Myths and legends have long become a condition for the brand's success in the market. A product that cannot be told a story is not a brand. Well-known brands are shrouded in myths and legends, half of which are real facts from the history of their creation, and half are the fruit of the imagination of marketers. Western companies even have a special term "storytelling".

IKEA

When the first IKEA stores opened in the United States and were already recognized in Europe, furniture sales fell short of expectations. After some research, it turned out that while Americans liked the simplicity of the design, they wanted furniture to match the larger dimensions of their homes. All that had to be done was to increase the size of the furniture.

Western Union

Western Union owned almost all of the telegraph office in the United States. At the very beginning of his commercial activity, Alexander Bell, who at that time had many debts, turned to WU, offering to buy out the patent for the phone for only $ 100,000, but the company refused to spend money, considering the phone a "toy" product. When the understanding of all the possibilities of telephone communication came, the leaders of WU decided not to contact Bell and create their own system. However, Bell, who started his own telephone company, sued WU and won the case. So Western Union lost its telephone business, which reduced the demand for its main service - telegraph communication.

Pampers

Victor Mills, a leading chemist and technologist at Procter & Gamble, who helped his daughter care for the children, had to repeatedly pull out wet diapers from under his grandchildren, wash and dry them. Of course, he did not like the process and wanted to somehow make his life easier. Then the idea of ​​a disposable "diaper" came to mind - a foldable pad with a high absorbency, which was planned to be placed in a specially shaped panties. After experimenting several times with different materials, Mills developed a new product for P & G, which was released under the Pampers trademark, which became a household name.

Chupa-chups

The Chupa-Chups brand was founded in Spain in 1958 of the last century as part of the Granja Asturias company. Enrique Bernat was the first to create a lollipop (originally made of wood) that could be sucked without getting your hands and clothes dirty. The design of the brand's logo to the owner of the company, Enrique Bernat, "by acquaintance" was drawn by the famous fellow countryman Salvador Dali. It was he who, in 1969, invented the shape of the flower for the Chupa Chups logo, which, with minor modifications, has happily survived to this day. He also suggested placing the logo not on the side, but on top of the candy.

Land rover

The Land Rover brand emblem has essentially remained intact for six decades. It is said that the design of the logo was inspired by a jar of sardines. It was allegedly forgotten in the drawings by one of the engineers. The oil print from the can was copied and proposed as a silhouette for the emblem of the new car.

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola was invented by pharmacist John Pemberton, consisted of coca leaves and cola nuts, patented as a drug for nervous disorders, and sold in pharmacies. Cocaine at that time was not a prohibited substance, and nothing was known about its health risks, so it was often added for pleasure and tone to drinks instead of alcohol - Coca-Cola was not an innovation in this. When cocaine was banned, Coca-Cola was partly blamed for its popularization. Cocaine was excluded from the drink, but the positioning of the product did not change and the popularity grew exponentially.

Lacoste

The captain of the French tennis team promised a crocodile suitcase to Rene Lacoste if he wins the Davis Cup. Because of this controversy, which, incidentally, won Rene, the American press nicknamed the tennis player "alligator". In France, the nickname Lacoste was changed to "crocodile" and stuck with him because of his stubborn and tenacious behavior on the court. Robert George, a friend of Lacoste, drew a crocodile for him, which was later embroidered on the short-sleeved shirt the athlete wore.

Swarovski

Daniel Swarovski created the world's first electric grinding machine for cutting crystal and gemstones, which allowed him to streamline the process of creating rhinestones. Rhinestones were named after Georges Frederic Strass, a famous fraudulent jeweler of the 18th century, who passed off faceted crystal shards as diamonds. Thanks to Swarovski's flair and taste, the imitation has risen on a par with the original, and the name has become a world famous brand.

Apple

According to one of the legends, Apple owes its logo, bitten by an apple, to the genius mathematician, the progenitor of the modern computer, who made a huge contribution to computer science and suffered for his non-traditional sexual orientation, Alan Turing.

Turing was a homosexual, which was illegal in the UK at the time, and homosexuality was considered a mental illness. In 1952, Turing was charged with sodomy and convicted. He was offered a choice of two sentences - either imprisonment or suppression of libido with injections of the female hormone estrogen, which was essentially chemical castration. The scientist chose the latter.

Growing breasts and decreased libido were one of the effects. In addition, as a result of the conviction, he lost his job and the right to work in the field of cryptography. For a whole year, the scientist lived in seclusion, and then committed suicide, poisoned by cyanide potassium. Turing injected a solution of cyanide into the apple, which he bitten and died. The apple was found on the night table next to the dead body.

Nestle

The original logo for Nestlé, founded in the 1860s, looked like this: a nest with three chicks and their mother. As a trademark for his first products, Henri Nestlé used the family coat of arms. At that time, parents and three children were considered a traditional family. Later, closer to the middle of the 20th century, traditions changed. The logo has also changed. Now in the nest, traditionally for Europe, there are only 2 chicks.

Ariel

Further, joint research by P&G and Levi Strauss Jeans showed that casual employees are more creative and perform much more efficiently than those who wear suits. And what did they do? P&G internally introduces the right to wear casual wear on Friday. The news received huge coverage in the press through the efforts of both companies, and many corporations followed suit. The laundry detergent market grew by 20%.

Pirelli

In 2002, Pirelli broke with more than forty years of tradition and released its famous calendar of women dressed rather than naked. On the cover of the publication was a photo of a girl in an autumn coat, and the seventeen-year-old niece of the then President of the United States, George W. Bush, was chosen as a model. Lauren Bush, the granddaughter of the 41st US President (Bush Sr.), was just happy and shared her emotions with reporters: “I talked to my grandparents, and they were happy. And when I said that I would be in clothes in the photo, they were even more delighted. "

Absolut

Uncle Ben's

The prototype for Uncle Ben is Frank Brown, the head waiter of one of the pre-war Chicago restaurants frequented by Mars executives. The image of Uncle Ben is tied to American folklore. One of the old stories tells of a black farmer who was famous throughout the country for his excellent quality and taste of rice.

Michelin

At the beginning of the twentieth century, especially in the twenties, every large factory or small workshop acquired its own brand name. These were heroes of mythology, and images of animals (Peugeot lion and Lacoste crocodile), and symbols created from the company's products, such as Bibendum. Bibendum was created by the cartoonist O'Galop in 1898, who brought the idea of ​​André Michelin to life. The myth says that at the bicycle tire show, all the models were stacked on top of each other. The resulting stack was shaped very much like a fat man. For more than 100 years, Bibendum has undergone significant changes, but it has remained a character of the Michelin concern.

