Gillete Case Study
MARKETING MANAGEMENT
GILLETTE CASE STUDY
15 March 2013
MY INITIAL RESEARCH
Before I embarked on the group work, I did extensive research on the history and functioning of Gillette, with particular emphasis on their association with the world of sport and their branding. This was to give me a good background and understanding of the task in hand. The information I gathered is detailed below:
Gillette’s History
Shaving is a concept which began around 5000 years ago with the invention of the copper razor, and was indeed greatly encouraged firstly in ancient Egyptian culture and later by the Greek military leader Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC, when he declared men’s beards to be a disadvantage in hand-to-hand military combat. Improvements in shaving technology have been constantly sought since those early days, but the first major advances took place in the 19th century which has become known as the “Golden Era” of the straight edge razor. During that time, visits by men to barbers for the careful trimming of moustaches and beards became commonplace, as did the use of “seven-day” and interchangeable blade-razor sets. The most significant date though is 15th November 1904 when King C. Gillette was granted a patent for his first safety razor which he invented in 1901, and which completely changed the process of shaving. The old straight edge razor no longer needed to be sharpened by the barber, instead being reduced in size and clamped onto a handle, with its increased ease of use resulting in fewer injuries, and the blade simply being replaced when it became too blunt.
Since that day, Gillette has been firmly established as one of the leaders in shaving technology, having been formed as a company by King C. Gillette with his famous credo “There is a better way to shave and we will find it”. This statement still applies in the 21st century, with recent innovations including their Trac II, Sensor, MACH3 and most recently their
GILLETTE CASE STUDY
15 March 2013
MY INITIAL RESEARCH
Before I embarked on the group work, I did extensive research on the history and functioning of Gillette, with particular emphasis on their association with the world of sport and their branding. This was to give me a good background and understanding of the task in hand. The information I gathered is detailed below:
Gillette’s History
Shaving is a concept which began around 5000 years ago with the invention of the copper razor, and was indeed greatly encouraged firstly in ancient Egyptian culture and later by the Greek military leader Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC, when he declared men’s beards to be a disadvantage in hand-to-hand military combat. Improvements in shaving technology have been constantly sought since those early days, but the first major advances took place in the 19th century which has become known as the “Golden Era” of the straight edge razor. During that time, visits by men to barbers for the careful trimming of moustaches and beards became commonplace, as did the use of “seven-day” and interchangeable blade-razor sets. The most significant date though is 15th November 1904 when King C. Gillette was granted a patent for his first safety razor which he invented in 1901, and which completely changed the process of shaving. The old straight edge razor no longer needed to be sharpened by the barber, instead being reduced in size and clamped onto a handle, with its increased ease of use resulting in fewer injuries, and the blade simply being replaced when it became too blunt.
Since that day, Gillette has been firmly established as one of the leaders in shaving technology, having been formed as a company by King C. Gillette with his famous credo “There is a better way to shave and we will find it”. This statement still applies in the 21st century, with recent innovations including their Trac II, Sensor, MACH3 and most recently their
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