Posted on 04/08/2018 1:53:02 PM PDT by Jacquerie
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 & Colman in 1991 and Knomark in 1987. 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. The Competition Commission in the United Kingdom also investigated the potential monopoly of Sara Lee in the shoe care industry. On April 4, 2011, Sara Lee announced that it had completed its sale of its global shoe care business, in a majority of countries, to SC Johnson.
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. Today, it is manufactured in Australia, Canada, Honduras, France, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Other leading brands include Shinola, Lincoln Shoe Polish, Meltonian, and Cherry Blossom.
Use with cotton T-shirt scraps only.
Other fabrics not recommended for spitshine.
My dad still has a nice foot stool kit for polishing shoes. He used to do that. I’ll be glad to take that along with the Kiwis and polish some shoes, either mine or my son’s. They don’t seem to exist anymore!
Boy O Boy.
Do I remember that!
Shinola!
I wasn’t in the military, but I have always liked to polish shoes and boots. I enjoy seeing the fruits of my labor.
Had a pair of boots worn only for guard duty inspection, made col. orderly 18 times in a row, got exempt from all guard duty by col., then made E-5 a month later and had to pull Sgt. of the guard.
Yes Sir! Mirror finish combat boots, numb fingers.
I have a new tune of kiwi and a brand new pair of dress boots corcoran’s! Have I mentioned how much I hate this stupid speak to text Lord help me I’d like to throw this thing out the window sometimes!
In the Summer of 1957, my oldest Brother made a shoe shine kit in Vacation Bible School. He died of a heart attack a few years back.
Not sure how I got it but it is in my storeroom right now. There is at least one tin of Kiwi in it. I haven’t used it in many years so it probably no good but not sure.
I’m guessing that the proportion of folks who shine their shoes on a regular basis has gone way down over the last 30 years. Society is much more at ease with casual dressing than they were when I grew up.
Polo Shirt, Sweatpants & Sketcher walking shoes at the airport is no longer that shocking. Sometimes even in church.
“...had to pull Sgt. of the guard.”
But you got to carry a 1911 instead of an M-14. That was worth something!
But what about those poor birds being made into shoe polish? Aren’t the New Zealanders upset?
I can remember when there were shoe shine stations on the street.
A Black guy ran the one in my home town. He could literally make the rag pop as he buffed the shine.
Oh wait, maybe they use the fruit instead. My bad.
Oh I was in Armor, us treadheads all carried 1911’s.
I used to put a hellava shine on my boots.
It was a matter of pride.
Then things got very dirty and heavy.
Steal toes were in order.
I beat the crap out of them and they looked like it.
And that became another matter of pride.
Barbasol also remains!
A buff is enough!
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