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WRIGLEY, WILLIAM, JR.

William Wrigley, Jr. (1861–1932) was a salesman and industrialist. He started his career as a soap salesman and ended it as the owner of the largest chewing gum company in the United States. Wrigley was also the owner of the Chicago Cubs baseball team and had a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, named after him.

William Wrigley, Jr. was born on September 30, 1861 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father, William Wrigley, Sr., was a soap maker who had founded his own company, the Wrigley Manufacturing Company, in 1870. Wrigley worked for his father's company as a child, selling soap from a basket on the streets of Philadelphia. At the age of 11, Wrigley went to work in the soap factory. He stirred vats of liquid soap and earned __BODY__.50 a week. When Wrigley was 13, he returned to sales. He traveled by train or wagon from town to town selling his father's soap. This early sales experience would prove to be useful for his later career as a businessman in his own right.

In 1891 Wrigley left his father's company with hopes of starting his own business. He left Philadelphia for Chicago with only $32 to his name, but an abundance of ambition and enthusiasm. In Chicago his uncle, William Scotchard, loaned him $5,000 to start his own business on the condition that his cousin become his partner. In April 1891, at the age of 29, Wrigley started his business selling Wrigley's scouring soap. He offered premiums to merchants as an incentive to buy his product. Wrigley gave merchants baking powder as a premium, but baking powder soon became a more popular product than soap, so Wrigley switched his main product. In 1892 he began to offer two packages of chewing gum as a premium in place of the baking powder. When demand for the chewing gum surpassed that for the baking powder, Wrigley once again switched products.

At that time there were about a dozen other companies selling chewing gum, but the industry was not developed. In 1892 Wrigley hired the Zero Manufacturing Company to produce chewing gum for him. That same year he introduced his first two brands of gum called Lotta and Vassar. In 1893 he introduced Juicy Fruit and Spearmint gums.

Initially Wrigley had to work hard to break into the chewing gum business because established companies offered products already popular with the public. Wrigley relied on his sales and advertising skills to promote his products and distinguish them from other brands of chewing gum. He continued to offer retailers premiums for carrying his product. The premiums included a variety of products, such as lamps, razors, and scales. In addition, he saw the advantage of familiarizing the public with his products through newspaper, magazine, and poster advertising.

In 1899 six of the largest gum manufacturers merged to form a "chewing gum trust." Wrigley was offered the opportunity to join the merger, but he refused. As he explained, "We propose to keep our identity . . . and if we cannot do business by fair and square methods, we prefer not to do business at all." The Wrigley Company still prides itself on this legacy of independence and integrity.

Though the company struggled during its early years, Wrigley's persistence and dedication paid off. In 1906 he put his advertising philosophy to the test. Wrigley had introduced Spearmint gum to the public several years earlier, but it was not initially very popular. In 1906 Wrigley began a limited advertising campaign in Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, New York, to specifically promote Spearmint. The campaign was so successful that in 1907 Wrigley spent $284,000 to continue to promote this product across the country. As a result of this effort, Spearmint sales rose dramatically and reached over __BODY__.3 million in 1909. By 1910 Wrigley's Spearmint was the most popular gum in the country.

The success of Spearmint made Wrigley the world's largest chewing gum maker. In 1911 Wrigley bought the Zero Manufacturing Company and established the William Wrigley, Jr. Company. He also began to expand his interests abroad. In 1910 he opened a factory in Canada, followed by factories in Australia in 1915, and Great Britain in 1927. Before Wrigley's death, his company had factories in Chicago, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Toronto, London, Berlin, Frankfurt, and Sydney. The company's expansion into international markets led to the creation of new products and flavors as well as new marketing techniques. Wrigley advertised in more than 30 languages and taught the world how to chew gum.

Wrigley retired as company president in 1915, though he continued to serve as chairman of the board. His son, Philip Knight Wrigley, took over the family business and Wrigley explored his other business and leisure interests. By 1921 Wrigley became principal owner of the Chicago Cubs and later acquired two other baseball teams. He also purchased Santa Catalina Island off the coast of California and turned it into a popular resort. When William Wrigley, Jr. died on January 26, 1932, his family business had already become one of the most popular brand names in the United States.

See also: Baseball

FURTHER READING

Allen, Michael Patrick. The Founding Fortunes of a New Anatomy of the Super-Rich Families in America. New York : Truman Talley Books, 1987.

Darby, Edwin. The Fortune Builders. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1986.

Ingham, John N. Biographical Dictionary of American Business Leaders. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1983, s.v. "Wrigley William, Jr."

Olsen, Frank H. Inventors Who Left Their Brands on America. New York: Bantam Books, 1991.