Société Bic
 |
|
| Société Anonyme | |
| Traded as | Euronext: BB |
| Industry | Consumer Goods |
| Founded | October 25, 1945 Clichy, France |
| Founder |
Marcel Bich Édouard Buffard |
| Headquarters | Clichy, France |
|
Area served
|
Worldwide |
|
Key people
|
Bruno Bich, Chairman & CEO Gonzalve Bich, COO |
| Products | Disposable lighters, razors, pens |
| Revenue |
 €2.0258 billion (2016) |
|
€409.1 million (2016) |
|
|
€249.7 million (2016) |
|
| Total assets |
€2.5737 billion (2016) |
| Total equity |
€1.7026 billion (2016) |
|
Number of employees
|
10,449 (2009) |
| Website | www |
Société BIC S.A., commonly referred to simply as BIC, is a corporation based in Clichy, France best known for making ballpoint pens. It was founded in 1945 by Baron Marcel Bich and has become known for making disposable consumer products such as lighters, razors, mechanical pencils, and printed paper products.
In 1970, Gillette purchased S. T. Dupont Paris whose principal product was luxury cigarette lighters. During this time Dupont explored the possibilities of marketing a disposable lighter, developing an inexpensive disposable lighter called Cricket, which it introduced in the United States in 1972. Later that year Bic was test marketing a disposable lighter that could provide 3,000 lights before wearing out; Bic introduced this lighter in 1973.
As well as the BIC Cristal ballpoint pen, Bic are easily recognizable as a result of their importance in pop culture. As such, they are represented in the design collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The company competes in most markets against Faber-Castell, Global Gillette, Newell Rubbermaid, Pentel and Schwan-Stabilo. The BIC pen, more specifically the BIC Cristal, was the company's first product. BIC is also known for making disposable razors for both men and women.
The company went public in 1958 with a reverse merger into the older Waterman Pen Company of Seymour, Connecticut, in the United States, and later sold off the older operation. The Bich family owns about 40 percent of Bic stock and controls 55% of its voting power.
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Wikipedia