Totes Isotoner Corporation, stylized totes»ISOTONER and often abbreviated to Totes, is an international umbrella, footwear, and cold weather accessory supplier, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Totes is regularly billed in press reports as "the world's largest marketer of umbrellas".Chelsey Levingston: "Company names new CEO", The Journal News (Hamilton, Ohio), 17 February 2016, p. 15. The company has divisions in the United States, Canada, UK, and France.
The company sells products under totes, ISOTONER, and ESNY brands. Totes branded products include umbrellas, rubber footwear, ponchos, rain hats, and travel bags. Several licensed gift and boot products also carry the totes brand name. Mostly known for private label footwear, ESNY, now part of Totes Isotoner, is associated with branded products such as flip-flops, sandals, and ESNY Occasions wedding footwear. Totes Isotoner and ESNY branded products are carried by most national retailers in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Totes Isotoner itself has several sub-brands, including Cirrus,Totes Cirrus - Trademark Details. Retrieved on 14 May 2020. SolBounce, Zenztotes®-Isotoner Launches New Summer Footwear Line, "totes Sol Bounce" Made with Everywear™ Technology. Retrieved on 14 May 2020. and Toasties.The Leaf Chronicle (Clarksville, Tennessee) 1 November 1988, p. 78.
History Totes Isotoner traces its roots back to the Roll-O-Radio Company, a mail-order radio kit supplier, which was incorporated in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1924.Roll-o-Radio Company. Retrieved on 18 May 2020. In 1931, Roll-O-Radio Co. became "Perfect Manufacturing Company (Inc.)",Perfect Manufacturing Company. Retrieved on 18 May 2020. whose So-Lo Works in Oakley, Ohio, developed a popular shoe-resoling product. Perfect Manufacturing Company moved to Loveland, Ohio, in 1942 with a name change to "So-Lo Works, Incorporated".So-Lo Works, Incorporated. Retrieved on 18 May 2020. From the mid-1940s to the late 1950s, company president Joe J. Marx designed, manufactured and marketed his successful "totes" line of foldable waterproof apparel, starting with "totes" women's slip-on overshoes for rainy days and culminating in Skooba-"totes" full-length dry exposure suits for diving and water-skiing. Bradford E. Phillips purchased So-Lo Works Inc. in 1961, renamed the company "Totes Incorporated" in 1965"Totes" Incorporated. Retrieved on 18 May 2020. and included "totes" collapsible umbrellas in the firm's repertoire in 1970,Betsy Harris: "'American dream' found in packable, Tote-along boots", The Indianapolis Star 22 July 1984, p.7. By the mid-1980s, Totes Inc. had become the world's largest supplier of such umbrellas.Frank Whelan: "Umbrellas Get No Respect", The Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania) 14 April 1986, p. D1-D2. In 1994, Phillips sold Totes Inc. to Boston investment firm Bain Capital.Totes is Bought By Boston Investment Firm. New York Times, June 28, 1994
In 1997, Totes Inc. merged with ARIS»ISOTONER Incorporated, a producer of leather gloves.Totes To Buy A Majority Interest In Aris Isotoner. New York Times, June 6, 1997 Aris Isotoner traced its roots to 1918, when French glovemaker Paul Chanut and American glove reseller Larry Stanton founded the Aris Glove Company,Isotoner history. Retrieved on 9 May 2020, developing the first stretchable nylon glove with leather coverings and naming their design "ISOTONER" (a portmanteau of "isometric" and "toning") to highlight the glove's selling points. The American Sara Lee Corporation purchased Aris in 1974, changing the firm's name to Aris Isotoner. After the 1997 merger, the successor company was named "Totes Isotoner Corporation" to showcase the respective flagship products of Totes Inc. and Aris Isotoner.Totes Isotoner formerly Totes Incorporated. Retrieved om 18 May 2020. In 2001, Bain Capital sold Totes Isotoner to private equity fund Swander Pace Capital,"Fund acquires Totes-Isotoner", The Cincinnati Enquirer 3 July 2001, p. 15. which resold it in 2007 to MidOcean Partners. In 2014, Totes Isotoner was acquired by Investcorp and Freeman Spogli & Co.MidOcean announces agreement to sell Totes Isotoner Corporation. Retrieved on 11 May 2020. Thus far in the new millennium, Totes Isotoner has increased its product range, overseas presence and monetary value. 1920s The Roll-O-Radio Co. was incorporated on 9 April 1924 as a new business in Cincinnati, Ohio, with premises on Pearl and Race Streets in 1925 and on Third and Sycamore Streets from 1926 to 1930.Roll-o-Radio Company. Retrieved on 18 May 2020.Totes Isotoner Corporation. Retrieved on 2 May 2020.Dun & Bradstreet: Comprehensive Report: TOTES ISOTONER CORPORATION. August 7, 2000, p. 11 of 14]. Retrieved on 2 May 2020. As its name suggests, the company specialized in selling radio kits, including crystal sets and power supplies.The Cincinnati Enquirer 18 January 1925, p. 113.Daily News (New York, New York) 29 August 1926, p. 5.Daily News (New York, New York) 23 February 1930, p. 252.