Mazda

Zoom-zoom is an imitation of the sound of a fast moving object. "Zoom-zoom" is spoken by English-speaking boys playing with toy cars. And this is how Mazda creates the image of a brand with a sporty character, capable of bringing the buyer into a truly childish delight with its drive. By the way, when talking about Ferrari they use the expression “Vroom-vroooom”, and Mini Cooper makes “Beep-beep”.

Heinz

Red bull

The energy drink Red Bull was born in 1982, when Dietrich Mateschitz, during a business trip to East Asia, became interested in the widespread energy drinks there. He acquired licensing rights for the well-known Thai brand Krating Daeng (translated from Thai as "red bull") and for the use of the recipe from Taisho Pharmaceuticals (Japan. When the drink was introduced to the wide market (Europe, USA), Coca-Cola , and Pepsi, and Molson, and Labatt, and Anheuser-Busch. The concept was similar for all - they toned and stimulated, and the energetic Jolt Cola also contained, among other things, a dose of caffeine that was doubled compared to Red Bull.

Then Dietrich Mateschitz took a risky step: he artificially raised the price twice compared to competitors, reduced the volume of containers in the shape of a battery, and began to place cans in stores not in the beverage departments, but in any other (note, when in the next once you go to the store - Red Bull cans, along with the rest of the energy drinks, can be found almost in the sausage department, including in the alcoholic one).

In addition, Red Bull Crates were distributed free of charge to students on university campuses. At student revels, Red Bull went off with a bang, because by chance and happy coincidence of circumstances, it was quickly discovered that he was perfectly suited to vodka. This is how a new and very popular Vodka Red Bull cocktail was born.

Hewlett-Packard

HP founders Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard tossed a coin to decide whose name would appear first. As you can imagine, Bill won.

Adidas and puma

It is known that the Adidas company got its name in honor of one of the founders, Adolf Dasler. And Puma was created by his brother Rudolf Dasler. There is a legend that the father of the Dasler brothers worked all his life as a baker. Adolf and Rudolf Dasler together opened a workshop for tailor-made sports shoes. Adolph had the qualities of a designer, Rudolph - a marketer.

After the Second World War and the death of their father, the brothers had a serious quarrel and divided the no longer small company "Dassler" (about 60 people) in half. This happened in the German town of Herzogenaurach, which was also divided by the brothers' quarrel into two parts. The workers of these factories went only to their taverns, drank different beer, their children attended different schools. The companies maintained their own soccer teams.

And until now, an employee of one company will be immediately fired if he is seen wearing shoes or clothing produced by a competitor.

Each well-known brand has its own logo by which it is recognized. Usually this logo is small and simple, but some of them are elaborate and mysterious. The history of the emergence of such specific logos of several of the world's most influential fashion houses - in this article.

Lacoste

An old and respected brand. Their logo - a tiny green alligator - is known to everyone who loves fashion. In 1927, during the Davis Cup, the American press dubbed Lacoste the "alligator" because of a dispute over which the winner of the tournament got a suitcase made of alligator skin. In France, Lacoste's nickname was changed to "crocodile" and stuck with him because of his stubborn and tenacious behavior on the court, where Lacoste never forgave his opponents' mistakes.
Robert George, a friend of Lacoste, drew a crocodile for him, which was later embroidered on the blazer in which the athlete performed, and then established itself as a logo for all things the company produces.

Fendi

In 1925, the brand emerged as the name of a married couple who opened their first store. And only in 1952, the Fendi family decided to invite a professional designer, German Karl Lagerfeld, who laid the foundation for the brand, making it the way we see it now. The designer also developed a memorable logo that is still used today. The double letter "F", apparently, symbolizes the Fendi spouses.

Chanel

The famous Chanel logo was first shown to the fashion world in 1925 on a bottle of Chanel # 5. There are several versions about the origin of the picture. One story says that two crossed horseshoes are a symbol of success and good fortune. However, most fashion historians are inclined to believe that the emblem is the initials of Coco Chanel, the founder of the French design house.

Calvin klein

November 19, 1942 is the date of birth of the famous designer. Having started his atelier with the release of men's outerwear, Klein gradually moved on to design clothes for women. In the 1970s, the designer adapted the classic men's suit for women's fashion. In 1970, he introduced the PeaCoat, a double-breasted short coat with wide lapels.

This model became not only a hit of the season, but also defined the fashion of women's outerwear for almost a decade. Company logo - CK is easy to remember and gives a connection with the brand. The dark emblem is used for Haute couture clothing, the gray emblem is for regular garments, while the white emblem is for sportswear.

Hermes

Erme is a French design corporation that is directly associated with impeccable taste and first-class style. Designer Erme's logo depicts
a horse with a cart, which is very symbolic for the brand - the history of the company began in 1837, when Thierry Hermes founded a private company for the production of horse harnesses. Hermes is the name of the founder.

The next five generations of this family constantly expanded production, creating a real Hermes empire. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Hermes production was supplemented by leather goods and luggage bags. At the same time, a unique technology for processing leather products with a special “saddle” stitch was applied. This is how the Hermes style was born.

Burberry prorsum

The company's success began with the invention of a waterproof material - gabardine - and its use in raincoats and long waterproof coats for soldiers. In 1901, Burberry already had a large order for these clothes. He marked the order with his new emblem - an equestrian rider in armor and a spear in his hand was registered as a trademark of the brand. The knight's costume was a copy of the original.

The Latin word "Prorsum", used in heraldry as a motto meaning "Forward", reflects the company's desire for progressive innovation, and the spear is a symbol of the protection of tradition.

Versace

Versace's logo is symbolically associated with Greek mythology. The head of Medusa Gorgon, as conceived by the couturier, symbolizes the fact that he turns viewers to stone with his collections. The designer's logo was invented in 1978 by Gianni Versace himself, who was obsessed with classic themes. So, jellyfish was the best option for him, since it was she who he considered "the embodiment of fatal attraction."

All ingenious is simple. The short stories of the origin of the names of world famous brands collected in this material once again confirm this law of life.

Adidas

The founder of Adidas was named Adolf Dassler, or Adi for short. His first company was called even more unpretentious - Dassler, but by agreement with the co-founder of Dassler, brother Rudolph, with whom they had a hard fight 60 years ago, none of them had the right to use this name anymore.

Adobe systems

In 1982, 40-year-old Xerox programmers John Warnock and Charles Geschke quit and formed a software company. They named it Adobe, after the stream that ran behind Warnock's house.

Apple

Apple is founder Steve Jobs' favorite fruit. After three months of futile attempts to find a name for the new business, he delivered an ultimatum to his partners: "I will name Apple if you don’t offer the best by 5 o'clock." Apple Macintosh is the name of an apple variety sold in the United States.

Audi

Audi translates from Latin as "listen!" This is the Latin version of the surname of the founder of the company - August Horch

Bmw

BMW stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke. English version - Bavarian Motor Works.

