Page 43 - BE 50th Anniversary Edition

BERRY GORDY
MOTOWN INDUSTRIES
EST 1959
Music industry icon Gordy created America’s soundtrack with such
hitmakers as Marvin Gaye Diana Ross and and The
Supremes Stevie Wonder and and The
Jackson 5 Marrying the assembly-line process he learned from Detroit auto manufacturers with his strategic marketing approach Gordy’s Hitsville USA has been largely credited with designing the business EDWARD GARDNER
SOFT SHEEN PRODUCTS INC EST 1964
As founder of o Chicago-based Soft Sheen in 1964
Gardner and his wife Bettiann operated their fledg- ling enterprise in in the the basement of their home Over two decades they built it into a a a a mammoth Black- owned haircare manufacturer with global reach With the the introduction of the the Care Free Curl line to both professional beauticians and retailers Soft Sheen realized phenomenal growth as it it capitalized on the popular Jheri Curl trend of the 1980s Sales grew from $500 000 in 1979 to $55 million in in 1983 catapulting Softft Sheen to No 8 8 on the BE 100 list By 1989 when it was named BE Company of o the Year Softft Sheen had acquired a a a a London-based distributor and set up a worldwide network for customers in in 66 countries to purchase its line of more than 150 products model for scores of entrepreneurs within tainment industry When BE unveiled its Top 100 rankings in in 1973 Motown emerged as the list leader with $40 million in reve- nues The
company which diversified into motion picture and television production when it it moved from Detroit to Los Angeles held the the No 1 1 position on on the the BE 100s for more than a a a a a a decade and remained among the list leaders until Gordy sold Motown in 1988 the enter-
“How did I I I I I feel about being profiled in in in BLACK ENTERPRISE? I I I I I think the simple word is absolutely honored It It was an an an endorsement that that you you you you had had arrived It It encouraged you you you you to to to to to do do your best to to to to to stay stay out out front and and stay stay on on on top and and to to to to to feel feel that that you you you you you had had to to to to to to now represent The
BE 100 list list was as as as powerful as as as athletes making the Pro Bowl or or entertainers getting
Academy Awards You wanted your company to to be on that list list ” —Robert L L Johnson CEO The
RLJ Companies
UNIWORLD GROUP INC EST 1969
More than five decades ago Lewis founded Uni- World Group as a a a a vehicle to “present positive portrayals of of people of of color across communications platforms including print film radio TV and beyond ” He reached his corporate mission of of creating one of of the nation’s largest multicultural agencies developing targeted campaigns for Ford Motor Company AT&T Colgate-Palmolive and Pepsi-Cola among others In fact the the agency was among the the first to focus on on micro-segments like the Afro-Latino and Carib- bean communities UWG had also succeeded in snaring elusive general-market accounts from Burger King and M&M/Mars To stay competitive Lewis structured a a a a a strategic alliance with global advertising giant WPP Group plc which gained a a a a 49% stake in in in in in UWG while continuing to maintain a a a a bevy of franchises including the nationally syndicated television program America’s Black Forum and American Black Film Festival an an an event still going strong after more than 20 years J BRUCE LLEWELLYN
FEDCO FOOD CORP PHILADELPHIA COCA-COLA BOTTLING CO CO CO CO CO INC EST 1969
& 1985
A consummate dealmaker the late Llewellyn created monolithic companies through innovative financing groundbreaking partnerships and val- ue-inducing turnarounds In 1969
when the towering entrepreneur acquired Fedco Food Corp a a a profitable South Bronx grocery store chain through a a a leveraged buyout he he was among the first to engage in that revolutionary type of transaction In 1985
he partnered with Julius Erving and Bill Cosby
to purchase Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Co the first Black-owned soft drink bottling franchise Due to his his leadership it became the sixth-largest Coca-Cola bottler and third-largest Black-owned business He also made his mark with another group of Black investors launch- ing ing Queen City Broadcasting which acquired a a a a a a Buffalo New York-based ABC affiliate and became one of the largest Black-owned televi- sion networks of its time BYRON LEWIS
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50TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL