商务英语阅读Unit1背景知识.ppt

Unit1 Corporate or Organization Culture From Factory to Family: The Creation of a Corporate Culture In 1881, the company initiated door-to-door sales to private residences to complement its mail solicitation to storekeepers. By 1885, the company eliminated all middlemen, including its own salesmen. The Company survived the panic of 1893. Sales boomed from $220,000 in 1892 to $15 million by 1906. After 1900, Larkin expanded its product offerings beyond soaps and related products to include packaged foods and numerous household products. The growth of department stores, the popularity of the automobile and the volatility of the marketplace, especially during the Great Depression, damaged the Larkin Companys mail order business. Larkins diversification into its own chains of retail food markets, gasoline stations, home craft stores, and a department store did not revive the company. The loss of key executives due to retirement or death and internal struggles among the next generation of Larkin executives, hurried the demise of the company. Sales fell from $28.6 million in 1920 to $2 million by 1939 and the Company ceased operations in the 1940s. The Larkin Idea From Factory-to-Family: Save All Cost Which Adds No Value. Hubbards idea: 1. offering a gift directly to customers 2. Combination box 3.The Larkin Club of ten The Larkin Clubs The Larkin Club was established enabling the customer to purchase items on the installment plan. It became the heart of the mail order business and a key to the companys success.Ten housewives would form a club and each contribute a dollar monthly. Club members were mostly from small towns whose families had modest incomes. The secretary organized the club and conducted business with Larkin offices on behalf of all members. The secretary purchased a Combination Box and the products and premiums were distributed among the club members. Some secretaries even won trips to visit the fa