S. C. Johnson & Son

Overview

S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc.

trade name	S. C. Johnson
type	Private
industry	Consumer goods
founded	1886 Racine, Wisconsin, U.S.
founder	Samuel Curtis Johnson Sr.
hq location	Johnson Wax Headquarters 1525 Howe Street
hq location city	Racine, Wisconsin
hq location country	United States
area served	Worldwide
key people	Herbert Fisk Johnson III (chairman & CEO)
brands	AllOut Autan Babyganics Baygon Bayfresh Bayclin Brise Caldrea Chemotox Drano Duck Fantastik Glade Grand Prix Janitor in a Drum Kiwi Mr. Muscle Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day OFF! Pledge Raid Saran Scrubbing Bubbles Shout Swarfega Toilet Duck Windex Ziploc
revenue	US$ 11.2 billion
revenue year	2023
owner	Johnson Family
parent	S.C. Johnson
divisions	Family, inc.
num employees	13,000 (2019) ‡R1R‡
website	scjohnson.com

S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc. (commonly referred to as S. C. Johnson: a Family Company) is an American multinational corporation and privately held manufacturer of household cleaning supplies and other consumer chemicals based in Racine, Wisconsin.[1] In 2017, S. C. Johnson employed approximately 13,000 people and had estimated sales of $10 billion.[2]

The company is owned by the Johnson family. H. Fisk Johnson, Chairman and CEO since 2004, is the fifth generation of the Johnson family to lead the company.[3]

History

The company is one of the oldest family-owned businesses in the U.S.,[4] beginning in 1886 when Samuel Curtis Johnson purchased the parquet flooring division from the Racine Hardware Manufacturing Company and named the new business S. C. Johnson.

Household cleaning and scent products

Babyganics

Bayclin (Indonesia and Latin America)

Bayfresh (Southeast Asia)

Beanpod Soy Candles

Bon Ami (in Canada market)

Caldrea

Citresin (Czech Republic)

Drano (in Japan markets, known as Pipe Unish)

Ecover[35]

Fantastik

Favor

Finis (South and West Asia)

Glade (in some markets, known as Gleid and Brise)

Held (Switzerland)

Janitor in a Drum

Kiwi Dranex Kleen (in Malaysia, Philippines, Hong Kong, and Singapore markets, known as Kiwi Kleen)

Lynn (Czech Republic)

Lysoform (known as FamilyGuard in Asian markets; marketed as a new product in response to the COVID-19 pandemic)[36]

Method[35]

Mr Muscle (in Japan markets, known as Kabikiller)

Temple/Tenpuru (Japan)

Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day

Nature's Source

Oust

Pledge (in some markets, known as Blem, Pliz, Bravo, Brilho, Pronto, Pride, and Glo-coat)

Scrubbing Bubbles (formerly known as Dow Bathroom Cleaner before the sale to S. C. Johnson & Son)

Shout

Toilet Duck (in some markets, known as Canard WC, Bebek, Duck, WC Eend, WC Ente)

Windex

Armstrong (Floor Cleaner) in US markets.

Johnsons Brite

Plexon

Freedom (Australia, Hong Kong, and New Zealand)

Roma Coco (Brazil)

Echo (South & Latin America)

Optimum (Brazil)

00 Null Null WC (Germany)

Brillo (some countries in Europe)

Goddard's (Australia & New Zealand license)

Wega (Swiss)

999 (Indonesia)

All Joy (China)

Stira E Ammira (in Hispanic markets, known as Toke and Klaro)

Ceramicol (Argentina)

Crew (Hongkong & Japan)

Lifeguard (UK)

J-80 Sanitizer (Indonesia)

Shut (Japan)

Controversy

A RICO lawsuit by tax whistleblower Mike DeGuelle alleges that since 1997, S. C. Johnson & Son has taken advantage of audit errors and filed fraudulent tax returns, underpaying its taxes by millions of dollars.[40] H. Fisk Johnson ordered an inquiry into the allegations, and told Tax Analysts that he learned "other details of the decisions they (the tax department) made that I didn't like. I didn't like what I heard." On December 15, 2011, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, in Case No. 10-2172, ruled that DeGuelle had alleged a valid claim that the company's discharge of him was part of the tax fraud scheme.[41] DeGuelle's claim was reviewed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin with the Court ruling to dismiss the RICO lawsuit on the grounds of preclusion.[42] The Court did not rule on SC Johnson's actions as they pertain to tax evasion, with Judge Stadtmueler stating that "the legality of SC Johnson's actions (and whether those actions did, in fact, occur) is of no importance to the Court's consideration of the defendant's motion for summary judgment."[41] The Wisconsin Court of Appeals reviewed DeGuelle's case and affirmed an earlier ruling of the Racine County Circuit Court in favor of SC Johnson for defamation related to Deguelle's claims of tax evasion and breach of a confidentiality agreement.[43][44]

S. C. Johnson & Son was one of 13 large consumer product companies who were together fined €948.9million by Autorité de la concurrence in France in 2016 for price-fixing on personal hygiene products. At the time, it was the largest single fine ever imposed by Autorité de la Concurrence.[45]

In March 2022, S. C. Johnson & Son faced public scrutiny after its decision to continue to operate in Russia despite widespread sanctions in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The company was reported to have stopped new investments and scaled back unspecified operations as of April 1, 2022.[46]

S. C. Johnson & Son

History

Acquisition milestones

Ingredients

Brand names

Car care

Household cleaning and scent products

Household food storage

Household pest control

Personal care

Shoe care

Divested brand names

Discontinued brand names

Environmental record

Controversy

External links

References