Even when the company’s business was still quite small, second-generation leader Herbert F. Johnson, Sr. was dreaming big. He believed our wax products could succeed outside of America as well as they could inside. All he wanted was a chance to prove it.
Company lore says Herbert was never more persuasive than on his initial scouting trip to establish an international business. He chose England as his first target.
As the story goes, armed with a can of Johnson’s Wax, and dressed in his trademark white flannel suit, Herbert visited hardware store after store. In one of his more dramatic sales pitches, he offered the busy shopkeeper an irresistible opportunity.
“This product will not only clean your floor,” he promised, “it’ll polish it so shiny that you could drag me across the floor and not see any dirt on the seat of my pants.”