From Dry Goods To Blue Jeans: Guess Who?

Success wasn't a straight path. For these 10 global corporate icons. They'd all begun life doing something else. Which is why you'll barely recognise them today! From these stories of their early years.

Time to "chew" on Number One. :)

From scouring soap to ...?

1891: Chicago, Illinois. A 29-year-old travelling salesman arrived from Philadelphia. With USD 32 in hand. Rented an office desk on 157 East Kinzie Street. Set up a branch office of his father's business. Peddling mineral scouring soap. For cleaning bathtub stains. And paint spills. Gave his dealers baking powder samples free. As a trade incentive.

1892: Switched from soap to selling baking soda. Gave his grocers chewing gum free. As a promotion.

The company? Wrigley's. Today the world's largest chewing gum maker. With confectionery brands like Spearmint, Doublemint, Juicy Fruit and Hubba Bubba. Selling in more than 180 countries. Bought over by Mars in 2008. For USD 23 billion. 16000 employees.

Number Two is a true "blue" fashion icon. :)

From dry goods to ...?

1853. San Francisco, California. Hub of the Gold Rush. A Bavarian immigrant started a dry goods wholesale business. Supplying clothing, blankets and bedding. Sewing accessories, fabric, handkerchiefs and purses. Combs, umbrellas, kettles and tents. To 117 general stores in the city. And to other small traders along the West Coast.

The company? Levi Strauss & Co. NYSE: LEVI. Today the world's leading jeans and apparel manufacturer. With sub-brands Dockers, Signature, Denizen and Beyond Yoga. Selling in more than 100 countries. 2022 revenue USD 6.2 billion. 19,100 employees.

Number Three's easy to "make up". :)

From pharmaceuticals to ...?

1872: Ginza, Central Tokyo. Bustling shopping district. A 24-year-old Admiralty Hospital pharmacist opened the country's first private Western-styled drugstore. Selling authentic and high-quality imported medicines. A novelty in Japan then. Competing with Chinese herbal remedies. With personalised service.

1888: Launched Japan's first sanitary toothpaste. At ten times the price of traditional salt- and limestone-based tooth powder. Supplied it even to the Navy.

1902: Installed Japan's first in-store soda fountain. Imported the machine as well as syrup, cups, spoons and straws from the US. Dispensing soda water and ice cream. Rare in Japan at that time.

The company? Shiseido. Today the world's fifth largest beauty and cosmetics maker. With prestige brands like Clé de Peau, Nars, Ipsa, Drunk Elephant and Benefique. And many others. Selling in more than 120 countries. 2022 revenue 1.1 trillion yen. 39,000 employees.

Press "Play" for Number Four. :)

From playing cards to ...?

1889: Kyoto. A Japanese entrepreneur began making "Hanafuda" playing cards by hand.

1902: Added western-style playing cards. Intended for export. But gained local popularity too.

1953: Became Japan's first company to mass-produce plastic playing cards.

1959: Launched cards featuring Walt Disney characters. For children. As a new market.

The company? Nintendo. Today a household name in electronic gaming and entertainment. With titles like Super Mario Bros, Pokémon, Legend of Zelda and Xenoblades. Selling directly or indirectly in 164 countries. 2023 revenue 1.6 trillion yen. 7,317 employees.

You'll "connect" with Number Five easily. :)

From paper to ...?

1865: Tampere, Finland. A mining engineer set up a ground wood paper and pulp mill. On the banks of the Tammerkoski river.

1868: The company built a second mill. In a town 15 kilometres away.

1902: Diversified into hydroelectric generation.

1919: Got acquired. By a manufacturer of men's boots, hoses, car and bicycle tyres, machine belts and other rubber goods.

1932: The company acquired a manufacturer of telephone, telegraph and electrical cables.

The company? Nokia. Today a networking technology leader. Present in more than 130 countries. 2022 revenue 24.9 billion euros. 87,927 employees.

Bookmark Number Six with a "sticky note". :)

From corundum mining to ...?

