10 Facts About Well-Known Brands Before they Were Famous

Please find more info. here: https://www.unbelievable-facts.com/2017/10/well-known-brands.html 1. The South Korean conglomerate giant, Samsung, began as a humble seller of noodles, dried-fish, and groceries in 1938. After the Korean War, its founder, Lee Byung-chul, decided to diversify and establish Samsung as the leader in various industries. In the 1960s, the Samsung Group entered electronics, soon becoming one of the biggest electronics companies in the world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung 2. Founded back in 1889, Nintendo once used to make hanafuda - Japanese playing cards. In the 1960s, Nintendo experimented in areas such as a taxi company, a "love hotel" chain, and electric toys among other things before becoming a major company in the gaming industry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Nintendo 3. The Finnish company, Nokia, was founded in 1865 as a paper mill company that later entered the electricity business. In 1967, Nokia, Finnish Rubber Works, and Finnish Cable Works merged to form Nokia Corporation. In the 1970s, Nokia began manufacturing network equipment and towards the end of that decade ventured into making mobile phones. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Nokia 4. Ferruccio Lamborghini originally manufactured tractors and became a wealthy man. In 1958, Lamborghini bought his first Ferrari and several more after that but found them to be noisy with inferior clutches. When the notoriously proud Enzo Ferrari dismissed his misgivings, Lamborghini decided to build his own cars with tractor components for three times the profit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferruccio_Lamborghini 5. The German automobile company, BMW, originally manufactured aircraft engines during WWI and WWII. When it was prohibited to do so by the Treaty of Versailles in the 1920s, BMW turned its attention to motorcycles. After WWII, BMW was banned by the Allies from producing automobiles. During the ban, it produced pots and pans with salvaged equipment before going back to manufacturing cars in the 1950s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_BMW 6. The 5th largest cosmetics company, Avon, was formed in 1886 when a struggling New York salesman decided to sell perfumes instead of books. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avon_Products 7. Everyone's favorite chewing gum, Wrigley, was actually a free gift for buying cans of baking powder back in 1892. When Wrigley Jr. noticed that the people loved the gum more than the baking powder, he changed his company's main product. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrigley_Company 8. Back in 1850, American Express was an express-mail business and for years enjoyed a monopoly on shipments all over New York. In 1891, the company introduced the Traveler's Cheque after its president became frustrated that he couldn't get cash while traveling in spite of having letters of credit. Throughout the 20th century, American Express ventured into several financial services becoming a major network for over 100 million credit cards. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Express 9. The American auto racing company, NASCAR, has its origins in the 1920s Prohibition Era. Drivers would choose small cars and modify them for speed to evade the police while bootlegging whiskey made in the Appalachians. When the prohibition laws were repealed in 1933, racing became entertainment, and one of the racers, Bill France Sr., founded NASCAR. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASCAR 10. The Japanese conglomerate, Sony, started as a radio repair shop in a bomb-damaged department store in 1945. In 1946, its founders, Masaru Ibaku and Akio Morita, built Japan's first tape recorder and later in 1955, Japan's first commercial transistor radio. In the next three decades, Sony aggressively expanded into the film industry (Sony Pictures), insurance, and banking becoming Japan's most powerful exporter. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Sony