Rolls Razor

Rolls Razor Limited was a British company which became famous for its "affordable" twin-tub washing machine for a few years up until 1964. It was the first company to challenge the hegemony of Hoover and Hotpoint in this market. The eponymous product was a sophisticated safety-razor which came in a metal box designed to allow the blade to be stropped against the lid and thus was not disposable, but unlike the straight razor it incorporated a safety guard and its size was closer to the early Gillette double blade disposable razor. The company wilted in the face of competition from the likes of Gillette, and in the mid-1950s, the effectively moribund shell was bought by entrepreneur John Bloom as a vehicle for marketing his low cost direct sell washing machines. Originally the machines were manufactured in Holland, but later an assembly line was set up at the company’s factory in Cricklewood, London, where prospective customers could view the process. On the back of a heavy advertising campaign, and prices 50% below those found in shops, many customers were buying machines, particularly on hire purchase, which became available to many more consumers at this time as the British government relaxed many restrictions on this type of finance. By 1962, Rolls had secured 10% of the market and was the third largest manufacturer of washing machines. Keen to further expand the business, it merged with the Colston company, founded by ex-Hoover director Sir Charles Colston, which made compact dishwashers, and concluded a deal to distribute Prestcold refrigerators. As sales began to slow, he cut prices and introduced ‘double offers’ such as washing machine + fridge packages, free weekend breaks and even his own trading stamps. The company spectacularly collapsed in 1964 with massive debts. Liquidators found thousands of unsold washing machines in warehouses.

Many of the company's problems were due to conventional retailers slashing prices, a postal strike that dried up their supplies of coupons which was their only source of obtaining customers, and arguably, market saturation.

Production of the machines was continued by Tallent, but that company was taken over by Ariston in the late 1970s.

Bloom came in for heavy criticism regarding his business practice
 * In 1963, Rolls-Prestcold became the first commercial sponsor of The Royal Windsor Horse Show.
 * It was the respondent company in a House of Lords judicial decision called Barclays Bank Ltd v Quistclose Investments. This was a landmark case which created the Quistclose trust.