During the trial, design engineers testified that BIC lighters occasionally leaked, and debris could cause the shut-off valve to fail. There were also reports of BIC lighters flaring up while they were being used or accidentally igniting while lying on overheated automobile dashboards.
For a week the company stonewalled, refusing to provide information or answer questions about the allegations amid rumors that thousands of lawsuits had been brought against the company and that a New Jersey congressman was threatening to hold hearings on the safety of BIC lighters. Eventually, the company changed its tactics and revealed that there were 42 lawsuits then pending. BIC maintained that most of the incidents were caused by user negligence. Also acknowledging that a woman had died in an accident involving one of its lighters, BIC reassured the public that it had discontinued the model that was involved in the accident.
As a result of BIC management's candor, the company's stock began to regain value. Bruno Bich, Marcel's son, who became president of the U. According to BIC, the company defended itself in more than 50 lawsuits involving lighters between and , losing only three. The lighter allegedly exploded when it was dropped while lit. Attorneys for the children argued that the lighter should have been more child resistant; BIC argued that the children should have been better supervised.
In its annual report, the company said it was "vigorously appealing the verdict. However, as a result of our longstanding philosophy to vigorously defend these claims, and our success in doing so, the number of lawsuits continues to decline. The patented Child Guard lighter required that a safety latch be moved to the side and up before it would light.
The latch slid back into place automatically after each use. The Consumer Product Safety Commission also adopted a child-resistant standard for disposable lighters that became effective in July The issue of safety became even more convoluted in , however, when a U. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled that manufacturers of products completely safe when used as intended may also have an obligation to make the product safe in unconventional circumstances.
The ruling involved a case in which a three-year-old child took a BIC lighter from his father's pants pocket and set fire to an infant's bedclothes. The case, Griggs v. BIC Corp.
During this time BIC attempted a further diversification by launching a line of inexpensive, pocket-sized perfume "spritzers" in Analysts were skeptical whether U. Sales of the fragrances lasted longer in Europe, but were eventually dropped overseas as well in The company also changed the name of its Writing Instruments division to Stationery Products, indicating an intention to market an expanded line of stationery-related products, while continuing to expand its successful lines of pens, lighters, and shavers.
The company reported its highest ever sales and earnings in and moved its trading from the American Stock Exchange to the New York Stock Exchange. Though BIC still trailed Gillette's pens in terms of pens sold to offices, the firm led the market for pens sold to individuals and had enhanced its line with many attractive new models. BIC marketed a line of "fashion" pens, featuring bright colors and graphics wrapped around the barrel, to appeal to children and teenagers.
This so-called Wavelengths line soon led the market in the fashion pen category. BIC also broke out a new shaver, a twin-blade model. BIC's lighters also continued to sell well, enhanced with the new child-resistant features.
By the mids lighters accounted for 24 percent of the company's sales. Lighters continued to be profitable for BIC in spite of increasing competition from China and Thailand. International Trade Commission asking to impose antidumping duties against disposable lighters from these two countries. BIC alleged that imports from China and Thailand were being sold at below market value, with lighters going for as little as six cents each wholesale, and the numbers of such cheap lighters were increasing yearly.
Nevertheless, BIC, with its massive name recognition, did not appear to be struggling. The company's great profitability seemed due to its efficient, low-cost manufacturing. Double-digit growth in sales and net income was steady and, sometimes, spectacular. For the fourth quarter of , BIC announced a 22 percent increase in profits and a 17 percent increase in sales. The company was a Wall Street favorite. Even when the stocks of many name-brand consumer product manufacturers hit a bump in the summer of , analysts predicted more rosy growth for BIC.
The offer came at a time when there was some speculation that rising plastic prices might cut into BIC Corporation's profit margins. After the merger, business did not change substantially at BIC Corporation. The company had for the most part operated independently of its European parent, and the relationship did not alter after BIC Corporation went private. The company brought out a correction pen in , using technology gained from its earlier acquisition of Wite-Out.
This strengthened BIC's position in the correction products market. The privately held Fort Madison, Iowa company manufactured high-end fountain pens, ballpoints, roller pens, and pencils. BIC planned to continue to market the Sheaffer pens under the Sheaffer name. The acquisition of Sheaffer put BIC in a better position against its long-time competitor Gillette, which had acquired two high-end pen companies several years earlier. Toggle navigation. User Contributions:.
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