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The One-Zip Windproof Lighter
Zippo Manufacturing Company - American company, whose most famous products are lighters Zippo. The company was founded in 1932 by entrepreneur George Grant Blaisdell in Bradford, Pennsylvania. For a long time the lighters remained the only product of the company, which thanks to its qualities and large-scale advertising became an iconic symbol of the whole America.
Zippo - a popular brand under which the company Zippo Manufacturing Company produces its famous lighters. Main features of the lighters Zippo - The main advantages of these lighters are their windproofness, convenience (such a lighter can be used with one hand, which was very important for those years), reliability and simplicity of design. It is the reliability and simplicity of the product that allows the manufacturer to provide a lifetime warranty: "Either it works, or we will fix it for free. The lifetime warranty is not only evidence of the high quality of the lighters, but is also a great example of an advertising move, an idea that does not require a large investment, but achieves its purpose perfectly.
Equally important success factor Zippo - attention to design. Thanks to the variety of models in different metals, the lighters Zippo have become a collector's item, evolving from a household item into a prestigious accessory. The main income from the sale of such lighters comes from souvenir products, Zippo are purchased by collectors and as gifts. A relatively small proportion of buyers still remember that with the Zippo you can light it.
First lighter Zippo was born in 1932, thanks to the idea of George Grant Blaisdell. The first lighters were produced in a factory in Bradford, Pennsylvania, where they are still produced today (A few years ago an additional production facility in Canada was closed). Their name is. ZippoIt seems to have been chosen by the creator simply because of its euphony and memorability.
More precisely, the idea and the windproof lighters themselves had existed before then, but George Blaisdell was able to improve the existing designs and, thanks to his entrepreneurial talent, make them popular on the market. Blaisdell had acquired a license to import windproof lighters from Austria to the United States in the early days of his business, but things didn't go so well, the quality of the merchandise left much to be desired. Despite the initial setbacks, the entrepreneur managed to see a future in his brainchild and took the necessary steps to improve the product himself: the lighter itself and the lid were connected by a hinge, the size was reduced, the body became chrome-plated, the wheel and flint were slightly improved. In 1936 George Blaisdell received a patent for the lighter design Zippo. By the way, not only the design of the lighters is patented Zippobut also the sound with which the lid opens and closes - the characteristic click known as Zippo Click.
If the creator Zippo If George Blaisdell had limited himself to the creation of his product and its improvement, the history of these lighters would have been much less interesting. But George Blaisdell understood that it was not enough to create a great product, one had to be able to sell it. Massive advertising in the press, the "unobtrusive" appearance of the lighters in movies made ordinary lighters a real brand.
The design of the lighters and their decoration were constantly changing, satisfying the demand of collectors and souvenir consumers. But even the company that produced such a legendary product has, over time, encountered difficulties and the need to move on, much of the difficulty pushing Zippo Manufacturing Company to change, were associated with a decrease in the number of smokers in the world, the growth of negative attitudes towards smoking and the accessories that accompany it.
The first change for the company was the reorientation from the usual markets of the U.S. and Europe to the more smoking-friendly Japan, China and the newly opened markets of the former Soviet Union.
In 2002, for the first time there is not just a new accessory Zippobut a new kind of lighter - MPL (Multi-Purpose Lighter). These lighters were designed to light candles, fireplaces and grills, and their appearance changed the image of ZippoNow it is not just a smoking accessory, the target audience has also expanded - not only men who smoke, but also women have become potential customers Zippo.
Also in the product line of the company began to appear other products: office supplies, household sundries. Zippo Manufacturing Company owns W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company, a renowned manufacturer of knives for various purposes, and its division Zippo Fashion Italia manufactures leather bags, belts, suitcases, wallets, and other leather goods that are sold or distributed to collectors under the brand name Zippo.
