The story of Charles Revson, founder of cosmetics giant Revlon, is truly one of ‘poverty to wealth’. At the time of his death, Revson, a business icon, had turned his small cosmetics store into a global cosmetics giant.
The son of a cigar maker, Charles Revson entered our world in 1906, in Montreal, Quebec. Moved to Manchester, New Hampshire when Charles was a child.
After completing high school, he moved to Boston. He got a job as a clothing salesman and later worked in a cosmetics company. At age 25, she quit that job, when she was denied a promotion, and decided she would start her own cosmetics business. To do this, he brought his brother, Martin, as well as cosmetic chemist Charles Lachman with him, and together they founded Revlon Cosmetics in New York City.
The company was financed with just $ 300 and initially specialized in nail polishes (Charles would test the products on his own nails), differentiating itself from the competition by the wide variety of colors that they offered to their clientele, which consisted of salons and whatever. It was then a new phenomenon, department stores. Using pigments instead of the usual dyes, the company offered the American woman rich-looking nail polish in a greater variety of shades than has ever been possible before. Many of the firm’s clients across the country were personally introduced to Revlon products by Charles, who would travel across the country by train on marketing trips. From there, they expanded the Revlon product line to include lipsticks that matched their nail polish colors, then introduced perfumes and other fragrances. And in just six years, Revlon became a multi-million dollar company.
Using his tough and demanding business style and intuitive understanding of his female market, Charles Revson then helped make Revlon the largest retail cosmetics company in America, with more than 3,500 products and annual sales at the time of his death in 1975 of an incredible $ 605,000,000. Revson served as president of the company from its inception until 1962, and then as chairman of the board until his death.
Perhaps the lowest point for Revlon occurred in the 1950s, with the scandal surrounding the popular television show The $ 64,000 Question, sponsored by Revlon. It was alleged that the Revson brothers required the producers of the quiz show to manipulate the show’s questions to ensure that contestants could be sure of winning, so that the show’s national popularity and high viewership ratings continue. However, neither brother was charged with any crime, and although the show itself was decimated by the scandal, sales of Revlon products actually increased during that period.
As a person, Charles Revson was seen as a boundless perfectionist and difficult to work with, so much so that most of his business associates would eventually cut ties with him. He is quoted as saying “Big will get bigger; small will disappear” and “I am not facing the competition. I will crush it.” Despite his personality, the Revlon company flourished and with it Charles’s personal fortune, which probably exceeded a billion dollars at his death.
While his reputation may have been that of a tough businessman, Charles also contributed significantly to charities. As an example, your Charles H. Revson Foundation has awarded more than $ 150,000,000 in grants over the past 30 years.
Today, the company that Charles Revson founded some 75 years ago with his first $ 300 is a known name in more than 175 countries around the world for its cosmetics, perfumes and skin care products. Revlon’s unparalleled accomplishments are yet another example of American entrepreneurship at work.