The History of Eldertree CosmeticsEarly days1. The company

PART ONE
    Good morning and welcome to Eldertree Cosmetics. My name’s Maria Darcy and I’m the Managing Director. I’m here today to tell you a little bit about the history of the company before you’re taken on the official tour.
    So, Eldertree Cosmetics was founded by Olivia Jenkins in 1975 originally under the name of Eldertree Cottage. And in those days it really was very much a cottage industry with Olivia and her husband Mike producing a range of natural soaps in their own kitchen. The soaps proved to be a recipe for success and sales took off due to the popularity of simple, chemical-free products. It soon became clear, though, that Olivia and Mike would be unable to satisfy demand if they continued working out of their kitchen. So in 1977 Mike began searching for suitable premises and this resulted in the move to the Old Bakery in the town centre.
    At the start of the next decade sales continued to grow dramatically and Olivia and Mike widened their product range to enter new markets such as haircare and cosmetics. This led to rapid expansion and a change of name to Elder-tree Cosmetics. It was at this point that Olivia and Mike realised they needed support with their sales and marketing efforts. So they took on an experienced Sales Manager, who was able to win substantial contracts with some of the largest UK cosmetics retailers.
    This significant increase in business meant that Eldertree needed to recruit a lot more staff and upgrade its facilities. The company had reached a critical point. In order to develop, it required the resources and knowledge that only a large and established organisation could offer. And faced with several takeover bids, Olivia and Mike finally decided that in the interests of Elder-tree and its employees, they would sell the company to the UK’s biggest high-street chemist, Greenaway, which they did in 1987.
    Greenaway’s first move was to look at ways of increasing productivity. Although the Old Bakery site had been upgraded over the years, it was still limited by its size and layout. So in 1988 Greenaway began construction of the new factory, which was completed at the end of the following year. The other major decision which was taken at this time was to continue to trade under the Eldertree brand name and not that of its parent company.
    Today Eldertree Cosmetics is a state-of-the-art producer of high-quality cosmetic products. Structural changes have seen certain functions move to Greenaway’s Head Office. By moving its marketing operations to Greenaway, for exam-ple, Eldertree has not only cut costs, but also enjoyed the advantages of its parent’s substantial advertising budget. And I’m sure you’re all familiar with the new TV campaign. Despite the fact that Eldertree has grown enormously, it still retain a family atmosphere, with many of the original employees from the Old Bakery still working for the company today. Over the last ten years or so, these loyal employees have seen the Eldertree name successfully establish itself as a market leader in the UK and overseas.