the Model 1300 plunge push-up bra. This bra became one of the best-selling Canadian styles and is virtually identical to today's Wonderbra.
C. & J. Clark International Limited is a British footwear manufacturer and retailer founded in 1825 by Cyrus Clark in Street, Somerset, where its headquarters remain. As of October 2023, the brand has 320 stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and hundreds of franchises located in the Americas, Europe and the Asia Pacific. The company also sells through third-party distribution.
Kiwi is a global brand of shoe polish, originally developed in Australia in 1906 by William Ramsay. Kiwi has grown to be the dominant shoe polish in many countries since it was used by both the British and U.S. Armies in World War I. However it announced its exit from the UK market in 2022. Soon afterwards in 2023 Kiwi announced it will be ending the brand in the US by June 2024, sunsetting certain products before the 2023 year even ended.
The Sara Lee Corporation was an American consumer-goods company based in Downers Grove, Illinois. On July 4, 2012, Sara Lee Corporation was split into two companies: one for North American operations renamed Hillshire Brands, the other for international beverage and bakery businesses named D.E Master Blenders 1753.
Brooks Sports, Inc., also known as Brooks Running, is an American sports equipment company that designs and markets high-performance men's and women's sneakers, clothing, and accessories. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Brooks products are available in 60 countries worldwide. It is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.
Shoe polish, also known as boot polish and shoeshine, is a waxy paste, cream, or liquid that is used to polish, shine, and waterproof leather shoes or boots to extend the footwear's lifespan and restore its appearance. Shoe polishes are distinguished by their textures, which range from liquids to hard waxes. Solvent, waxes, and colorants comprise most shoe polishes. Shoe polishes that would be recognizable today have been around since the Middle Ages. Originally made with dubbin, they were only used to soften leather and weather proof shoes, they did not shine shoes. However, the popularity of shoe shining that arose during the early 1900s led to many shoe polish formulas being incorporated with a shining agent.
Playtex is an American brand name for undergarments, baby products, gloves, feminine hygiene products, and sunscreen. The brand began in 1947 when International Latex Corporation (ILC) created a division named Playtex to produce and sell latex products. Playtex was the first to advertise undergarments on national television in 1955, written by Howard Shavelson at Ogilvy and Mather, and the first to show a woman wearing only a bra from the waist up in a commercial in 1977. They developed space suits for the Apollo program.
K-Swiss, Inc. is an American athletic shoe brand based in Downtown Los Angeles. It was founded in 1966 and is currently owned by Chinese sports equipment manufacturing company Xtep.
Chock full o'Nuts is an American brand of coffee that originated from a chain of New York City coffee shops.
Ideal Toy Company was an American toy company founded by Morris Michtom and his wife, Rose. During the post–World War II baby boom era, Ideal became the largest doll-making company in the United States. Their most popular dolls included Betsy Wetsy, Toni, Saucy Walker, Shirley Temple, Miss Revlon, Patti Playpal, Tammy, Thumbelina, Tiny Thumbelina, and Crissy. The company is also known for selling the Rubik's Cube.
Food Fair, also known by its successor name Pantry Pride, was a large supermarket chain in the United States. It was founded by Samuel N. Friedland, and his brother George I. Friedland who opened the first store in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in the late 1920s. As of 1957, Food Fair had 275 stores, and at its peak, the chain had more than 500 stores. Friedland's family retained control of the firm through 1978, when the chain entered bankruptcy.
Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. is an American fashion house that was founded in 1982 by Kenneth Cole.
Cutex is a brand of nail care products, owned by Revlon, Inc. The original product was developed and established in 1911 by Northam Warren Company, based in Stamford, Connecticut.
Almay is an American cosmetics brand owned by Revlon which markets products toward people with sensitive skin.
Loft, Inc. was the world's largest maker and seller of candy in the 1920s. It manufactured its own products and distributed them throughout greater New York City and Newark, New Jersey. Happiness Candy Stores, Inc., was controlled by Loft, Inc. Loft, Inc., merged with PepsiCo following an agreement of merger filed in Wilmington, Delaware in June 1941. Loft Candy Corporation was shortly spun off, acquired by Philadelphia retail magnate Albert M. Greenfield's City Stores Company chain. Rapid expansion followed, with Loft's 2,100 employees making 350 products that were distributed over fifteen states along the Eastern Seaboard and Midwest.
Ty-D-Bol is an American brand of toilet cleaner that was introduced in 1958. In its original format, the product is a blue cleanser/disinfectant liquid released into the toilet tank from an automatic dispenser.
Sinful Colors is an American nail polish company owned by Revlon.