Bic (company)
| File:BIC logo.svg | |
| Company type | Société Anonyme |
|---|---|
| Euronext: BB | |
| Industry | Consumer Goods |
| Founded | Clichy, France (1945) |
| Founder | Marcel Bich Edouard Buffard |
| Headquarters | Clichy, France |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Bruno Bich, Chairman Mario Guevara, CEO |
| Revenue |  €1.5627 billion (2009)[1] |
| €216.0 million (2009)[1] | |
| €151.7 million (2009)[1] | |
| Total assets | €2.0291 billion (2009)[1] |
| Total equity | €1.3040 billion (2009)[1] |
Number of employees | 10,449 (2009)[1] |
| Website | [http:/noboss.vemma.com] |
Société Bic (Euronext: BB) is a company based in Clichy, France.[2] It was founded in 1945 by Baron Marcel Bich and has become known for making disposable consumer products such as lighters, magnets, ballpoint pens, shaving razors, printed paper products[3] and watersports products. The brand's lighters, being little changed since 1972, are available in a wide range of colors and graphic designs and may be customized with company logotypes and/or trademarks. They, as well as the Bic Cristal ballpoint pen, are easily recognized by their timeless appearance and noted for their importance to popular culture. As such, they are represented in the design collection of the Museum Of Modern Art in New York. The company competes in most markets against Faber-Castell, Global Gillette, Newell Rubbermaid and Schwan-Stabilo.[4] The Bic pen, more correctly the Bic Cristal, was the company's first product and, over the past 50 years, has come to be synonymous with the name Bic.[5][6]
Ownership
The company went public in 1958 with a reverse merger into the older Waterman Pen Company of Seymour, Connecticut, in the United States, and later sold off the older operation.[7] The Bich family owns about 40 percent of Bic stock and controls 55% of its voting power.
In June 2010, Bic sold its funeral products division to Prairie Capital, a Chicago based private equity firm.[8]
United States subsidiary
After buying the Waterman Pen Company in Seymour, Connecticut in 1958, Bic needed a larger space for its U.S. headquarters and manufacturing operation, so the headquarters was moved to nearby Milford, Connecticut, where it remained on a road eventually renamed "Bic Drive" until 2008, when the headquarters moved to Shelton, Connecticut. A lighter factory remains on the Milford site.[9]
The company's U.S. subsidiary, BIC Corporation, accounts for more than half of the worldwide company's sales. Both Bruno Bich, the current chairman of the board, who rose through the ranks in the U.S. organization, and Mario Guevara, the current chief executive officer, worked in the American subsidiary for several years.[10]
Sponsorship
Bic sponsored a professional cycling team in the 1960s and 70s, led by Tour de France winners Jacques Anquetil and Luis Ocaña.[11] Bic also sponsored the Alain Prost-led Prost Grand Prix team in Formula One from 1997 to 2000.
References
- ^ a b c d e f Consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2009. Notes to the consolidated financial statements. Auditor’s opinion. Pages 34, 50, 52–53.
- ^ "Legal Notice." Bic. Retrieved on 7 February 2011. "Head office : 14, rue Jeanne d’Asnières 92611 Clichy cedex, France."
- ^ "Bic Graphic Website". BIC Graphic Company. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
- ^ http://www.bicworld.com/en/press/press-detail/77/bic-lighter-on-show-at-moma
- ^ "BIC Corporation - Company History". Fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved 2011-08-17.
- ^ "History". Bicworld.com. Retrieved 2011-08-17.
- ^ Friday, Mar. 17, 1967 (1967-03-17). "Corporations: Mightier than the Pencil". TIME. Retrieved 2011-08-17.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "SmartMoney News". SmartMoney.com. 2002-10-03. Retrieved 2011-08-17.
- ^ Web page titled "Milford Chamber Through the Years, 1954-2004", at the Milford Chamber of Commerce website, retrieved October 21, 2010; Dolan, Ryan, [http://www.allbusiness.com/manufacturing/miscellaneous-mfg-office-supplies/8941620-1.html "BIC moves 350 to Shelton", Fairfield County Business Journal, March 3, 2008, retrieved October 27, 2010
- ^ Web page titled "Directors biographies" at the Bic World website, retrieved October 21, 2010
- ^ "Historic Overview Jacques Anquetil". www.CyclingRanking.com. 1934-01-08. Retrieved 2011-08-17.
External links
- BIC World - Company website
- Société BIC Company Profile - Yahoo! Finance
- BICSurf
- BIC watersports
- BIC Everyday website for students, teachers and parents
- BIC Graphic USA
