Gillette and the Mens

Wet Shaving Market

Group 8
Section B
Subash P.B. ||| Swaroop Vijayakumar |

Gillette S(h)aving Men Since 1903

King C.Gillette invented the safety razor
systems in 1895
Permanent razor handle replaceable blade
systems
Huge invention Changed the way men
perceived shaving
Dominated the market

1932 Blue
Product Lines by Company Divisio
Concentrated onblade
Advertising and Distribution
6

nnovation at 1959-Super
the
Blue blade
Heart of Growth

1938-Thin blade

32

23

1962 Sterliton

1971 Trac2

28
1977- Atra

11

Safety Razor-61
Stationary-9
Cosmetics-14
Braun Products-13
Oral B-3

US Mens Shaving Market

US Mens
Shaving
Industry(100%)

Wet Shaving
Market (75%)

Permanent(56%
)

Dry Shaving
Market(25%)

Gillette(62%)

BIC(12.7%)

Wilkinson
Sword (4%)

Schick(16.2%)

Disposables(24
%)

Injectors(10%)

Permanent(54%
)

Disposable(25.
2%)

Injectors(21%)

Competitor Analysis

Leader in the Injection

shaving market controls
over 80% of the market
Late entrant in the
disposable shaving market
Entered with narrow headed
disposable razor Slim Twin
in 1988
67% of its revenues are
overseas mainly Europe
and Japan

Mainly concentrated in the

disposable market segment
Main Product BIC shaver
for sensitive skin
Core philosophy
maximum service,
minimum price
Planned to market only
single blade disposable
razors

Entered with Super Sword

edge blade with a steel
coating
Introduced Ultra Glide to
compete with Gillettes Atra
Plus priced at 5-8% lower
Competed head on with
Gillette in advertising
used comparative
advertisements

Current State Move Towards Disposables

The Shift
1980s: Consumers chose inexpensive disposable razors
Gillette helped to foster trend : Focus on price, not quality
Mainly preferred by the younger customers who do not perceive the
differences between the system and disposable blades

The Consequence

Disposable razor market increases by 60%

Loss of quality image, loss of profit
*Gillette taught consumers the best razor
was the cheapest one!

Situation Analysis
Sales of Atra blades have leveled off & Trac
II is declining
Less focus on advertising only what was
left over was spent on advertising
One half of advertising spent on Atra and
rest spent on Good News
Same themes for both system razors and
disposables Essence of Shaving
90% product based and 10% image based
advertising
Men over forty have strong connection with
Gillette
Strong connection between Gillette and
male image of shaving
Younger men prefer disposables feel all
razors are the same
Gillette logo does not give a masculine feel
Woman identify Gillette name with men

Options
No change . Watch yourself bleed
Buck the Trend- Go for the Kill

Is Disposables the Way Forward?

Disposables represent a
high volume business
The disposable shaver
segment is growing at a
fast rate

Therefore
focusing on
disposables will
lead to a
constant price
war, and may
also lead to
erosion of
Gillettes brand
equity

Every 1% change to disposables = $10m hit

One third of system razors margin
Costlier to manufacture
Commoditization Price war
Goes against the company philosophy of
innovation
Core competency is their R&D prowess to get
newer blades and razor systems

The disposables
was a short term
solution
Further focus on
creating low cost
low margin
products will
erode
profitability

Going the System Razor Way

Higher Margins for the products
In line with Gillettes core
philosophy of product innovation
Can leverage upon the brand
In line with Gillettes broader
strategy
Can focus all energies on the
launch of new system razor
product

May lose out on the increasing

disposable shaving category
a sizable chunk of the market

The Strategy Roadmap

Pre Launch

Strategy

Rationale

Move towards a global strategy

Pan European success of Contour Plus; Universal

high quality product; a shave is a shave
everywhere.

Move from product based to image based advertising; Initial

marketing efforts should focus on the brand rather than
product - Focus on an ultimate shaving experience for
Gillette razors

Revitalizing the brand name; focusing on a pull

strategy the brand should sell

Go for High Exposure advertising across Europe & US

focusing on Gillettes core competency

Bringing the brand into focus and setting the

stage for launch of new razor system.

Pull the plug on advertising for Disposables Good News;

instead create a new disposable brand for women

Goes with the overall strategy of weaning away

the customers from disposables to high end
razors

Positioning
Position Gillette as a revolution in shaving & one the provides an much superior
shaving experience on the whole compared to disposable razors; one which gives
supreme confidence and happiness
Statement : Gillette Differentiates Men from the Boys

Pre Launch Television Commercial

Essence
The main aim of the TVC would be to bring the
brand into focus and associate it with all facets
of a mans life

Storyboard

With a catchy jingle & booming background music,

show clean shaven men exceling in various spheres
of life sports, business and also in various roles as
a father, friend, husband and bridegroom etc. At last,
there is a showing a system razor with a voice over
mentioning its benefit & mentioning the positioning
statement

rategy Roadmap Launch Stage : Gillette Stimulus

Marketing Mix

Stimulu
s

Positioning
Position Gillette Stimulus as one that has a state of the art shaving system &
provides a clean shave due to its product features
Statement : Gillette Stimulus The closest shave a man can get

Gillette The Best a man can get

Thank You for listening