Revlon and its founder, Charles Revson

The story of Charles Revson, founder of cosmetics giant Revlon, is truly one of “rags to riches.” By the time of his death, Revson, a business icon, had grown his small cosmetics shop into a global cosmetics giant.

The son of a tobacconist, Charles Revson entered our world in 1906, in Montreal, Quebec. He moved to Manchester, New Hampshire when Charles was a child.

After completing high school, he moved to Boston. He got a job as a clothing salesman and later worked at a company that sold cosmetics. At the age of 25, he quit that job, when he was denied a promotion, and decided that he would start his own cosmetics business. To do so, he brought along his brother, Martin, as well as a cosmetic chemist, Charles Lachman, and together they founded Revlon Cosmetics in New York City.

The company was funded with just $300 and initially specialized in nail polishes (Charles tested the products on his own nails), differentiating itself from the competition by the wide range of colors offered to its clientele, which consisted of salons and what was then a new phenomenon, the department store. Using pigments instead of the usual dyes, the company offered the American woman rich-looking nail polish in a greater variety of shades than ever before. Many of the company’s customers across the country were introduced to Revlon products personally by Charles, who traveled the country by train on marketing trips. From there, they expanded the Revlon product line to include lipsticks that matched their nail polish colors, and later introduced perfumes and other fragrances. And in just six years, Revlon became a multi-billion dollar company.

Using his tough, demanding business style and intuitive understanding of his female market, Charles Revson helped build Revlon into the largest cosmetics retailer in the United States, with more than 3,500 products and annual sales at the time of its launch. death in 1975 of an incredible $605,000,000. Revson served as the company’s president from its inception until 1962, and then as chairman of the board until his death.

Perhaps the lowest point for Revlon occurred in the 1950s, with the scandal surrounding the popular Revlon-sponsored television show The $64,000 Question. It was alleged that the Revson brothers required the quiz show’s producers to tamper with the show’s questions to ensure that the contestants could be sure of winning, so that the show’s national popularity and high ratings would continue. However, neither brother was charged with any wrongdoing, and although the show itself was decimated by scandal, sales of Revlon products increased during that period.

As a person, Charles Revson was seen as a limitless perfectionist and difficult to work with, so much so that most of his business associates would eventually cut ties with him. He is quoted as saying, “The big will get bigger; the small will be annihilated” and “I face no competition. I crush it.” Despite his personality, the Revlon company flourished, and with it Charles’s personal fortune, which probably exceeded $1 billion at his death.

While his reputation may have been that of a tough businessman, Charles also contributed significantly to charities. As an example, his Charles H. Revson Foundation has awarded more than $150,000,000 in grants over the past 30 years.

Today, the business that Charles Revson founded some 75 years ago with his first $300 is a name known in more than 175 countries around the world for its cosmetics, perfumes, and skin care products. Revlon’s unparalleled achievements are yet another example of American entrepreneurship in action.