Armor All

Armor All is a line of car care products manufactured by The Armor All/STP Products Company, a subsidiary of the Clorox company. The company is based and headquartered in Oakland, California, USA.

Background and history

1970s

The company that became Armor All was started in 1972 by entrepreneur and marketer Alan Rypinski. In 1979, Rypinski sold all of the rights to the Armor All brand name and protectant to the San Francisco-based consumer products company McKesson Corporation.

1980s

By 1987, Armor All's sales exceeded $100 million and company profits grew to $17 million, and in 1988 Armor All purchased Borden Company's car care products line, which included well-known name brands such as Rain Dance, Rally, and No. 7. This acquisition significantly broadened the company's product line, which significantly increased the company's gains through 1989. By 1990, the company's net income dropped to less than $20 million, and then sharply worsened to less than $7 million in 1991.

1990s

Sales climbed from a 1990s low of $134 million in 1993 to $217 million in 1995 (fiscal year ended March 31, 1995), as net income climbed back toward $25 million. For the remainder of the decade, Armor All further capitalized upon the well-known Armor All brand name to encourage international growth and add new products.

Uses

The Armor All product line are specifically designed to clean, shine, and protect most interior and exterior automobile surfaces. Armor All products come in the form of: sprays, gels, liquids and wipes.

External links

• Armor All homepage
• Armor All UK homepage
• Armor All Australia homepage
• Armor All Material Safety Data Sheet, January 1998 (pdf) from The Clorox Company MSDS-Material Safety Data Sheets