Canon

In 1930, in Japan, Goro Yoshida and his half-brother Saburo Uchida created a company with an unspoken name, Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory in Japan. Four years later, developments led to the creation of their first camera, which they named Kwanon, after the thousand-handed Buddhist deity of mercy.
The company registered a lot of words to protect its trademark, which were similar in sound to Kwanon. One of them - already known to us Canon - eventually replaced the original name due to disagreements with religious leaders. Canon translates from English as "Canon", and from French - "Cannon".

Casio

In honor of the company founder Kashio Tadao.

Cisco

Acronym for San Francisco.

Coca-Cola

The main ingredients of Coca-Cola, when the drink was opened, were as follows: three parts of coca leaves (the drug cocaine was obtained from the same leaves) to one part of the nuts of the tropical cola tree.

Compaq

From Comp and paq (small integrated part).

Corel

In honor of the founder of the company, Michael Cowpland (Dr. Michael Cowpland). Stands for COwpland REsearch Laboratory.

Daewoo

The founder of the company, Kim Woo Chong, called the company modestly, "Big Universe", which is how it is translated from Korean.

FIAT

The company was founded in 1899. Fiat is short for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino. In addition, this abbreviation can be translated from Latin as an independent word that is often used in church everyday life - "let it be."

Fuji

Everything is very simple here, in honor of the highest and most famous mountain in Japan, Fuji.

Google

This is the second name of the most famous search engine in the world, the first was BackRub. But it was soon replaced by Google. This is a slightly altered word "googol", meaning the last of the numbers that have at least some meaning - one with a hundred zeros.

Hallmark

One of the most famous companies in the world in the industry of congratulations (postcards, etc.). Hallmark means the hallmark that English guild masters have placed on their products since the 14th century, as evidence that the guild is a guarantee of quality.

Honda

The founder's name is Soichiro Honda.

Hotmail

Founder Jack Smith came up with the idea of ​​accessing email via the web from anywhere in the world. When Sabeer Bhatia came up with a business plan for the service, he went through all the words ending in "mail" and finally settled on hotmail, as the name was HTML (markup language).

HP (Hewlett-Packard)

Founders Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard tossed a coin to decide whose name would appear first. As you can imagine, Bill won.

Hyundai

The Korean word for "present" (tense).

IBM

IBM was founded in 1924 and stands for International Business Machines.

IKEA

Ingvar Kamprad (founding father) lmtaryd (home farm) A gunnaryd (home village in Småland, Sweden, where young Ingvar Kamprad was born and started his pen mailing business).

Intel

Bob Noyce and Gordon Moore wanted to name the company Moore Noyce, but by that time there was already a chain of hotels with that name. So they decided to stick with INTegrated ELectronics.

Kodak

K is the favorite letter of George Eastman, the founder of the company. He looked for words beginning and ending with this wonderful letter. Moreover, in all alphabets "K" is spelled in the same way. In the end, Kodak was chosen, supposedly this is the sound the camera makes when shooting.

Lego

Derived from two Danish words: leg ("play") and got ("good"). And in translation from Latin lego means “I read”, “I connect”.

Lg

Initially, these were two separate organizations: the cosmetics company Lucky Chemical Industrial (since 1947) and the GoldStar radio-electronic plant (since 1958). After the merger, the company received the name Lucky Goldstar, and in 1995 changed it to LG Electronics, simply shortening the name to an abbreviation.

Microsoft

MICROcomputer SOFTware. It was originally written as Micro-Soft. Then the dash was removed.

Mitsubishi

Invented by the founder of the company Yataro Iwasaki in 1870. translated from Japanese mitsu - three, and hishi - diamond. The letter "b" turned out to be the sixth not because of an error, but due to the fact that the Japanese usually pronounce the "h" in the middle of the word as "b". As for the logo, then, contrary to the prevailing opinion, it is he who is primary, and not the name. And it looks like this because the trefoil was the family coat of arms of the founder of the company.

Motorola

Founder Paul Galvin came up with the name when his company started making car radios. Many audio component manufacturers at the time ended with "ola", the fashion was so weird.

NEC

Abbreviation for Nippon Electric Company, Ltd, abbreviated in 1983.

Nike

In 1978, Blue Ribbon Sports was officially renamed Nike, Inc. It is believed that the name is taken from the name of the goddess of victory Nika.

Nikon

Originally Nippon Kogaku means "Japanese optics".

Nintendo

Composite of three Japanese characters "Nin-ten-do", which can be translated as "Heaven blesses hard work." It's so hard to play.

Nissan

Formerly known as Nippon Sangio, which means Japanese Industry.

Nokia

In 1865, Knut Fredrik Idestam founded a pulp and paper mill in southwestern Finland. The company began to bear the name Nokia after it moved to the banks of the Nokianvirta River in the city, in fact, Nokia. The very word "Nokia" in Finnish means a dark, very furry animal, something like an ermine.

Pepsi

First manufactured in 1890s in New Bern, North Carolina by pharmacist Caleb Bradham. On August 28, 1898, Brad's Drink was renamed Pepsi-Cola. The Pepsi-Cola trademark was registered on June 16, 1903. According to one of the versions, Caleb Bradham derived the name “Pepsi” from the word pepsin (a digestive enzyme that helps to break down protein). According to another version, Caleb Bradham borrowed the name "Pep Kola" from one of the local competitors, slightly corrected it and named his drink Pepsi-Cola.
According to another version, Caleb and his visitors simply liked the sound of this word, since it reflected the fact that the carbonated drink gave a certain vigor and energy (pep - pep, energy, liveliness).

Philips

The company is named after its founder, Friedrich Philips and his son Gerard, who founded it in 1891 in Eindhoven to manufacture light bulbs. They have not refused to bring light to the people up to now, but they have replenished their assortment with a couple of hundred more items.

Puma

This company was owned by the brother of the founder of Adidas, Rudolf Dassler. After the historical scandal in the Dassler company, the brothers dispersed on different sides of the river and each founded their own enterprise. Initially, Puma was called Ruda, after, as you understand, Rudolph himself, but the name had to be changed in favor of euphony and memorability, leaving the base - four letters, the same vowels, a similar first consonant.

Samsung

Translated from Korean, "samsung" means "three stars."

Sanyo

In Chinese "Three oceans".

Sharp

The origins of the etymology lie in the 10s of the last century, when the Tokyo resident Tokuji Hayakawa began the production of a branded product - an ever-sharp mechanical pencil that does not require sharpening. Sharp is "sharp" in English.

Siemens

Founded in 1847 by Werner von Siemens.

