Gillette Case Presentation | Strategic Marketing Project

1. :Why
Innovation May
Not Be Enough?
Group 12:
Gautami Pati (UM15020)
Pratyusha Dash (UM15034)
Priya Ranjan Mohanty (UM15036)
Swastik Panigrahi (UM15052)

2. Case facts
 Founded by King Camp Gillette in 1901 as a Safety Razor maker.
 Initial Product: A razor with Safe, Inexpensive & Disposable blade.
 In 2005 Proctor & Gamble took over Gillette for 57 Bn. USD.
 Market: Monopoly market till 1962. Now 69% Market share.
 Competition: When Wilkinson Sword Schick Company introduced stainless
steel blade, market share of gillete dropped to 49% for some time.
 Gillette is known to introduce innovative products periodically which are
better than their ancestor products.
 To increase their revenue and product offerings Gillette now focuses on
complete shower experience rather than only razors.

3. Product Innovation

4. Product Innovation

5. • Gillette continuously invaded the market of its own products.
Gillette kept on innovating and killing the market of its
previous products, even though there wasn’t too much
pressure from the competition to innovate.
• While they were touted as innovative, they were also
"cannibalizing" their own successful products repeatedly.
• While their new inventions drove up their sales, it often took
away from the sales of its previous products and did not
increase their market share to the desired levels.
Has Gillette been a victim of its
own success?

6. Has product innovation in the wet-
shaving market come to an end ?
• Innovation is an idea, practice or object
that is perceived to be new by an
individual.
• In this case Gillette has done nothing new,
but add to the number of blades.
• Hence, they should now:
 Improve upon the current products
 Enhance brand loyalty and the brand
as a whole
 Developing Complementary Products

7. The Razor Wars
› Cannibalized its own successful products
› Internal competition heated up as a result of the
strategy of topping their own products
› A new and threatening competitor: Schick and the
Quattro-the world’s first four bladed razor came into
the market

8. The Razor Wars
› Gillette and Quattro argued with each other for
illegally using “progressive geometry” technology and
misleading slogans by Gillette
› Schick’s razors led to fall in Gillette’s market share.
› In 2006, Gillette made a comeback with the Fusion, a
5+1 blade razor.
› With some initial success, it eventually faced a
downfall because of high price and lack of added
benefits of the 5 bladed razor over Mach3

9. The Razor Wars
Online Competitors
› Some major competitors emerged in the online market
› Companies like Dollar Shave Club, 800Razors LLC,
Harry’s Razor Co. etc. used online marketing and price
differentiation to attract consumers
› With the high cost of Gillette razor and its cartridges,
customer's started moving towards these market
players where the value proposition for a shave is
almost equal to Gillette but the prices are
comparatively very low.
› Companies focusing on online selling are perceived to
be less in product quality and price, rather their focus
is more on service quality and ease of use for the
customer

10. › Marketing plays an important role and Gillette’s marketing
strategies are more successful than Schick’s
› Gillette has a chain of innovative products because of huge R & D
investment which gives it a competitive advantage over Schick
› Good product quality and loyal customer base accompanied with
global presence makes Gillette a powerful company to counter any
significant move by the competitors
› In response to the recent change in consumer preferences and
buying behavior, Gillette also launched its ecommerce initiative to
offer its shaving products online
Does Gillette face a serious
threat from competitive inroads?

11. › 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 scared about its
Pricing Strategy?

12. : Ways to goahead

13. Manscaping: Body
Razors
With the increasing
acceptance of facial hair,
Gillette could promote its
existing range of Body
Razors
Venus
Since Gillette is a
masculine brand, it can
promote Venus to
encourage women to use
razors, alongside
communicating the
benefits of the same to get
rid of the reservations
Acquisition of
Organic Brands
The Indian brand, Uustra,
introduced organic shaving
products, creams, oils for
the beard and moustache.
Gillette could plan on
acquiring these brands
Offers with
introduction of
new technology
When the 5 blade Fusion
was introduced, the Mach
3 handle became obsolete.
An attractive discount
could be offered for the
exchange of
handles/razors
Blade Longevity
over cost-addition
features
Research suggests
customers prefer blade
longevity and price over
other fancy features.
Gillette should thus focus
on value additon rather
than cost addition
Endoresment by
Professional
Characters
Since office-goers shave
often, they could use an
iconic character such as
Harvey Specter (Suits) to
endorse Gillette products
: Ways to go ahead

14. : Ways to go ahead
Gillette Shave Club
As a direct
competition to
Dollar ShaveClub,
Gillette introduced
this. They should
promote it strongly
among people
willing for
subscriptions. This
gives them a scope
for Customer
Relationship
Marketing
Seasonal Discounts
Research suggests
season acts as a
deterrent for
shaving. During off-
peak seasons,
promotions and
discounts could help
move sales. (Esp
during No-Shave
November and Don’t
Shave December)

15. THANKS!
Any questions?