Jerry Cole and John Parmer founded Cole-Parmer in 1955 and took up shop in a loft on West Illinois Street in downtown Chicago. One of the largest contributions Cole-Parmer made to the industry was in marketing and advertising. The Cole-Parmer catalog was the first in 4-color at a time; when most catalogs were still black and white. This change made the business an industry leader within the direct mailbusiness model. The company’s steady growth allowed Cole-Parmer to expand to a location in 1960, and to a facility eight years later. That same year, Cole-Parmer acquired Masterflex peristaltic pumps, followed shortly by the purchases of Gilmont Instruments and Manostat Pumps. They were acquired by Fisher Scientific, now Thermo-Fisher Scientific, in 2001. On July 17, 2014, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. agreed to sell one of its lab units, Cole-Parmer, to private-equity firm GTCR for $480 million in cash. The company has previously said its $13.6 billion acquisition of Life Technologies Corp. would allow it to cut costs while gaining from next-generation genetic-sequencing machines. It has also sought to expand in Asia-Pacific markets.
Business Model
Domestically, Cole-Parmer operates primarily as a business-to-business distributor. Demand is generated through the publication of an annual general catalog and a number of specialogs. Sales are conducted through inbound calls, direct internet transactions, and direct sales. In 2012 they began offering some products on Amazon.com. Internationally, Cole-Parmer distributes products through company owned offices in Montreal, Shanghai, St Neots, and Mumbai. The balance of international sales are through partnerships with independent dealers all over the globe. Additionally, sales are conducted through outside sales and Internet transactions.
Product Offering
Cole-Parmer offers a variety of consumable and durable products. Many of their products are related to fluid-handling or electrochemistry. Cole-Parmer also offers calibration and instrument repairs.