Sony

The original name of the company in Japanese was "Tokyo Tsushin Koge Kabushiki Kaisa" and translated into English as "Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Company". The founders of the company, Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuki, were looking for a suitable word for a short name for a long time and stumbled upon the Latin word sonus (sound). In the 1950s, the American word sonny was popular in Japan, which is consonant with the word sonus and the word sunny. What could be better? But the word sonny, written in hieroglyphs, meant “unprofitable”. Then Akio Morita came up with the idea of ​​deleting one letter "n" and named the company "Sony".

Subaru

By the name of the constellation Pleiades, which in Greek was also called the "Seven Sisters". And that's just the "Seven Sisters" in Japanese "Subaru". Literally into Russian, brnedname is translated as “to unite into one whole”. The constellation of the Pleiades is displayed on the company logo.

Swatch

Acronym for Swiss Watch

Toshiba

It got its name from the abbreviation in 1978 of the former name Tokyo Shibaura Elektric Co., Ltd, obtained from the merger of Tokyo Denki, which was engaged in household electrical appliances, and Shibaura Seisaku-sho, which produced heavy electrical equipment.

Toyota

Named after the founder Sakichi Toyoda. Subsequently changed to a more euphonious Toyota. In Japanese, it consisted of 8 letters (a lucky number in Eastern culture).

Viagra

The first part of the word, "vi-", is taken from the words virility (potency), vitality (vitality), vigor (energy). And the ending "-agra" means "catch", "grab."

Xerox

Comes from the Greek "Xer", which, contrary to the guesses of especially witty comrades, is translated as "dry". The fact is that at the time of writing the name for the future copying giant (late 40s), there was only wet copying, and the author wanted to emphasize the use of dry powder dye in the technology. In English-speaking countries, the brand name does not sound "Xerox", but "Zirox".

Yahoo

The word was coined by Jonathan Swift in Gulliver's Travels. That was the name of one disgusting tribe that Gulliver had to face on his travels. Founders of "Yahoo!" Jerry Yang and David Filo chose this name because they called themselves yahoo. Besides, it’s such a cry of joy.

3M

A mathematical notation for the three-fourths of the acronym for Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company.

What will happen if the names of famous companies are translated into Russian: literally, creatively, with humor, or all together.

What shapes do you see? It's just your imagination ...

English graphic designer Graham Smith created the original Brand Reversioning series, in which he replaced the corporate identity of one brand with the corporate identity of another, often competing with it.

Facts about the origin of the names of famous world brands

Adobe- named after the Adobe Creek, which ran behind the home of company founder John Warnock.

Adidas- in honor of one of the founders of Adi Dasler.

Apple- favorite fruit of the founder of the company Steve Jobs (Steve Jobs). After three months of futile attempts to find a name for the new business, he gave his partner an ultimatum: "I will name Apple if you don’t offer the best by 5 o'clock." Apples Macintosh is the name of an apple variety sold in the United States.

Canon- in honor of Kwanon, the Buddhist god of mercy. Changed to Canon to avoid religious protests.

Casio- in honor of the founder of the company Kashio Tadao.

Cisco- abbreviated as San Francisco.

Compaq- from Comp and paq (small integrated part).

Corel- in honor of the founder of the company Michael Copeland (Dr. Michael Cowpland). Stands for COwpland REsearch Laboratory.

Daewoo- the founder of the company, Kim Woo Chong, called the company modestly, "Big Universe", that is how it is translated from Korean.

Fuji- in honor of the highest mountain in Japan, Fuji.

Google- the name comes from the word Googol, meaning one followed by 100 zeros. And Google was written on a check that the founders of this project (among whom, by the way, a former Russian - Sergey Brin) received from the first investor. After that, they named the search engine that way.

HP(Hewlett-Packard) - Founders Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard tossed a coin to decide whose name would come first. As you can imagine, Bill won.

Hitachi- in Japanese, dawn.

Honda- the name of the founder of Soichiro Honda.

Honeywell- the name of the founder, Mark Honeywell.

Hotmail- Founder Jack Smith came up with the idea of ​​accessing e-mail via the web from anywhere in the world. When Sabeer Bhatia came up with a business plan for the service, he went through all the words ending in "mail" and finally settled on hotmail, as the name was HTML (markup language).

Hyundai- in Korean "present" (tense).

IBM- International Business Machines.

Intel- Bob Noyce and Gordon Moore wanted to name the company Moore Noyce, but by that time there was already a chain of hotels with that name. So they decided to stick with INTegrated ELectronics.

Kawasaki- in honor of the founder of Shozo Kawasaki.

Kodak- K is the favorite letter of George Eastman, the founder of the company. He looked for words beginning and ending with this wonderful letter. Moreover, in all alphabets "K" is spelled in the same way. In the end, Kodak was chosen, supposedly this is the sound the camera makes when shooting.

Konica- Formerly known as Konishiroku Kogaku.

Lg- the first letters of the two Korean brands Lucky and Goldstar.

Lotus- Mitch Kapor, founder of the company, practiced meditation. Hence the name (lotus pose).

Microsoft- MICROcomputer SOFTware. It was originally written as Micro-Soft. Then the dash was removed.

Mitsubishi- invented by the founder of the company Yataro Iwasaki in 1870. In Japanese it means "Three Diamonds". The name is also displayed in the company logo.

Motorola- Founder Paul Galvin came up with the name when his company started making car radios. Many manufacturers of audio components at the time ended in "ola".

Mozilla Foundation Is the successor to the Netscape Navigator browser. When Marc Andreesen, the founder of Netscape, created a browser to replace Mosaic, the company called it Mozilla (Mosaic-Killer, Godzilla).

Nabisco- originally "The NAtional BISCuit COmpany", changed to Nabisco in 1971.

Nikon- originally Nippon Kogaku, means "Japanese optics".

Nintendo- Composite of 3 Japanese characters "Nin-ten-do", which can be translated as "heaven bless hard work."

Nissan- formerly known as Nichon Sangio, which means "Japanese industry".

Nokia- began as a woodworking plant, expanded to the production of rubber products in the Finnish city of Nokia.

Novell- the name was invented by the wife of co-founder George Canova. She mistakenly thought Novell was French for new.

Oracle- Company founders Larry Ellison and Bob Oats worked on a consulting project for the CIA, codenamed Oracle. Subsequently, the project was closed, but the name remained.

Sanyo- in Chinese "Three oceans".

SAP- "Systems, Applications, Productss in Data Processing" was founded by 4 former IBM employees who worked in the Systems / Applications / Projects group.

SCO- from the Santa Cruz Operation.

Siemens- founded in 1847 by Werner von Siemens.

Sony- from the Latin "Sonus" (sound) and "sonny" (slang youngster).

Subaru- by the name of the constellation. It is also displayed on the company logo.

SUN- founded by 4 university friends, short for Stanford University Network.

Suzuki- named after the founder Michio Suzuki.

Toshiba- was founded following the merger of FMCG Tokyo Denki (Tokyo Electric Co) and Shibaura Seisaku-sho (Shibaura Engineering Works).

