Can you ever imagine one of the big, old shaver companies manufacturing classic DE shavers again?

[Christoph]

Gillette. Schick. Bic. Wilkinson Sword. And there are a bunch of others.

Could you imagine one of these companies making a classic DE again?

I don't think it could possibly happen. I wouldn't bet on it, but you never know. You see oddities like this in the marketing world now and then. If, say, Gillette decided to make the Fatboy again with a few modern touches, they would probably go to an existing new DE maker for some help. It could be a tribute to Gillette, perhaps for an anniversary. They know there is some small market for these razors and it might be an interesting experiment for them.

Could this happen?

 

[John Rose]

I could see maybe a third party licensing a vintage design from Gillette and selling it. The patents are expired but they'd have to get Gillette's okay to stamp or etch the Gillette name on it, like on the later Tech caps, in order to make a convincing reproduction.
I doubt the original companies would do it themselves.
They're more likely to develop beard care products, under a different brand name.

...They know there is some small market for these razors and it might be an interesting experiment for them. ...

Clearly they know there's a market for the blades at least, because they still make them.

 

[santamariasteve]

In a word: No

 

[tube_guy]

Sure. It would be perfectly reasonable for a big company to create some less proftable competition for their most profitable products. They have our best interests in mind, after all, and I'm sure they want to work harder to save us some money.

 

[MntnMan62]

I agree with your statement that it's a small market for them. I know all of one person outside of my household who shaves with a double edge razor. Everyone else I know uses carts. And one guy even uses his wife's Venus, yes, on his face, because "it already has all the gel lubricants on the head." Eeeewwww. Nah, no market for double edge razors. It's only for small niche players or the ones we already have like Edwin Jagger, Merkur, Parker, Muhle, etc.

 

[ajkel64]

I'd like to see it but I doubt it very much.

 

[Billy T.]

Imagine? Yes. Actually happening? No.

 

[John Rose]

Sure. It would be perfectly reasonable for a big company to create some less proftable competition for their most profitable products.

Yeah, I don't think any of us is suffering under that delusion.
IF they did such a thing, it would be a deluxe signature anniversary model in a fancy display case - hermetically sealed, because you dare not open it and destroy the value to collectors. Collect all twelve.
And there's the non-optional daily blade subscription that goes with it.

 

[naughtilus]

Nope.

 

[MntnMan62]

Yeah, I don't think any of us is suffering under that delusion.
IF they did such a thing, it would be a deluxe signature anniversary model in a fancy display case - hermetically sealed, because you dare not open it and destroy the value to collectors. Collect all twelve.
And there's the non-optional daily blade subscription that goes with it.

And after a short run of exclusivity, they would start offering them as “prizes” in boxes of cereal.

 

[John Rose]

What about moving the centre alignment post 3 mm to one side? A whole new blade format with a minimum of re-tooling.

 

[Graydog]

Gillette made it's money selling blades
Not on the Razors. They even gave away
Razors , the "Goodwill" razor was free so you could purchase blades.

 

[Jim99]

We’ll never see a big razor manufacturer produce a new DE again.

It won’t happen.

 

[tube_guy]

Yeah, I don't think any of us is suffering under that delusion.
IF they did such a thing, it would be a deluxe signature anniversary model in a fancy display case - hermetically sealed, because you dare not open it and destroy the value to collectors. Collect all twelve.
And there's the non-optional daily blade subscription that goes with it.

Then they would have to make sure it shaves horribly, otherwise it would be worthwhile shaving with it. It would have to literally cut the user every time they tried to shave with it, just to scare people back to the products that make the profits.

 

[ackvil]

I can imagine it - but I don't believe it. I seem to recall that just about three years ago there was a rumor that Gillette was coming out with a "new" Tech razor. The excitement on B&B was amusing. 41 pages of posts showing advertising media, photos, and posters. However, after all was said and done - not one real razor was produced.

 

[SucKO]

The profit is in the carts/blades.

Silver Blues can found at $0.15 (US) per blade.
Actual Gillette Fusion Carts are at best $2.00 (US) per blade. At that price, they are likely counterfeit, but lets go with that price.

If Gillette cut their cart price to the consumer by 50%, they would still be making almost 10x the profit per cart then per blade.

As a company/corporation, Gillette or any similar sized company would be idiots to create a new DE/SE razor. Carts are where you make your profits.

Have a Great One!

 

[tonich]

No!

 

[AshleyC]

No. Not yet.

They have not been humbled to that extent yet. They are still under the misapprehension that their excrement isn't odiferous.

 

[PreachTheWord]

The profit is in the carts/blades.

Silver Blues can found at $0.15 (US) per blade.
Actual Gillette Fusion Carts are at best $2.00 (US) per blade. At that price, they are likely counterfeit, but lets go with that price.

If Gillette cut their cart price to the consumer by 50%, they would still be making almost 10x the profit per cart then per blade.

As a company/corporation, Gillette or any similar sized company would be idiots to create a new DE/SE razor. Carts are where you make your profits.

Have a Great One!

This!! The money is made on the cartridge refills. Multiple crappy blades mean that they need to be replaced more often at their exorbitant price. I get a month of shaves from a GSB and they are so cheap that there's not much profit in them.

 

[BigJ]

Nope! We are a niche market.

The Third World is the main market for traditional wet shaving. The large companies are trying to move Third World shavers to carts and disposables.