Gillette introduces a five blade shaving system

The US$2 billion dollar shaving market was energized yesterday when market-leader Gillette announced it will introduce a five blade razor. Apart from being the first five blade razor, it is the world’s first razor to feature advanced technology on the front AND back of the blade cartridge. On the back of the cartridge is a Precision Trimmer blade enabling the approximately 40% of US males sporting some form of facial hair to tri, shape and shave under their nose. Though Gillette has approximately 70% of the global shaving market, Schick has been making inroads recently with a temporary injunction against false advertising claims by Gillette for its M3Power razor (currently the top selling razor in the U.S.), Gillette’s inability to legally prevent Schick selling its four blade razor by arguing that the patent it holds for three-bladed razors extends to four-bladed razors, and the news a fortnight ago that Schick would introduce a powered model of its four blade razor.

The shaving market

The Gillette Company was founded on shaving technology when King C. Gillette invented the safety razor with disposable blades in 1901. Though things were initially slow - in the first year of manufacture (1903), he sold just 51 razor sets and 168 blades - Gillette knew he was on the right track. The following year when he was granted the first U.S. patent on the safety razor, sales soared to 90,000 razors and 12 million blades.

In 1915, Gillette introduced the first women’s razor, Milady Décolletée, and though the “blue blade” was introduced in 1932 and the “Thin Blade” in 1938, the next major breakthrough was the post war introduction (1946) of the Gillette Blue Blade Dispenser, eliminating the need to unwrap blades.

In 1957 Gillette introduced an adjustable razor with three settings – for light, medium and heavy beards – and as the sixties dawned, the results of years of R&D began to reach market in the form of advanced blade materials. In 1960, the first Super Blue Blade featuring a silicone coating was introduced, then in 1963 the Gillette Super Stainless (a coated stainless steel blade) and finally in 1969, blades were coated with a platinum chromium coating designed to enhance corrosion resistance.

The first of the multi-blade systems was introduced in 1971 when Gillette debuted the Trac II, the first twin-blade shaving system, followed in 1976 by the first twin blade disposable razor for men. The pivoting head was introduced in 1977 , the lubricating strip in 1985 and in 1989 Gillette introduced the Sensor, the first razor with spring-mounted twin blades.

In 1998 Gillette introduced the MACH3 shaving system, the first triple-blade shaving system, and in 2004 added M3Power, the first micro-powered wet shaving system making it easier to shave more thoroughly with one easy power stroke.

But Schick was purchased by Energizer Holdings in 2003 and while Gillette celebrated a century of incredible technological leadership in forging the marketplace and indeed, changing the way males look, Schick immediately began applying the commercial blow-torch to the runaway market leader by introducing the four-bladed Quattro and beginning a series of well-documented legal skirmishes.

Schick will be adding a battery-powered Quattro to its lineup in the next few weeks, so the launch of Gillette's Fusion (that’s what it is called) in both manual and battery-powered models is clearly designed to take the wind from its competitor’s sales until it can deliver the five blader into stores early next year.

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