From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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. 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 washing machines. Initially, the product and the company were successful. On the back of a heavy advertising campaign, 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. In 1962, Rolls 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. The company went bankrupt in 1964, spurred on by a reputation for an unreliable product. 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 practises and, indeed, his honesty.

• 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 decision called Barclays Bank Ltd v Quistclose Investments. This was a landmark case which created the Quistclose trust.

• Advertisements and brochures for Rolls Razor and Colston products
• Article from Time magazine dated 13 October 1961