Mandom Corporation

History

Mandom Corporation (株式会社マンダム?) was created in 1927 under the name Kintsuru Perfume Corporation (金鶴香水株式会社?) and is a manufacturer and distributor of hair care, skin care, perfumes, and deodorants. The company changed its name to Mandom Corporation in 1971 and is now based in Osaka, Japan. Other services provided by Mandom Corp includes "life and nonlife insurance; staffing; and general services, such as building maintenance and operation, back-office, and environmental maintenance." [2]

In 1927 Shinpachiro Nishimura founded the Kintsuru Perfume Corporation. After the success from releasing a pomade called the Tancho Stick in 1933, Kintsuru Perfume Corp. began to focus its future efforts in men's care. By 1959, the success of the Tancho Stick led the company to change its name to Tancho Corporation.

Tancho's efforts with expanding outside of Japan was further boosted in 1970 when the company launched a new line of highly successful men's care products, called Mandom, which took its name from a combination of the words "Human" and "Freedom".[3] An innovative advertising campaign featuring Charles Bronson became the first of a long series of Japanese ads to feature top Hollywood stars. Tancho then changed its name again, to Mandom Corporation, in 1971.

In 1976, Mandom's success and the creation of their flagship brand, Gatsby, encouraged them to move into direct sales of their products.[4] However, despite the success of the Gatsby brand, the moving to direct retail sales was disastrous for Mandom. By 1980, the company was had no choice but to give up the direct sales model and return to wholesale distribution.

Mandom went public in 1988, selling shares on the Tokyo exchange's over-the-counter market. In 1989, Mandom introduces Lucido, a new cosmetic line for women. Into the early 2000s, Mandom wanted to continue to seek out new product markets. They decided to expand its international presence further by establishing the Gatsby and Lucido brands as its flagship global brands.[5]

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