Toyota- named after the founder Sakichi Toyoda. Later it was changed to a more noble Toyota. In Japanese, it consisted of 8 letters (the lucky number in Japan).

Xerox- The inventor, Chestor Carlson, wanted to include the word "dry" in the title (since at that time there was only wet copying). "Xer" - dry in Greek.

Yahoo- the word was coined by Jonathan Swift in Gulliver's Travels. That was the name of a repulsive, disgusting person. Founders of "Yahoo!" Jerry Yang and David Filo chose this name because they called themselves yahoo's. However, now the name stands for Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle.

3M- Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company

Almost every inhabitant of the planet knows large brands, their logos, products and even slogans. Often, most people even know the names and faces of the founders of these companies, since it is difficult for such popular personalities to remain in the shadows. After all, not everyone can create a transcontinental empire.

Nevertheless, there are also such creators who do not like to bask in the rays of glory and popular love. They have enough of those successes that bring business, and the fact that the name of the creator is not written on every billboard does not bother them. It's time to give these great people their due and tell a little about them.

Ferrero - Michele Ferrero

The creators of Kinder Surprise, Ferrero Rocher, Rafaello and Nutella took over the family chocolate business back in 1957. His ideas helped the business grow stronger and eventually turn into a world famous and beloved brand. Yes, Tic Tac is also Michele's idea. Sadly, the creator of the sweet empire passed away at the age of 89.

Lacoste - Rene Lacoste

And the creator of this world-famous brand was a tennis player. In the 1920s, tennis was played in long-sleeved shirts. For one of the tournaments, Rene made himself a polo shirt with short sleeves from a light knit fabric. In 1933, Lacoste retired from sports and organized his own company. Since during his sports career he was nicknamed the Alligator, it is clear where the logo came from.

Nike - Phil Knight

In his youth, Knight was fond of running, but the quality of sports shoes did not suit him at all. Then he founded Blue Ribbon Sports, which imported sneakers from Japan. Then, due to supply problems, Phil decided to start his own shoe company. Initially, it was supposed to be called "The Sixth Dimension", but acquaintances dissuaded him, and today we have an easily recognizable brand.

Pandora - Vinnie and Per Enivoldsen

In 1982, a small jewelry store was opened in Copenhagen, selling jewelry from Thailand. It was discovered by the couple Enivoldsen. In five years, the store has grown into a large company and it was decided to produce jewelry of its own production. In 2000, a self-assembly service became available, and since then, the Enywoldsens are the richest people in Denmark.

Instagram - Kevin Systrom

The creator of the most popular photo network was a Stanford student when he became interested in photography. Some time later, he managed to get some money, and with his friend Mike Krieger, he began developing a suitable platform. To stand out from the competition, the guys came up with special filters. The brand later bought Facebook for a billion dollars, and the number of users is growing by leaps and bounds.

Zara - Amancio Ortega

In the 70s, Amancio, together with his wife, sewed custom-made nightgowns in their own living room, but after a series of failures, the couple decided to start selling the goods on their own. The first store appeared in 1975 in A Coruña. Since then, the company has been renamed Intitex and has opened a number of stores: Zara Home, Stradivarius, Pull and Bear, Bershka and many others. In August 2017, Ortega was even recognized as the richest man on the planet.

Starbucks - Howard Schultz

In 1971, the first Starbucks opened in Seattle - a store selling coffee beans and equipment. Only 16 years later, when it was bought by Schultz, who then owned the Il Giornale coffee chain, the institution began to transform. Drawing inspiration from classic Italian coffee houses, Howard Schultz was able to build a world famous empire.

Hard Rock Cafe - Peter Morton & Isaac Tigrett

The Doors, while recording the Morrison Hotel album, stumbled upon a small establishment called the Hard Rock Cafe. They thought it was a funny coincidence, because the album was also recorded in the hard rock genre, so the band members took several photos there, which ended up on the cover of the album. A year later, they received a call from Morton and Tigrett asking them to allow them to open an establishment with that name. This is where the history of the huge Hard Rock Cafe chain begins.

