The Fuller Brush Company
Part III
In 1923, Fuller Brush went to the next level with the opening of their new Hartford, Connecticut factory, the largest factory in the world at the time! With its size, Fuller had an entire research division. Dozens of inventors were employed in Fuller's engineering department, always looking for ways to make cleaning easier with better carpet sweepers, better floor brushes.
At this factory, Alfred Fuller didn't just tinker with products. He also had his engineers invent brush-making machines and other machinery that would create products which met his standards. In the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office files there are more than 300 patents held by the Fuller Brush Company!
By 1933, Fuller Brush had become part and parcel of American culture.
In 1942, Alfred's son Howard developed luxury hair brushes that were sold with a five-year guarantee.
In 1943, after a long and successful career Alfred retired and handed over the reigns to son, Howard. Following in his father's footsteps, Howard kept on innovating bringing in more and more products to make life easier at home. Brushes, toiletries, vitamins, household cleaning solutions and more.
In 1956, the Fuller Brush line expands to include 340 products including aerosols, detergents and more. The product brochure becomes a catalog with an annual print run of 5 million copies!
In 1972, Fuller Brush manufacturing operations are moved to Great Bend, Kansas by the new owners, Sara Lee Corporation.
In 1985, even as door-to-door salesmen became less and less common, for Fuller Brush, ALL sales were still generated door-to-door until 1985. It was only in the next few years that Fuller Brush introduced mail-order catalogs. They sent out 10 million a year! Several outlet stores were opened throughout the country.
In 1987, eager to attract the "cream of the crop" sales reps, Fuller Brush raised commissions up 50% of the sale. Fuller didn't cut corners and did whatever it took to maintain their high standards. According to Derek Stryker, then VP of Fuller's household division, there were salespeople earning more than $50,000 a year at that point. In modern dollars, thats $110,522. After all these years, Fuller Brush was still giving thousands of Americans a way to earn a good, honest living with minimal overhead.
In 1931, Frank Stanley Beveridge, Director of Sales at Fuller Brush left to create his own company, Stanley Home Products though in 1996 the company returned to its roots when Fuller brush acquired Stanley Home Products. Now Fuller Brush's product line was more extensive than ever!
In 1997, Fuller entered the 21st century ahead of time with the launch of their brand new website! The website took off fast, getting 1800 page views per month for the first 10 months! This was before internet shopping was the norm, showing just how popular Fuller Brush was to the American consumer.
In 2013, San Franciso's last active door-to-door Fuller Brush Salesman, Norman Hall was interviewed on Radio Sausalito. His first sale? A green and white kitchen brush in 1971. Forty plus years later, at 75, he was still walking 5-10 miles a day delivering goods!
Saint Helena native, David Sabin bought Fuller Brush determined to introduce 21st century America to the nostalgic brand. He created the 1906 Heritage Line inspired by Fuller Brush's original products. These iconic itiems were made with every detail perfected, exactly as Alfred Fuller had done in his day. At the same time, Fuller brush also embraced the digital age with a modernized, easy to navigate website.
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