Cutco
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Kitchen accessories |
| Founded | 1949 |
| Headquarters | Olean, New York, U.S. |
Key people | Jim Stitt Sr.[citation needed] |
| Products | Cutlery |
| Revenue | $200,000,000 |
Number of employees | 701 |
| Website | www.cutco.com |
Cutco Corporation, formerly Alcas Corporation, is the parent company of CUTCO Cutlery Corp., direct sales marketing company Vector Marketing, KA-BAR Knives Inc. and Schilling Forge. Its primary brand is the name Cutco.
The company was founded in 1949 by Alcoa and Case Cutlery (hence "Al-cas") to manufacture knives. The management purchased the company from Alcoa in 1982, and the company acquired Vector Marketing Corporation in 1985.[1]
In early 2009, Alcas changed its name to Cutco, the name of the primary product.
Products
Cutco is a brand of cutlery and kitchen accessories directly marketed to customers through in-home demonstrations by independent sales representatives who are mostly college students.[2][3] More than 100 kitchen cutlery products are sold under the Cutco name, as well as a variety of kitchen utensils, cookware, sporting and outdoors knives.
Although the products are not typically purchased in retail stores, Cutco has opened six of its own retail stores: Indianapolis, Indiana; Okemos, Michigan; St. Louis, Missouri; Novi, Michigan; Edina, Minnesota; and Erie, Pennsylvania.[4] The company's knives are produced in Olean, New York, United States, while other products are made in Mexico and China.[5]
Vector Marketing
Vector Marketing is a multi-level marketing group that builds its work force through advertising via newspapers, direct marketing, word-of-mouth, posted advertisements, letters and various media on the internet.[6][7][8] Their fliers advertising "student work" are distributed in many high schools and college campuses across the United States and Canada. Students are hired to sell Cutco products (mainly kitchen knives) to customers, starting with their friends and family, then branching out through recommendations, all through one-on-one demonstrations. While Vector required a deposit on the sample kit representatives were issued in the past, this was changed in 2011 and deposits are no longer required from representatives.[9][10][11][12]
Cutco Foundation
Cutco established the Cutco Foundation in 1996 to contribute to communities in which Cutco has a substantial presence. The Foundation has donated to Pi Sigma Epsilon's annual Pro-am Sell-A-Thon, an annual sales competition for college students.[13] Cutco is particularly active near its home base of New York, and the Foundation has contributed to St. Bonaventure University, Southern Tier Catholic Schools, Friends of Good Music, Jamestown Community College, Comstock Hospice Care Network, Alfred University, Olean General Hospital and the Allegheny River Valley Trail.[14]
References
- ^ Cutco Company History
- ^ Chu, Kathy. "College students learn from job of hard knocks: Door-to-door sales draw thousands every summer". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-10-12.
- ^ Davis, Jana. "What is 'Work For Students' anyway?".
- ^ Schouten, Cory (2011-03-28). "Roundup: Cutco, Marshalls, Performance Bicycle, Sensu". Indianapolis Business Journal. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
- ^ Made in America, Cutco.com
- ^ Kellman, Beth Robinson (April 2, 2010). "Better Business Bureau offers advice on multilevel marketing". The Oakland Press. Oakland County, Michigan. Retrieved May 19, 2011.
- ^ Deal, A. Matthew (September 26, 2006). "High wages for student work – but beware". Campus News. The Carolinian. p. 1. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
- ^ Gunn, Eileen (August 5, 2008). "Summer Job: Nice Pay, if You Can Cut It". The Wall Street Journal. p. D4. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
- ^ Episode 10. Street Cents, January 14, 2002
- ^ "Blue-Eyed Devil: Don't get scammed looking for work while in college". lsureveille.com. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
- ^ Lucchesi, Nick (February 4, 2004). "Vector Marketing targets unaware college students". News. The Journal. p. 2. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
- ^ da Costa, Polyana (August 21, 2004). "Firm misled sales recruits to sell knives, students say". Salem Statesman-Journal. Archived from the original on July 4, 2008.
- ^ "Events & Programs". Pi Sigma Epsilon. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
- ^ "Cutco Foundation". Retrieved 21 June 2011.