• TEFAL
  Tefal has long believed that the main motivation for buying Teflon-coated pans is that they do not require a single gram of oil to cook in these pans. However, later it turned out that the main incentive to buy them was the fact that pans with such a coating are very easy to clean, because food does not stick to their surface. The content of the advertising campaign has been changed, which significantly increased its effectiveness.
• SNICKERS
  In Russia, the first Snickers chocolate bars appeared in 1992 and were positioned as a snack replacing a full meal. For a long time, the former Soviet consumer could not get used to eating instead of soup for lunch, and bought Snickers as a "sweet for tea". After the BBDO Moscow agency took over the creative service of the brand, Snickers was repositioned for teenagers who, for the most part, love everything sweet and do not like it.
• Alka-Seltzer
  After in the 1960s, Alka-Seltzer advertisements began to throw not one, as before, but two tablets into a glass of water, sales of the drug doubled. Tinker & Partners came up with a clever advertising move.
  There is a similar story about the ingenious marketer who first came up with specifying in the instructions for use of the shampoo that it should be applied to the hair and washed off twice, which led to a double increase in sales.
• Pepsi
  Pepsi in Russia was first advertised by Nikita Khrushchev. In 1959, at the American National Exhibition in Moscow, in Sokolniki, the then vice-president Richard Nixon, skillfully playing the role of the host, offered Nikita Khrushchev a drink to sample. The photograph of the Soviet leader holding a glass with the Pepsi logo in his hands did not leave the pages of newspapers and advertising magazines for a long time. That momentous moment in the history of the brand is considered the "Birthday" of Pepsi in Russia.
• Timberland
  From Timberland History. Timberland was having a hard time in the early 1980s. It produced quality pumps that were priced lower than industry leader Topsiders. It seemed like a good product and a low price should work for them, but things were not going well. Then Timberland made a very simple decision: they raised their prices, so that they were much higher than the prices offered by Topsiders. Sales have skyrocketed. That confirms the reliability of the statement of David Ogilvy "The higher the price, the more desirable the product becomes in the eyes of the buyer."
• Parliament
  At one time, the tobacco brand Parliament went the same way. Initially, its prices were below the main competitor Marlboro, and sales were quite modest as they faced a lot of low-price competitors in which the feature of their exclusive filter was not appreciated by anyone. Then the brand left the market for a year and came out again at a price higher than Marlboro, immediately falling into the “premium” niche, where a filter that was just different from all the others came at the right time.
• Woolworth
  The founder of Woolworth, the largest chain of stores and the inventor of grocery labels and supermarkets, found the right insight to make millions while fainting with fear. A shy and stuttering young man from the village at the age of 21, he got a job as a sales assistant in a small shop. At that time, the price of goods in stores, placed on the counter behind the seller, was not indicated. The seller "by eye" determined the buyer's solvency and named his price. Then the buyer either bargained or left. Poor Frank did not know how at all and was very afraid to invite buyers, praise the goods, and bargain. He was so afraid that one day he even fainted while working. As a punishment, the owner of the store punished him by leaving him to trade alone for the whole day, threatening that if the proceeds were less than the usual daily, he would fire him.
  Before the opening of the store, Frank attached a piece of paper with the lowest possible price to all goods (a prototype of the modern price tag). All the stale goods dumped in the warehouse, he laid out on a huge table, attaching a sign to it with the inscription "All for five cents." He set the table near the window so that both the goods and the plate could be seen from the street. And shaking with fear, he began to wait for buyers, hiding behind the counter.
  All the goods were sold out in a few hours, and the revenue per day was exactly the same as the week's. Buyers, holding the product in their hands and seeing the price written on it, gave money without bargaining.
  Frank left the owner, borrowed money and opened his own store. In 1919, Woolworth's empire consisted of a thousand stores, and Frank's personal fortune was approximately 65 million.
• "Guinness Book of Records"
  The famous and best-selling (after the Bible) "Guinness Book of Records" is nothing more than a publicity stunt invented by the managing director of the Guinness brewery, Sir Hugh Beaver. In 1954, at a Wexford dinner for hunters, Hugh Beaver got into an argument with one of the guests who flies faster - the plover or the partridge. It was then that Beaver dawned on the fact that all over the world during such small gatherings, real disputes about "the most" are unfolding. He decided that it was worth creating a book that would contain officially confirmed records in all sorts of areas.
  A year was spent on research work, and on August 27, 1955, the first 198-page book was ready. The success was overwhelming: even before Christmas, it became a bestseller in the UK, bringing in a good income for the beer brand.
• Dewar's
  In London at the end of the 19th century, brandy, rum and gin were very popular. Therefore, it was not easy to promote. Sly Thomas Dewar, one of the founders of the family brand, chose an unexpected strategy. He hired dummy buyers who visited various pubs, demanding to pour them Dewar's whiskey. Naturally, that was not on sale, and they left. After several such visits, Dewar himself appeared in the bar and offered to conclude a contract for the supply of whiskey.
  In 1892, Thomas Dewar went on a trip around the world. In two years, he visited 26 countries, and 32 agents began to work for the company, and several Dewar's export companies appeared. During this time, the company's turnover has grown 10 times. And Tommy Dewar wrote his famous book A Walk Around the World.
• Camel
  One of the first teaser ads in America was tested by the Camel tobacco brand in 1913. Deciding that the camel is not only a memorable vivid picture, but also an excellent reason for advertising innovations, specialists from the RJR tobacco company, a few days before the first batch of cigarettes went on sale, published mysterious ads in newspapers in almost ninety American cities. "Camels" - read the first of them. A few later, the message “Camels are coming” appeared, and then - “Tomorrow there will be more camels in the city than in Asia and Africa combined”! The next morning, the frightened and intrigued Americans finally learned the whole truth. “Camel Cigarettes Are Here!” Read the final announcement.
• IKEA
  When the first IKEA stores opened in the United States and were already recognized in Europe, furniture sales fell short of expectations. After some research, it turned out that while Americans liked the simplicity of the design, they wanted furniture to match the larger dimensions of their homes. All that had to be done was to increase the size of the furniture.
• Procter & Gamble
  Victor Mills, a leading chemist and technologist at Procter & Gamble, who helped his daughter look after the children, had to repeatedly pull out wet diapers from under his grandchildren, wash and dry them. Of course, he did not like the process and wanted to somehow make his life easier. Then the idea of ​​a disposable "diaper" came to mind - a foldable pad with a high absorbency, which was planned to be placed in a specially shaped panties. After experimenting several times with different materials, Mills developed a new product for P & G, which was released under the Pampers trademark, which became a household name.
• Chupa chups
  Usually, all children, after they eat caramel, get sticky hands, and they, without hesitation, wipe them on their clothes. A lollipop (originally made of wood), which could be sucked, as if on a fork and without getting dirty clothes, was invented in 1958 by Enrique Bernat. The USP of the product was that it could be sucked without getting your clothes and hands dirty. At the same time, the first slogan of Chupa Chups appeared - “It’s round and long-lasting” (~ It is round and long). The innovative stick was appreciated by consumers all over the world, who have been sucking fruit candy for 54 years.
• Nestlé
  The original logo for Nestlé, founded in the 1860s, looked like this: a nest with three chicks and their mother. As a trademark for his first products, Henri Nestlé used the family coat of arms. At that time, parents and three children were considered a traditional family. Later, closer to the middle of the 20th century, traditions changed. The logo has also changed. Now in the nest, traditionally for Europe, there are only 2 chicks.
• Marlboro
  For the first time, the Marlboro brand appeared in 1924 and was positioned as the first ladies' cigarettes. A purely feminine slogan was chosen: "Mild as May" - "Delicate like May". Hollywood star Mae West was invited as the face of the brand. The packaging was also aimed at the ladies' audience: a filter with a red strip solved a double task: to hide an inaccurate lipstick mark and to protect women's white teeth from yellowing. But no matter how hard the advertising specialists tried, the product was not very attractive to women: cigarettes spoiled breath, turned yellow and a painful dry cough arose. Therefore, in order to survive in the market two decades later, the brand had to change its gender.
  In order to change the perception of filter cigarettes as a product "for girls", Philip Morris brought in one of the best American advertising specialists - Leo Burnett, who came up with the image of the "Prairie Cowboy". The cowboy - the embodiment of the American spirit - touched consumers to the quick. The posters reminded of the real heroes of America - brutal guys conquering the wild steppes. They conquered everyone - men and women, blacks and Latinos. Sales of Marlboro in just one year have grown so much that they began to occupy the fourth position in the ranking of sales of all tobacco products.
  In addition, Malrboros began to be produced in the "Flip-top" package that later became the standard - a hard cardboard box with a hinged lid. Such packaging had both purely practical (cigarettes did not wrinkle) and colossal marketing significance - now the smoker had to demonstrate the pack to others every time he was going to smoke, because it was inconvenient to open the flip-top in his pocket.
• De beers
  It is known that a consumer buys not a product, but a solution to his problem. So the South African diamond company De Beers offered men a solution to all their problems with the opposite sex, building on this insight a brilliant advertising campaign.
  In 1948, Harry Oppenheimer, head of De Beers, traveled to meet with representatives of the advertising agency N. W. Ayers. He went there with the firm intention to change people's ideas about diamonds: it is necessary to make sure that this stone ceases to be a trinket of the moneybags, but becomes an everyday commodity, without which ordinary people could not do. Advertising posters depicting spectacular actresses with rings on fingers and earrings in their ears have been replaced by black and white posters with images of diamonds and the words “Relieves headaches since 1888”, “Think about it. Divorce is more expensive "," No, your wife did not pay for this advertisement (But she told us which newspapers you read) "and so on. This is how De Beers proved that it is possible to sell luxury to women through their men.
• Red bull
  When the drink was brought to the wide market (Europe, USA), the main competitors were Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Molson, Labatt, and Anheuser-Busch. The concept was the same for everyone - they toned and stimulated, and the energetic Jolt Cola contained, among other things, a double dose of caffeine compared to Red Bull.
  Then Dietrich Mateschitz took a risky step: he artificially raised the price twice compared to competitors, reduced the volume of containers in the shape of a battery, and began to place cans in stores not in the beverage departments, but in any other (note, when in the next once you go to the store - Red Bull cans, along with the rest of the energy drinks, can be found almost in the sausage department, including in the alcoholic one).
  In addition, Red Bull Crates were distributed free of charge to students on university campuses. At student revels, Red Bull went off with a bang, because by chance and a happy coincidence, it was quickly discovered that it fits perfectly with vodka, and so the new and very popular Vodka Red Bull cocktail was born.
• ARIEL
  Rumor has it that the so-called casual fridays, when you can move away from the strict dress code adopted in large companies and change the formal suit for casual clothes, was invented by P & G for advertising purposes. In the 80s of the 20th century, the world's largest company P&G was the leader in the washing powder market in the United States. But, despite the high advertising activity, the market share did not want to grow in any way. Then the company conducted research and evaluated the clothing care market. As a percentage, it turned out that powder is used in 65% of cases, and dry cleaning - in 35%. The company went on to find that 70% of consumers of laundry detergent are self-employed and wear suits 5 out of 7 days a week, which they send to dry cleaning.
  Further, joint research by P&G and Levi Strauss Jeans showed that casual employees are more creative and perform much more efficiently than those who wear suits. And what did they do? P&G internally introduces the right to wear casual wear on Friday. The news received huge coverage in the press through the efforts of both companies, and many corporations followed suit. The laundry detergent market grew by 20%.

