Kotex, Kleenex, Huggies : Kimberly-Clark and the consumer revolution in American business / Thomas Heinrich, Bob Batchelor.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Heinrich, Thomas R., 1963-

Contributor:

Batchelor, Bob.

Series:

Historical perspectives on business enterprise series

Historical perspectives on business enterprise

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Kimberly-Clark Corporation--History.

Kimberly-Clark Corporation.

Sanitary supply industry--United States--History.

Sanitary supply industry.

Consumer behavior--United States--Case studies.

Consumer behavior.

History.

United States.

Genre:

Case studies.

Physical Description:

xiv, 263 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Columbus : Ohio State University Press, [2004]

Summary:

At the core of Kotex, Kleenex, Huggies is the riveting story of Kimberly-Clark, a Wisconsin paper company that became a pioneer of personal hygiene products in the twentieth century. Its first big commercial success was Kotex, which came from sanitary wound bandages developed in World War I. Similarly, Kleenex evolved from Army gas mask filters into disposable handkerchiefs and became the company's most reliable profit maker. Finally, Huggies turned Kimberly-Clark into a leading player in the highly competitive diaper market of the 1970s and 1980s.

In addition to tracing Kimberly-Clark's fascinating history of technology development and product diversification, Heinrich and Batchelor explore momentous changes in consumer behavior and marketing. When Kotex first arrived on the scene in the 1920s, menstrual hygiene was burdened with cultural taboos that made it impossible for many women to ask the (inevitably male) pharmacist for a sanitary napkin. To solve such vexing marketing problems, Kimberly-Clark invented the artificial word "Kotex" and inserted it into consumer vocabulary through massive advertising campaigns. Making it easier for women to shop for the new product, Kimberly-Clark also recommended that stores place boxes of Kotex on the counter where women could help themselves without embarrassing conversation, thus pioneering the concept of self-service.

Contents:

Origins and growth, 1872-1916

The rise of consumer nondurables

The great depression

In the mainstream : expansion and crisis, 1940s-1971

"The diapers that help stop leakage" : the transformation of Kimberly-Clark, 1971-1990

Product diversification and corporate strategy.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 245-249) and index.

ISBN:

0814209769

0814290531

OCLC:

55679144