Thursday, January 23, 2014

Business Facts...Believe it or Not!

Check out these fun facts about some of the world's most famous business brands:

For the Extremely Voracious Reader

When a Wal-Mart store closes its doors for good, it often sits empty -- a massive echoing enclosure the size of over two football fields. In McAllen, Texas, one empty Wal-Mart store transformed into an extremely useful enterprise - the largest library in the U.S. Wonder if they offer free food samples.



The Very "Chew"sy Entrepreneur

William Wrigley Jr., the founder of the famous chewing gum company, did not set out to build one of the world's biggest gum brands. In fact, Wrigley first took over his father's soap business in the late 19th century. When he moved to Chicago, Wrigley tried to bolster the soap biz by offering a free box of baking soda. The baking soda proved more popular than the soap, so Wrigley switched gears and turned the company into a baking soda firm. Then, to spark baking soda sales, Wrigley offered packs of bubble gum with each baking soda purchase. The gum became a hotter item than the baking soda, and Wrigley decided to sell chewing gum full-time — and he made a considerable mint.


The Name Game

What is in a name? You will often find some interesting trivia, if you research the name origins of many world-famous brands:

  1. The convenience store "7-11" was originally called "U Tote'm." The name changed in 1947 when the hours of operation expanded to 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
  2. The electronics company "Sharp" initially got its name from its first product: the ever-sharp pencil.
  3. The soft drink "Pepsi" took its name from digestive enzyme "pepsin."

Business Tid-Bits

And finally, how 'bout some rapid-fire business trivia?

  • The original name of search engine giant "Yahoo!" was "Jerry's Guide to the Worldwide Web." We think Yahoo! is a little more recognizable. 
  • Warner Channel Music owns the rights to the song "Happy Birthday" -- and they sing that song all the way to the bank (or credit union), to the tune of about $1 million a year in royalties.
  • The person who designed the famous Nike swoosh received a mere $35 for the artwork.
  • In 1987, American Airlines carved $40,000 from its bottom line by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first class. 
  • It takes six months to build one Rolls Royce. It takes 13 hours to build a Toyota.

Feel free to use these amusing business facts to impress your co-workers and friends.

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