1930s On 1 June 1931, Roll-O-Radio Co. changed its name by charter amendment to "Perfect Manufacturing Company (Inc.)".Perfect Manufacturing Company. Retrieved on 18 May 2020.Dun & Bradstreet: Comprehensive Report: TOTES ISOTONER CORPORATION. August 7, 2000, p. 11 of 14]. Retrieved on 2 May 2020. After their Marx-Flarsheim advertising agency merged with the Archer Company in Cincinnati, president Joe J. Marx and treasurer Henry B. Flarsheim entered the manufacturing business with Roland R. Bollman of the Perfect Manufacturing Company in Cincinnati."Ad agencies merge", The Cincinnati Enquirer 3 May 1931, p. 50. Both Flarsheim and Bollman retired in 1935, when Marx, president, purchased the entire stock of the Perfect Manufacturing Company, which was then based in Oakley, Ohio."Officers buy stock", The Cincinnati Enquirer 19 December 1935, p. 19. The firm’s So-Lo Works division made a rubber salve for resoling worn-out shoes during the Great Depression."SO-LO", Popular Mechanics Vol. 63 No 3 (March 1935), p. 51a. Retrieved on 18 July 2020. The advertising slogan "Millions now use SO-LO to fix shoes for as low as 1¢ a repair" hinted at the name’s possible origin.
1940s In 1941, the So-Lo Works division acquires a one-story factory building at Twightwee near the Little Miami River in Loveland, Ohio, from the former occupant, the George E. Smith Company, candy manufacturer.The Cincinnati Enquirer 14 December 1941, p. 49. 1 June 1943 sees a change of name by charter amendment to "So-Lo Works, Incorporated".So-Lo Works, Incorporated. Retrieved on 18 May 2020.Dun & Bradstreet: Comprehensive Report: TOTES ISOTONER CORPORATION. August 7, 2000, p. 11 of 14]. Retrieved on 2 May 2020. During the Second World War, the US Government contracts So-Lo Works to manufacture military supplies including shoe dubbing and canned food in the new premises."GI Shoes Given Longer Life By Product of So-Lo Works -- Other Items Produced", The Cincinnati Enquirer 29 October 1944, p. 29. The firm continues to serve the country’s civilian population through output of “make-do and mend” household repair products."Repairing", The Cincinnati Enquirer 5 March 1944, p. 54. So-Lo Works boosts morale and productivity by engaging all workers in management decision-making and by developing welfare and recreational facilities."So-Lo Works Does Quick Reconverting Job; Many Surplus Items Turned To Civilian Use", The Cincinnati Enquirer 24 September 1945, p. 22.