1902: Two Harbors, Minnesota. Near Lake Superior. Dr Danley Budd, Henry Bryan, William McGonagle, John Dwan and Hermon Cable. Five co-founders ventured into mining for corundum. Used for making sandpaper and grinding wheel abrasives. Turned out the mineral deposit was actually poor-quality anorthosite. And the operation failed.

The founders persisted. With different materials. Applied them to other products. And other applications. And built their business through innovation and collaboration.

The company? 3M. Today an diversified industrial conglomerate. With over 100,000 patents. And a diversified portfolio of more than 60000 products. With trademarks like Scotch-Brite, Scotchgard, Post-it and Aqua-Pure. And many others. Selling in 200 countries. 2023 revenue USD 32.7 billion. 85,000 employees.

"Send money" in minutes with Number Seven.

From telegraphy to ...?

1851. Rochester, New York. Ezra Cornell, Samuel Selden and Hiram Sibley founded Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company. Transmitting and delivering telegram messages.

1861. Built first transcontinental telegraph. Linking eastern US to California.

1866. Became a near monopoly in the American telegraphy industry. Having acquired several competitors.

1866-71: Pioneered technologies such as telex, stock tickers and satellite systems.

1900: Operated a million miles of telegraph lines and two international undersea cables.

The company? Western Union. NYSE: WU. Today a money transfer company. Enabling cross-border and domestic transactions, currency exchange and bill payment. Covering over 200 countries. 2022 revenue USD 4.5 billion. 8,900 employees.

Number Eight really has the "Monopoly". :)

From cloth leftovers to ...?

1923: Providence, Rhode Island. Three Polish immigrant brothers got into business. Selling textile remnants.

1925: Added hat liners and pencil-box cases to their range. And then pencil boxes themselves. Plus zipped cloth pouches filled with school supplies.

1928: Expanded to paint sets and wax crayons.

1935: Began producing pencils.

The company? Hasbro. NASDAQ: HAS. Today an international play and entertainment conglomerate. With a legacy of action figures, board games and interactive toys. With franchises like Transformers, Monopoly, Play-Doh and My Little Pony. And many others. Selling in over 120 countries. 2022 revenue USD 5.9 billion. 6,490 employees.

Number Nine will add some "sparkle" to your day. :)

From stationery to ...?

1837. New York City. 259 Broadway, Corner of Warren Street, Lower Manhattan. 25-year-old Charles Tiffany and his schoolmate John Young. Set up a stationery and fancy goods emporium. "Tiffany, Young and Ellis". With a USD 1000 advance from Charles' father. Carrying a variety of stationery items. Day One sales USD 4.98.

1845: Published America's first mail-order catalogue. The "Blue Book". Featuring "useful and fancy articles". Including horse whips. And French sugarplums!

1862: Supplied the Union Army with swords, flags and surgical instruments.

The company? Tiffany & Co. Today a luxury goods house. Selling jewellery, fine watches, fragrances and home accessories. In over 170 countries. Bought over by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton in 2021. For USD 16.2 billion. 14200 employees.

You can "earn points" for Number Ten. :)

From freight forwarding to ...?

1850: Buffalo, New York. Three cash-in-transit firms merged. Into a joint-stock freight-forwarder. Delivering parcels, currency, gold and financial documents across New York State. On horseback! Faster than the American Postal Service.

1862: Had, by now, built a 10,000-mile shipment network. Of rail and express routes. From the East Coast to Minnesota and Missouri.

1878: Started procuring merchandise from suppliers. On behalf of clients.

The company? American Express. NYSE: AXP. Today an integrated financial services giant. Offering payment processing, international banking, credit cards and travel booking. Operating in over 200 countries. 2022 revenue USD 50.7 billion. 77,300 employees.

Many other instances ...

Samsung originally exported noodles and dry fish.

Du Pont, at the outset, was a gunpowder mill.

Mattel was born in a suburban garage as a picture frame company.

Marriott Hotels was, at first, a nine-seater A&W root beer stand.

Flickr was an online chat room. With a multi-player online game.

None of these companies had answers when they began. They dared to adapt. And discovered their calling. Along the way. Many others didn't. And became history.

Know more such inspiring examples? Do share. In the comments below.

Until next time. :)