Often, even the most avid fans of certain brands do not think about the story behind them. So, for example, holding an iPhone from Apple in our hands, the thought of the forbidden fruit is unlikely to come to us, and buying a can of Coca-Cola in a store, we will not even remember the composition of the fizzy. Therefore, we decided to compile a selection of ten famous brands, the history of the creation of which is really interesting to read.

Coca - Cola

Everyone knows the story of the pharmacist John Stith Pemberton, who literally could not live without the creation of various chemical solutions. One fine day, inspired by the idea of ​​producing a new tonic drink, he developed a composition based on coca leaves and tropical cola tree nuts. The drink, called Coca-Cola, was initially sold only through a vending machine in a city pharmacy, and now it is on the shelves of almost any store.

Apple

The history of founding the most expensive brand in the world is not as simple and romantic as it might seem at first glance. Several versions have come down to us at once. So, according to one of them, the name of the brand, according to the idea, was the personification of the forbidden fruit, which you want to taste. According to another version, the founder of the company, Steve Jobs, decided to give the company just such a name, because he was on the apple diet. Another version says that in this way the company could appear in the telephone directory in the first place, overtaking the legendary game maker Atari in the list. But Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak claims that everything is much more prosaic - this name was chosen due to the fact that there were many apple orchards in Jobs' home area.

Adidas

There is a version according to which, at one time, the word "addidas" was a household word and was used to refer to any sportswear. This word was mainly used in the French-speaking countries of Europe, and bypassed the English-speaking ones. It is not difficult then to guess where the name Adidas could have come from (the differences are only in one letter). Others point out that the name is taken from the first letters of the once applied slogan "All Day I Dream About Sport". However, a more famous version says that the once friendly brothers Adolf and Rudolf Dassler founded their own shoe factory, but after a quarrel they began to conduct business separately. As a result, Adolf founded the Adidas company (the name was chosen from the abbreviation of the name "Adi"), and Rudolph founded the Puma company.

IKEA

With the history of the emergence of the name of one of the world's largest retail chains selling furniture and household goods, everything is quite simple than in the previous three cases. IKEA stands for Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd, where the first two words are the first and last name of the founder of the company, Ingar Kamprad, the third word is the name of the farm, and the fourth is the name of the suburb where he was born. Here's a cipher!

Amazon

As the founder of the largest American Internet retailer Jeff Bezos said in an interview with one of the foreign publications, the company is named after the longest river in the world. The top manager explains this decision by the fact that he wanted to make the business as huge and powerful. Actually, he practically succeeded in achieving this.

Etsy

The history of the name of the famous online store was carefully hidden for a long time, and this was done on purpose. The founder of the company, Rob Kalin, later said that the etymology of the word lies in the Italian phrase et si, which literally means "oh yes." This is how Italians express the point of expression of the highest satisfaction. Among other things, this expression can very often be heard from the lips of the heroes of Kalina's beloved film "Eight and a Half" by Federico Fellini.

Lego

Lego, for its long 84-year history, still has not lost ground and is the most recognizable brand in the world of toys. The company was founded in 1932 by the carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen, who himself was from a small town and until then only made stepladders and stools. Ole Kirk was able to decide on the name of the company only two years after its foundation. Then he announced a competition for the best brand name and he himself won. The company got its name from the Danish phrase “Leg godt”, which means “to play well”.

Nike

One of the most popular sports brands and a direct competitor to Adidas, its name owes its name to Nike, the winged goddess of victory. It was her, as the legend says, that Jeff Johnson, a talented manager who stood at the origins of the company, saw in a dream. Originally, Nike, founded by Phil Knight, was called Blue Ribbon Sports, but was later renamed.

Barbie

The legendary doll, which in fact is already 57 years old, is named after the daughter of the founders of Mattel (manufacturer Barbie) Ruth and Elliot Handler - Barbara. Ruth first came up with the idea for a doll when she saw her daughter playing with paper dolls, looking like adults. It was then that she decided to create a doll with the help of which children will be able to fully "play as adults."

Starbucks

The history of the founding of the famous coffee chain is rather prosaic: three friends, English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Zigal and writer Gordon Bowker just loved to drink tea and coffee and decided to open their own establishment where people could taste their best examples. The Starbucks name was coined in honor of one of the characters in the novel by Herman Melville "Moby Dick". We are talking about a hero named Starback, who very often drank coffee and practically could not live without it. Well, the interior of the network itself also adheres to the concept of a nautical style.

