Before he became the famous industrialist, Coty began as a pharmacy assistant in Paris. He was set to work compounding formulae for cosmetics and colognes, and soon having got the hang of it, started making his own versions.
The owner, seeing Coty had talent, advised him to go to Grasse to be trained, but Coty wasn't content to be an apprentice and struck out on his own.
He made up a batch of product, put it in the cheapest bottles he could find, labelled them Cologne Coty, and sold it to pharmacies in Marseilles.
Having some left over, he hired a donkey and cart and went out to the surrounding villages. Knowing that people would be working in the fields, in the cafés, or sitting at home, Coty devised a plan.
Before entering a village, he would tie a string of sausages to the back of the cart, and make his entrance followed by the entire dog population barking their heads off.
As soon as everybody had rushed to the village square to see what was going on, Coty would spray his cologne into the air and launch into a sales pitch.
Genius.
Adapted from Pot-Pourri by Maïté Turronet, 2022, NEZ littérature, Paris
The owner, seeing Coty had talent, advised him to go to Grasse to be trained, but Coty wasn't content to be an apprentice and struck out on his own.
He made up a batch of product, put it in the cheapest bottles he could find, labelled them Cologne Coty, and sold it to pharmacies in Marseilles.
Having some left over, he hired a donkey and cart and went out to the surrounding villages. Knowing that people would be working in the fields, in the cafés, or sitting at home, Coty devised a plan.
Before entering a village, he would tie a string of sausages to the back of the cart, and make his entrance followed by the entire dog population barking their heads off.
As soon as everybody had rushed to the village square to see what was going on, Coty would spray his cologne into the air and launch into a sales pitch.
Genius.
Adapted from Pot-Pourri by Maïté Turronet, 2022, NEZ littérature, Paris
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