After the Allied victory in 1945, So-Lo Works quickly reconverts to civilian production with a reduced workforce."So-Lo Works Does Quick Reconverting Job; Many Surplus Items Turned To Civilian Use", The Cincinnati Enquirer 24 September 1945, p. 22. By a change in patterns, rubber protectors for anti-aircraft gun handles convert to women’s slip-on overshoes. In 1949, this very line leads to the development of tough, lightweight, foldable, stretchy latex-rubber overshoes called “totes” (slogan: “tote ‘em in your pocket”)."New Overshoe Lends Wings To Your Feet", The Atlanta Constitution 2 March 1949, p. 14. So-Lo “totes” soon lead a market previously dominated by the major rubber manufacturers’ bulkier winter boots. Between 1945 and 1954, the firm’s prototypes earn six patents and registered designs.J. J. Marx et al. (1945): Des. 140822: Design for a toe rubber. Retrieved on 10 May 2020. J. J. Marx (1949): Des. 154501: Design for an overshoe. Retrieved on 10 May 2020. J. J. Marx (1949): Des. 154502: Design for a boot. Retrieved on 10 May 2020. J. J. Marx et al. (1952): US patent 2617208: Rubber footwear. Retrieved on 10 May 2020. B. A. Hausfeld et al. (1953): Des. 170054: Woman's overshoe. Retrieved on 10 May 2020. J. J. Marx (1954): US patent 2669035: Lightweight boot having constricting tie. Retrieved on 10 May 2020. Ever the showman, company president Marx promotes his “totes” at any sales opportunity. In 1949, reportedly, the company makes 24,000 pairs per week and cannot fulfill all its orders."Joe Marx Scores Again", The Cincinnati Enquirer 20 March 1949, p. 71.
1950s
In 1950, So-Lo Works Incorporated vice-president Fred R. Heckman dies and the firm’s name changes to So-Lo Marx Rubber Co. of Loveland, Ohio."Fred R. Heckman", The Cincinnati Enquirer 5 April 1950, p. 21. Later the same year, the company invites parents to submit snapshots of their children putting on their "totes" for use in national advertising."Wanted....snapshots of your children to be used in national advertising", Dayton Daily News 15 October 1950, p. 29. During the 1950s, the "totes" product family expands. The "world’s lightest" Hip-"totes" thigh-length fishing waders appear in 1955,"Things From Here and There", The Index-Journal 7 May 1955, p. 3. while 1956 sees the introduction of Trouser-"totes", tough lightweight leggings for deer hunters."New Red Totes", Hagerstown Daily Mail 24 September 1956, p. 8. The firm markets the "world’s finest" Skooba-"totes" dry suitsSo-Lo Marx Skooba-"totes" Suits. Retrieved on 2 October 2020. a year after a high-school student and a sporting-goods sales clerk trial the prototypes in the nearby Little Miami River early in 1957."'Monsters from the deep", The Billings Gazette (Montana), 21 March 1957, p. 11."Now To Introduce the World's Finest Dry Suit", Skin Diver April 1958, p. 5. Divers and water skiers alike welcome these low-cost full-length seamless exposure suits, which enable them to operate all year round."Buster McCalla", The Sarasota Times-Herald 17 February 1959, p. 12. 1960s In the early 1960s, Skooba-“totes” dry suits not only prove popular across the US with divers, water skiers and now cavers,Netherworld News March 1961, p. 49-51. but also find favor with their counterparts in Australia,Australian Skindivers Magazine June/July 1961, p. 24. Canada,Historical Diving Society - Canada: Etoile de Mer. Retrieved on 8 May 2020. Denmark,Sven Erik Jørgensen: (2015) "Træk fra tørdragtens udvikling", Dykkehistorisk Tidsskrift No. 56, pp. 4-17.. Retrieved on 15 March 2021. Finland,Urheilusukettaja No. 7 1961. FranceL’aventure sous-marine October-November 1962. No. 41. and the United Kingdom.Triton January/February 1960, p. 29. In November 1961, Bradford E. Phillips, a Western Felt Works sales representative for industrial rubber and textiles, acquires 100% of So-Lo Marx’s outstanding capital stock. He continues as the sole stockholder until June 1994. Marx remains on the board until he retires to Sarasota, Florida, where he passes away, aged 70, in December 1967.The Tampa Tribune 18 December 1967, p. 40.