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10-03-2010, 03:55 PM #1
Gillette's Latest Innovation in Razors: the 11-Cent Blade
Gillette's Latest Innovation in Razors: the 11-Cent Blade
by Ellen Byron
Friday, October 1, 2010
Gillette's newest shaving system has just one blade, a light plastic handle and a sharply lower price. And it isn't available in the U.S.
The Gillette Guard, the latest razor from the Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG - News) unit, instead will begin hitting stores in India next week.
The move by the maker of five-bladed, battery-powered gizmos reflects P&G's aggressive push into emerging markets for new customers and growth. That focus is forcing P&G to be more modest on scale and more flexible on price.
Gillette commands about 70% of the world's razor and blade sales, but it lags behind rivals in India and other developing markets, mainly because those consumers can't afford to buy its flagship products.
The stripped-down Gillette Guard is designed to be affordable. The razor costs 15 rupees, or 34 cents, and uses blades that cost five rupees, or 11 cents.
By contrast, the Mach 3 blades that Gillette has been selling in India cost about 100 rupees, around $2.24.
"The first job is to bring more consumers into Gillette," says Alberto Carvalho, P&G's vice president of male grooming in emerging markets. "When they start enjoying a better shave, they'll be more open to all solutions."
Gillette Guard is aiming to lure users of double-edge razors, about 400 million men in India, according to P&G estimates. In India, a brand called Super-Max holds the lead in double-edge blades, which cost roughly 1.5 to 2 rupees, which is half of the cost of even Gillette Guard.
Winning over low-income consumers in developing markets is crucial to the growth strategy of P&G's chief executive, Robert McDonald. Over the next five years, Mr. McDonald wants to boost the company's total customer base for its many products to five billion of the world's expected population of seven billion. Many of these new consumers will have to come from markets like India, where P&G has a small presence compared to Unilever PLC (NYSE: UN - News) and some other competitors.
The need to grow in emerging markets is pushing P&G to change its product-development strategy. In the past, P&G would sell basically the same premium Pampers diapers, Crest toothpaste or Olay moisturizers in developing countries, where only the wealthiest consumers could afford them. To reach more consumers, P&G changed course by creating pared-down products specifically designed to be less expensive, like Naturella's extra-absorbent, cotton feminine-hygiene pads and Downy Single Rinse fabric softener, which requires less water.
P&G uses what it calls reverse engineering. Rather than create an item and then assign a price to it—as in most developed markets—the company starts with what consumers can afford and then adjusts the features and manufacturing processes to meet the target.
For Gillette Guard, the target was five rupees, about the cost of shampoo sachets or small tubes of toothpaste. The price takes into account not only consumers but the kiosk owners who serve most shoppers in developing markets. The lower cost will encourage more small store owners to stock up on the item, P&G hopes.
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10-03-2010, 04:09 PM #2
WHY can't we get lower-priced razors here, prices on razor refills have exploded recently!
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10-03-2010, 04:16 PM #3
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These are real and no fake, I ship them over from Asia to Europe since they cost double over here in Europe:
Gillette Mach 3 (4-pack) $ 8.80:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.9299
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10-03-2010, 04:37 PM #4
i use the gillette single blade disposables and they work great. expensive razors are the biggest scam
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