Kiwi Polish Co
of Church End, Finchley, London, N3
1901 William Ramsay, an Australia-based Scottish-born inventor, and Hamilton McKellan opened a small factory producing cleaning products in Carlton, Victoria.
1906 They perfected a new polish to which William Ramsay gave the name Kiwi as a homage to his wife, Annie Elizabeth Meek Ramsay, a New Zealander, otherwise known as a Kiwi.
1913 The Kiwi Boot Polish Company was established in about 1913 to manufacture Kiwi boot polish[1].
WWI. Its success in Australia expanded overseas when it was adopted by both the British and American armies in World War I.
The English and Australian interests in the boot polish were merged, forming the Kiwi Polish Company
1922 Listed Exhibitor. Manufacturers of "Kiwi" Boot Polish in seven shades: Black, Tan, and Patent Leather; Light Tan, Brown, Dark Tan and Ox Blood. (Stand No. J.125) [2]
1981 Merger of two long-established Australian companies, Nicholas International, whose business was mainly in pharmaceuticals and toiletries, and the Kiwi Polish Co whose business was mainly in household products, including Kiwi shoe polish, to form Nicholas Kiwi, an Australian public company[3].
1984 Sara Lee Corporation acquired Nicholas Kiwi. It was the dominant shoe polish in some countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States, where it had about two-thirds of the market[4].
See Also
Sources of Information
- [4] Wikipedia