Award-winning entrepreneur Monica Nassif to discuss how she built a luxury brand in household cleaning
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL ( 5/6/2008 )--Monica Nassif, president and founder of the Caldrea Company, will speak at the Carlson School of Management’s First Tuesday Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 3, at the University of Minnesota’s McNamara Alumni Center, 200 Oak St. S.E., Minneapolis.
In her speech, “Dirt is Always in Style: Building and Selling a Luxury Brand in Household Cleaning,” Nassif will discuss her experience developing and growing the Minneapolis-based Caldrea Company and its distinctive products that include household cleansers, premium cleaning tools and gifts.
She also will talk about her role in selling the Caldrea Company to S.C. Johnson & Son Inc., which recently announced it would add the Caldrea and Mrs. Meyer’s brands to its lineup of products. S.C. Johnson is part of the Johnson Family Enterprises which generates annual sales of more than $11 billion.
Under Nassif’s leadership, the Caldrea Company has expanded its distribution to more than 5,000 stores and the Internet through three major brand strategies: Caldrea, an upscale brand for high-end specialty gift, gourmet and home furnishings stores; Mrs. Meyers’ Clean Day, a premium mass brand for grocery, hardware and mass markets; and private-label products for leading home and culinary retailers in the U.S. and the United Kingdom. The Caldrea Company’s products are known for making household chores more enjoyable through superior freshness, fragrance and cleaning performance.
Since launching the Caldrea Company in December 1999, Nassif has earned national recognition for her business success including the Ernst & Young Retail Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2003 and Good Housekeeping’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2003. Nassif was named one of “30 People to Watch in 2003” by Twin Cities Business magazine.
Prior to founding the Caldrea Company, Nassif served for more than 18 years as a brand-builder for leading retailers and consumer product companies. She serves on the Minnesota Advisory Board of M&I Bank, the Undergraduate Business Advisory Board for the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management and the Minnesota Women’s Economic Roundtable. Nassif is the author of two books, “Spring Cleaning” and “Laundry.”
The advance registration deadline is Thursday, May 29. A fee of $28 includes lunch and parking in the Washington Avenue Ramp. The fee for walk-ins is $35, but space is limited. Refund cancellations are required by Friday, May 30. There are three ways to register: call 612-626-9634, visit www.carlsonschool.umn.edu/events or send an e-mail to firsttuesday@umn.edu .
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