Gillette - Why Innovation May Not Be Enough

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In 2003, Schick introduced the Quattro (a four-blade razor). Gillette and Quattro argued with each other for illegally using “progressive geometry” tech and “misleading slogans”, respectively. Schick’s razors led to fall in Gillette’s U.S. razor and blades market share. In 2006, Gillette made a comeback with the Fusion, a 5+1 blade razor.

Schick came and managed to take away some of the market share of Gillette with the introduction of the Quattro, but is extent of the damage by the “battle”.

With the high cost of Gillette razor and its cartridges, customer's started moving towards the other market players like Dollar Shave Club, razorwars.com etc. where the value proposition for a shave is almost equal to the Gillette but the prices are comparatively very low. Also, critics started questioning the advantage of the 5-bladed fusion over Mach3.

However, "the battle" wasn't good enough for Schick and neither for other competitors of Gillette as its continued innovations gave it a reputation of the best products in the market. All other players tried to make a dent in the market share of Gillette but not for long. Gillette decided to move from consumer’s need to their desire, unlike its competitors, and succeeded in expanding the reach of market share. Though it faced a lot of financial and sales concerns, but despite all concerns it continued to be successful.

3. What actions would you recommend over the next five years that could help Gillette maintain its worldwide dominance in the shaving market? What specific program decisions would you recommend? Should Gillette be worried about its pricing strategy?

With the help of secondary research, we’d present the summary of findings, based on which we would propose the way ahead for Gillette.

- Gillette holds a major market share in the shaving industry, which stands at close to 65%

- Most men aren’t concerned about the number of blades in the razor

- A majority of the men preferred a manual razor over the electric ones

- Subscription services, if at all growing, is growing at a slow pace, but will catch up and definitely pose a threat to the organization

- Facial hair is gaining more acceptances, which sees a decline in shaving, esp. during winters, noticeably November and December, for No-Shave November and Don’t Shave December to spread awareness of cancer.

- Body shaving is gaining popularity even if men aren’t happy to admit it

- 66% (approx) women prefer men with facial hair

We derived the following implications based on the findings above:

- Technology influences decisions for men under 40, while men above 40 didn’t seem to care much about technology or number of blades

- Cartridges are the main source of revenue, as many of the consumer do not repurchase handles

- Season and budget are reasons deterring people from shaving

- While men might be willing to shave body hair, they’re unwilling to talk about it.

We also found that Blade Longevity is an important feature on the razor, along with the price of the blades. Consumers therefore are willing to invest in a long lasting high quality product at a discounted price. Vibrating handle, power trimmers, precision edging blade are less important.

Based on all of that, we’d like to suggest the following course of action:

- Advertise and communicate Blade Longevity and Price

Gillette can communicate to its consumers how they can improve blade life. Also, instead of investing in the other less wanted features which add to the cost, they can improve the quality of the cartridges so that they last longer.

- Advertise Body Razors

Since facial hair is gaining acceptance, Gillette can emphasize on body razors and how men can use body razors, and focus on grooming. With metro-sexuality on the rise, and Gillette already having a product in the segment, they can promote it strongly.

- Introduce a segment for women with stronger communication

Women spend a huge amount on removal of body hair. If proper communication and advertisements could convince women to use razors, which wouldn’t harm their skin, their reservations would reduce, and this way “Depth of usage” could be increased.

- Use professionals as icons

Since Gillette uses mostly sports icons for endorsements, it could also try and bring in professionals, because office goers are primary users of razors.

Seasons, as we noticed, as a deterrent for shaving. Seasonal discounts, bundle discounts, and other price reduction offers are necessary in times where shaving is becoming a not-so-cool thing to do. Segmentation based pricing is another way to go about it. Men of all income groups go in for shaving. Therefore, based on their income, Gillette should price its products.

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