( Mental Floss ) -- Some companies find their niche and stick to it . Others , though , have to adapt to changing markets in order to thrive . Here 's a look at some companies that switched industries at some point in their histories , usually for the better . Tiffany 's may know how to prettily wrap jewelry because the company began in the paper business . 1 . Avon . David H. McConnell started Avon in 1886 without really meaning to . McConnell sold books door-to-door , but to lure in female customers he offered little gifts of perfume . Before long , the perfume McConnell was giving away had become more popular than the books he was selling , so he shifted focus and founded the California Perfume Company , which later became Avon . 2 . Nokia . The telecom giant got its start in Finland in 1865 , when Fredrik Idestam opened a pulp mill and started making paper on the banks of Tammerkoski . The company later bounced around a number of industries before getting serious about phones in the 1960s . 3 . 3M . When the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company 's founders opened their business in Two Harbors , Minnesota , in 1902 , they were n't selling Post-It Notes . The partners originally planned to sell the mineral corundum , an important ingredient in building grinding wheels , directly to manufacturers . 4 . Berkshire Hathaway . The sprawling holding company helmed by Warren Buffett was originally a textile manufacturer that took off in 1839 . Buffett took control in 1962 , though , and by 1967 he started to move outside of textiles into insurance and other sectors . Mental Floss : Ginsu Knives , Dairy Queen and what else Warren Buffett owns . 5 . Wrigley . Like Avon , the chewing gum company got its start with a popular freebie . William Wrigley , Jr. founded the company in 1891 with the goal of selling soap and baking powder . He offered chewing gum as an enticement to his customers , and eventually the customers did n't care about the baking powder ; they only wanted the gum . 6 . Tiffany & Co . The jewelry and silverware hot bed was originally a stationer called Tiffany , Young , and Ellis when it started in 1837 . In 1853 Tiffany switched its core business and began focusing on jewelry . 7 . Coleco . The defunct electronics corporation actually began as a leather goods company in Connecticut in 1932 . In the early days it was known as the Connecticut Leather Company , which was later shortened to `` Coleco . '' 8 . Hasbro . The company behind Transformers and G.I . Joes began in 1923 as Hassenfeld Brothers . The titular brothers did n't make toys , though ; they sold textile remnants . Their business gradually shifted into school supplies before making the leap to toys after the 1952 introduction of Mr . Potato Head . Mental Floss : How 10 classic toys were invented . 9 . Raytheon . The defense contractor started up in 1922 as the American Appliance Company , which worked on refrigeration technology . Eventually the company branched out into other areas of electronics and became Raytheon in 1925 . 10. Colgate . The hygienic products company got its start in 1806 , but it did n't make its first toothpaste until 1873 . Founder William Colgate initially manufactured soap , candles , and starch . 11 . Xerox . When Xerox got off the ground in 1906 , it was as a maker of photographic paper and photography equipment called the Haloid Company . The company did n't introduce what we would think of as a copier until the Xerox 914 made its debut in 1959 . 12 . John Deere . The man behind the giant fleet of green tractors got his start as a blacksmith in Grand Detour , Illinois . After struggling to make plows that could cut through the area 's tough clay , Deere hit on the idea of building plows out of cast steel , and his blacksmith gig gave way to a booming farm-supply business . 13 . Reading Entertainment . Remember the Reading Railroad from the last time you played Monopoly ? The company still ( sort of ) exists ! The Reading Company got out of the railroad business in 1976 but was reborn as Reading Entertainment , which operates movie theaters mainly in Australia , New Zealand , and the U.S . Mental Floss : 11 things Wal-Mart has banned . 14 . Abercrombie & Fitch . When David Abercrombie founded the clothing store in 1892 in New York City , he was n't dreaming of clothing high school and college students everywhere . The store was originally a sporting goods shop and outfitter ; Abercrombie even outfitted Charles Lindbergh for his famous flight across the Atlantic . The version Abercrombie & Fitch you see in your local mall started to come about after Limited Brands bought the company in 1988 . For more mental_floss articles , visit mentalfloss.com . Entire contents of this article copyright , Mental Floss LLC . All rights reserved .
Many famous companies developed industries or at least products . Wrigley 's first bubbles came from gum , but gave gum away to customers . Telecom giant Bell began with a pulp plant to make paper . Hasbro started with toys , moved into school supplies then into toys .