Rexona

History

Rexona was created in Australia in 1908 by Alice Sheffer, the wife of Samuel Fuller, who established the Sheldon Drug Company. In about 1930, Rexona was taken over by British soap manufacturer Lever Brothers, which became Unilever following a merger with Dutch company Margarine Unie. Unilever integrated Rexona into its global personal care line-up of brands. The products are available in varying forms including as aerosols, pumps, roll-ons, sticks and creams. In 2015, the brand launched a new range of fragrances with a new canister design, at the same time changing the formula.

Internationally

India

In India, it was launched in 1947 as a rival to Hamam, then a Tata product, by then Hindustan Unilever. As Hindustan Unilever already uses Rexona as a soap brand, the Sure brand was used instead for deodorants, as it is in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

United States

Degree is a brand of antiperspirant for both men and women that is manufactured by Unilever. It comes in stick, gel, and spray forms. The stick form often comes with slogans pressed into the deodorant itself by the protective seal. For example, "Cool Rush" comes with the slogan "Take The Risk". The Degree brand name was created by Helene Curtis, which Unilever acquired in 1996.

Sure brand

In the United States, Sure is an antiperspirant brand created by Procter & Gamble in 1972, marketed to both men and women. Innovative Brands, LLC, a portfolio company of Jahm Najafi Companies, acquired the brand from Procter & Gamble in September 2006, after P&G had acquired Gillette. The brand's ownership was transferred to Helen of Troy Limited, which acquired the brand from Innovative Brands in March 2010. Since being acquired by Helen of Troy in the United States, Sure is now marketed exclusively as a woman's antiperspirant. Although the brand already exists in the United States, Sure exists as a brand in the UK, Ireland and India, as the localized branding of Rexona, which has no connection to Sure's branding in the US.

On June 8, 2021, Helen of Troy announced it has sold its personal care business, including Sure to Tengram Capital Partners (High Ridge Brands).

Marketing

Main article: Australia's Greatest Athlete

Rexona sponsored the Williams F1 team from 2015 to 2019. The brand had previously sponsored the Lotus F1 team from 2012 to 2014 season.

Rexona also developed a Flash platformer called "Power Pamplona", which involves a bull runner racing across various countries.

Rexona, Rexena, and Sure brands are the sponsors of the English football clubs Southampton, Chelsea, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Manchester City. Rexona and Sure brands also sponsor the top Spanish football competition, La Liga, for the Latin American, African and Southeast Asian markets.

References

References

1. "About Us".
2. Collins, Glenn. (1996-02-15). "Unilever Agrees to Buy Helene Curtis". The New York Times.
3. Dealbook. (26 September 2006). "P&G Sells Sure Deodorant Brand".
4. "Procter & Gamble Acquires Gillette".
5. (2010-12-09). "UPDATE 2-Helen of Troy to buy privately held Kaz for $260 mln". Reuters.
6. (June 8, 2021). "HRB Brands Announces Acquisition of Personal Care Brands from Helen of Troy". Global Newswire.
7. Glendenning, Matthew. (2020-10-29). "Southampton joins Wolves, City and Chelsea in Sure portfolio". SBG Companies Limited.
8. (2018-08-10). "Rexona signs global partnerships with Premier League giants". SBG Companies Limited.
9. (2018-09-29). "LaLiga and Unilever reach worldwide sponsorship agreement for Clear Men and Rexona brands". [[Liga de Fútbol Profesional]].