These all-American brands aren’t actually American

CNN
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US Steel was once the pride and joy of the United States and the most valuable company in the entire world. The 122-year-old company has agreed to be purchased by Japan’s Nippon Steel for $14.1 billion.

But this isn’t the first time an international company has bought a classic American brand. “All-American” companies like Jeep and Budweiser have some international flair, as do many other classic American brands. Here are some of the most famous examples:

Perhaps no company embodies America’s pioneering spirit better than General Electric. The company was founded by the legendary American inventor Thomas Edison.

But Americans who own a GE microwave or washing machine in their homes may not realize that GE’s century-old appliance division is owned by… From Haier Group, headquartered in Qingdao, China. Haier bought the division from General Electric for $5.6 billion in 2016, with GE’s business faltering and looking to raise cash to downsize. A mountain of debt.

Haier itself is a major appliance seller in the US, with its own products featured in US stores such as Home Depot and Lowe’s.

The red and white Budweiser cans and blue Bud Light cans are instantly recognizable to many Americans. Budweiser beeryCreated in the United States in 1879, Anheuser-Busch, named after the company’s founders, helped pioneer pasteurization technology that allowed beer to be shipped across the United States without spoiling. According to its website.

But the parent company is Budweiser It was received By the European alcohol group InBev in 2008, forming a new company: AB InBev, headquartered in Leuven, Belgium.

AB InBev also owns other popular beer brands such as Corona and Stella Artois.

The Whopper’s current home is Toronto, Canada – sort of.

The leading fast food chain was founded In Miami Founded in 1954, it has been part of the Canadian International Brands restaurant group for nearly a decade. RBI was formed in 2014 through the $12.5 billion merger between Burger King and Canada-based Tim Horton’s Coffee Shop. While RBI is headquartered in Toronto, Burger King remains headquartered in Miami.

Since its inception, RBI has acquired two of the most popular food brands: Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen and Firehouse Subs.

Thanks to its classic Slurpee and Big Gulp drinks, 7-Eleven is one of America’s most popular convenience store chains. More than 13,000 7-Eleven stores operate in the United States, making it one of the largest convenience store chains in the country. But there are more 7-Eleven stores in Japan, According to To the company. That’s because the corner store, Founded in 1927 In Texas, it is owned by Seven & I Holdings, a Japanese retailer based in Tokyo.

Seven & I officially became the sole owner of 7-Eleven in 2005, after Ito-Yokado, a unit of Seven & I, first bought a stake in the store in 1991.

California-based Trader Joe’s The brands themselves As a “national chain of neighborhood grocery stores.” But the grocery chain known for its private-label goods and competitive prices is owned by the same German family that founded another well-known grocery store: Aldi.

Aldi, founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, was split in half in the 1960s. Half of the Albrecht family owns Aldi Nord, while the other half owns Aldi Sud.

Trader Joe’s has been under the ownership of Aldi Nord since 1979, while Aldi-branded grocery stores in the US are owned by Aldi Sud, meaning there is no business relationship between the two chains.

Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge

The Jeep Wrangler was first introduced at the Chicago Auto Show in 1986, but its roots go back to World War II, when the US Army used an earlier version of it as a reconnaissance vehicle around battlefields. According to To pocket.

The iconic model, with its rugged design and off-road capabilities, has had enduring appeal in America. But Jeep and its brothers Chrysler and Dodge have been owned by European companies since 2014, when the Italian company Fiat acquired 100% ownership of the Chrysler Group. In 2021, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, as it was then called, merged with French manufacturer PSA Group, creating Stellantis.

The Amsterdam-based auto giant is now the world’s fourth-largest automaker by volume and part of the “Big Three” Detroit automakers in the United States.

Frigidaire refrigerator company is responsible for many firsts in America: according to To the companyHe is the inventor of the first free-standing refrigerator and the first home freezer ever, which he originally called the “ice cream cabinet.”

Frigidaire joins GE Appliances as a brand previously owned by General Electric. The refrigerator manufacturer was part of the group founded by Edison from 1919 to 1979. Brief ownership By White Consolidated Industries Frigidaire was purchased by Swedish multinational home appliance manufacturer Electrolux AB in 1986 – and has remained under its ownership ever since.

Ben and Jerry

Ben & Jerry’s is known for its exotic ice cream flavors with pun-filled names like “Cherry Garcia” and “Phish Food.” Ice cream company that was established It was created in 1978 by school friends Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield in a converted gas station in Vermont, which was acquired by British company Unilever in 2000. This meant the candy shared a home with consumer goods such as Ax Body Spray and Vaseline.

While many brands with international owners may seek to highlight their American roots, at least one of Ben & Jerry’s competitors has decided to take a different route. Häagen-Dazs was cooked by Polish immigrants Robin and Rose Matos in 1960 In Bronx, New York. The pair created a Danish name for the brand, likely adding an air of mystery to the ice cream makers’ origins in the decades that followed.