Kiwi

=Kiwi (shoe polish)=

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Jump to: [|navigation], [|search]For other meanings of "Kiwi", see [|Kiwi (disambiguation)].The Kiwi logo This shoe polish was developed by [|Australia]-based [|Scottish]-born inventor [|William Ramsay], who named it Kiwi as a homage to his wife, Annie Elizabeth Meek Ramsay, a [|New Zealander], otherwise known as a //[|Kiwi]//. Its success in Australia expanded overseas when it was adopted by both the [|British] and [|American armies] in [|World War I]. hide] * [|1] [|Development] 
 * Kiwi** is the brand name of a [|shoe polish], first made in [|Australia] in 1906 and as of 2005[|[update]] sold in almost 180 countries. Owned by the [|Sara Lee Corporation] since 1984, it is the dominant shoe polish in some countries, including the [|United Kingdom] and the [|United States], where it has about two-thirds of the market.
 * ==Contents==
 * [|2] [|Corporate history]
 * [|3] [|References]
 * [|4] [|External links] ||

[[|edit]] Development
Whilst a number of older leather preserving products existed (including the Irish brand //Punch//, which was first made in 1851, and the German brand, //Erdal//, which went on sale in 1901), Kiwi's invention in 1906 made it the first shoe polish to resemble the modern varieties (aimed primarily at inducing shine). Scottish [|expatriates] William Ramsay and Hamilton McKellan began making boot polish in a small factory in 1904 in [|Melbourne], [|Australia].[|[1]] Their formula was new, and they worked on further improvements. Ramsay launched his product in 1906 and began marketing it in Melbourne. Ramsey loaded boxes of his boot polish on his horse and cart, and sold it to ranchers to protect their boots.[|[2]] Kiwi was a major improvement on previous brands. It preserved shoe leather, made it shine, and restored colour. By the time Kiwi Dark Tan was released in 1908, it incorporated agents that added suppleness and water resistance. Australian-made boot polish was then considered the world's best. Black and a range of colours became available, and exports to [|Britain], [|continental Europe], and New Zealand began. A rival brand of the time was //Cobra Boot Polish//, based in [|Sydney]. Cobra was noted for a series of [|cartoon] advertisements in //[|The Sydney Bulletin]//, starting in 1909, using a character called "Chunder Loo of Akim Foo." (The word //chunder//, meaning "to vomit", possibly originated through the [|rhyming slang] of //Chunder Loo// and //spew//.)[|[3]] New Zealand is the only nation whose [|colloquial identity] has been assisted by a brand of shoe polish. In the early years of the European settlement a variety of symbols — predominantly the [|moa], [|silver fern], [|Southern Cross] and [|kiwi] — were used to represent the new nation, and even by the early 1900s there was no clear consensus. The spread of Kiwi shoe polish around the world enhanced the popular appeal of the Kiwi as New Zealand's national symbol. 

[[|edit]] Corporate history
A can of Kiwi shoe polish Over the years, Kiwi has been owned by a variety of [|corporations]. For the first six decades of its existence, it was part of iterations of an Australian corporation with Kiwi in its name, all based in the state of [|Victoria], including Kiwi Boot Polish Co. (1913-1916) and Kiwi Polish Co. (1916-1971). The company then joined with Nicholas International Ltd, a Melbourne based pharmaceutical company producing international brands such as Aspro and Rennie. The new company was renamed Nicholas Kiwi. In 1984 it was acquired by American-based [|Sara Lee] (at the time known as Consolidated Foods Corporation) who eventually sold off the Nicholas pharmaceutical products to Roche of Switzerland and kept the Kiwi range. Kiwi was acquired by the American company [|Sara Lee] following its purchase of Reckitt and Colman in 1991 and Knomark in 1987.[|[4]] The [|Federal Trade Commission] ruled that Sara Lee had to divest its ownership of these companies in 1994 to prevent it from becoming a [|monopoly]. Since this ruling, Sara Lee has been prevented from acquiring any further assets or firms associated with chemical shoe care products in the United States without prior commission approval.[|[5]] The [|Competition Commission] in the United Kingdom also investigated the potential monopoly of Sara Lee in the shoe care industry.[|[6]]
 * Kiwi** remains the predominant shoe polish [|brand] in most of the world, being sold in over 180 countries and holding a 53% market share worldwide.[|[7]] Today, it is manufactured in [|Australia], [|Canada], [|France], [|India], [|Pakistan](owned by Muhammad Zamir Hasan Khan), [|South Africa], [|Spain], the [|United Kingdom], and the [|United States]. Other leading brands include //[|Shinola]//, //Lincoln Shoe Polish//, //Meltonian//, and //Cherry Blossom//.[|[8]]

[|Kiwi Shoe Polish: Shine Sir?] [|Kiwi Shoe polish advertisement] [|Reflections]