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PARIS (Reuters) - It started as an answer to leaky pens carried by American soldiers during World War II, was perfected and made popular by an Italian-born baron and has written its way into history as the world's biggest-selling pen.
More than half a century after honing a cheap version of the ballpoint pen, Bic, the French firm which built an empire out of making things to be thrown away, said Thursday it had sold its 100 billionth -- 100,000,000,000th --- disposable ballpoint.
The group, which started small after the war, now has annual revenues of around 1.4 billion ($1.74 billion) including sales of razors and lighters. It reported the milestone along with first-half profits.
"The pens have been sold on average 57 times a second since 1950," BIC said. ....full story here
More than half a century after honing a cheap version of the ballpoint pen, Bic, the French firm which built an empire out of making things to be thrown away, said Thursday it had sold its 100 billionth -- 100,000,000,000th --- disposable ballpoint.
The group, which started small after the war, now has annual revenues of around 1.4 billion ($1.74 billion) including sales of razors and lighters. It reported the milestone along with first-half profits.
"The pens have been sold on average 57 times a second since 1950," BIC said. ....full story here