Translation by Bella Kodzokova

What do you think connects household appliances to the auto industry? At first glance, nothing. But in fact, many products used to be produced (and some companies are still doing) brands that are known around the world today for their cars. Are you surprised? Yes, in the first years of their activity, many did not produce cars, but completely different goods. For example, sewing machines and even pepper grinders. It is hard to believe that such companies as Opel, Peugeot, BMW or even Toyota opened their world history. Here is a quick overview of the history of the largest and most famous car companies.

Bmw

On March 7, 1916, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG was established as the successor to Gustav-Otto-Flugmaschinenfabrik.

BMW was not originally a car manufacturer. At the first stage, the German company produced aircraft engines for aircraft.

In 1923 she introduced her first motorcycle. BMW's automotive business began in 1928, when the company acquired a license from Austin Seven to manufacture the Dixi subcompact car.

Mitsubishi

It was founded by Iwasaki Yataro in the 1870s. Mitsubishi's activities were related to shipping. The name of the company comes from two words "Mitsu" and "hishi", which means "three diamonds". Officially, the company under the name Mitsubishi began its activities in 1873.

After the death of the founder of the company, Iwasaki Yataro, control of the company passed to his younger brother, who expanded his activities in the construction of shipyards. The company also began activities in the mining industry in the banking sector.

During the 1930s and 1940s Mitsubishi was one of the leading arms manufacturers in Japan.

In 1945, the Mitsubishi group already included 200 different companies, which conducted extensive activities in various areas of the economy.

The first Mitsubishi cars began production in 1917. Manufacturing was carried out under the direction of the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries division.

The brand began producing cars as an independent automobile company only in the 1970s. From that moment to the present day, the company has been producing cars.

Kia

Kia was founded in 1944 under the name Kyongseong Precision Industry. But in the early years, the company made bicycles. As an automaker, the company began its activities only in 1952, which was named Kia Industry Company.

The main Kia model in the early years was a three-wheeled pickup motorcycle (motorized carriage). This vehicle gained popularity in Korea in 1961.

The first four-wheeled vehicle rolled off the assembly line in 1972. It was a truck named Titan.

In 1973 she designed and launched production of the first gasoline engine in its history. A year later, this engine began to be installed on the first Kia passenger car, which was named Brisa.

Citroën

Founded by André Citroën, who in 1900 opened the production of parts for steam locomotives (gears, rollers, shafts, double helical teeth, etc.). This explains the origin of the Citroën logo, which is still used today.

In 1915, the company began mass production of weapons for the First World War. As a result, by 1919 the company had accumulated a lot of money. Thanks to this, Citroën began production of Type A vehicles. It was the first European car to be mass-produced.

Surprisingly true: Citroën was better known as a leasing organization and was also the leader in car rental.

Opel

Adam Opel began operations in 1862 in Rüsselsheim. But not many people know that it was not created for the production of cars. The company was opened for serial production of sewing machines.

In 1912, a major fire broke out at the Opel plant. Immediately after that, the company's management admitted that the production of sewing machines was causing only losses and the production of sewing equipment was discontinued.

The production of bicycles continued until the 1940s.

It is worth noting that Opel was the world's largest manufacturer in the 1920s.

The very first car produced by the company was produced in 1898.

Suzuki

The history of the automaker began with the manufacture of looms. Company founder Michio Suzuki created the Suzuki brand in 1909.

In 1920, the company went public. Despite the company's public offering, the first Suzuki car was introduced only in 1937, which never went into production.

During World War II, the company mainly manufactured products for military purposes.

After the war, Suzuki focused on agricultural products and heaters.

In 1952, the company introduced the first motorized bicycle called "Power Free".

In 1954, the company was renamed Suzuki Motor Company.

The company presented the first civilian passenger car in 1955, which was named "Suzulight".

Lamborghini

Ferruccio Lamborghini founded his company in 1948 to manufacture tractors. Initially, tractors were assembled from unnecessary military vehicles, the remains of which accumulated after the Second World War.

In 1959, it expanded its production and began to produce a variety of consumer goods ranging from burners to air conditioning systems.

It was only in 1963 that an automobile company (Automobili Lamborghini) was founded, which began to produce sports cars that are still revered throughout the world.

According to legend, Ferruccio Lamborghini did not like the quality of his own. To teach (or teach) Enzo Ferrari, Ferruccio Lamborghini decided to create his own car company, which should produce sports cars better than Ferrari. Since then, the two world car brands have been competing in technology, in the quality of their cars and, of course, in speed.

Skoda

True, the company was originally called Laurin & Klement (L & K), which was founded by the mechanic Vaclav Lorin (on the left in the photo) and the trader Vaclav Klement. At first, the company was engaged in the production of bicycles.

The founders of Laurin & Klement (L & K), thanks to their good ideas and the right efficient management, were able to enter the international bicycle market.

Four years later, in 1899, the company began manufacturing motorcycles.

In 1905, the first legendary car, the Voiturette, was introduced.

Toyota

Founder Sakichi Toyoda began his career in 1894 with the manufacture of hand-held looms. Then he started producing motors and drives for the weaving industry.

Together with his son (Sakichi-san), he created an automated loom by 1924. Toyota Automatic Loom Inc. was created for their production and sale.

In 1929, Sakichi Toyoda sent his son Sakichi-san to England to sell the patent rights for his automatic loom. The sale was necessary in order to raise enough capital to start a car manufacturing company.

As a result, the son of the founder of Toyota managed to get 100,000 British pounds for a patent.

In 1934, Toyota produced its first car.

Serial production of the car began at the end of 1934. The Toyota A1 was marketed as a 1935 model.

Dodge

Dodge started out producing parts for the automotive industry. So the Dodge company from 1901 (this year the Dodge brothers founded the company in Detroit) began to produce and supply ball bearings to the automotive industry. In 1902 she helped finance the launch of the Ford Motor Company.

The very first own plant for the production of cars was opened in 1914.

Mazda

Mazda was founded in 1920. The company was originally called Toyo Cork Kogyo KK. At the first stage, the company produced finishing materials from cork. Since 1929, the company has started to manufacture machine tools.

The first car entered the market in 1931. It was a Mazda-Go three-wheeled truck.

During the Second World War, she was involved in the defense industry. In the 1950s, the production of three-wheeled and then four-wheeled trucks began again.

The first real passenger car appeared only in 1960, which was produced only for the Japanese market.

Peugeot

As officially established, the Peugeot company actually began its activities in the distant 1810. It all started with the iron foundry. This is how the company started producing coiled steel, cutting discs, boning and springs.

Already in the second half of the 19th century, it produced an impressive variety of products, ranging from agricultural tools and razor blades, to irons, coffee makers and even household pepper grinders.

By the way, pepper grinders are produced by Peugeot to this day. In many restaurants around the world, Peugeot grinders are still the benchmark for quality.

In 1881, Peugeot starts making bicycles. Surprisingly, bicycle production continues today. Cars under the Peugeot brand began to be produced only from the end of the 19th century.