Corporate History
Over the years, Kiwi has been owned by a variety of corporations. For the first six decades of its existence, it was part of iterations of an Australian corporation with Kiwi in its name, all based in the state of Victoria, including Kiwi Boot Polish Co. (1913–1916) and Kiwi Polish Co. (1916–1971). The company then joined with Nicholas International Ltd, a Melbourne based pharmaceutical company producing international brands such as Aspro and Rennie. The new company was renamed Nicholas Kiwi. In 1984 it was acquired by American-based Sara Lee (at the time known as Consolidated Foods Corporation) who eventually sold off the Nicholas pharmaceutical products to Roche of Switzerland and kept the Kiwi range.
Kiwi was acquired by the American company Sara Lee following its purchase of Reckitt & Colman in 1991 and Knomark in 1987. The Federal Trade Commission ruled that Sara Lee had to divest its ownership of these companies in 1994 to prevent it from becoming a monopoly. Since this ruling, Sara Lee has been prevented from acquiring any further assets or firms associated with chemical shoe care products in the United States without prior commission approval. The Competition Commission in the United Kingdom also investigated the potential monopoly of Sara Lee in the shoe care industry. On April 4, 2011, Sara Lee announced that it had completed its sale of its global shoe care business, in a majority of countries, to SC Johnson.
Kiwi remains the predominant shoe polish brand in most of the world, being sold in over 180 countries and holding a 53% market share worldwide. Today, it is manufactured in Australia, Canada, Honduras, France, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Other leading brands include Shinola, Lincoln Shoe Polish, Meltonian, and Cherry Blossom.
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