Energizer CEO: P&G is hurting the razor business

[alex2363]

This is fascinating news. What it shows is a company and strategy which may be peaking or have peaked. I suspect this is no surprise to Gillette -- they did sell themselves to P&G. I think for sometime now at least a few thought leaders within the company and industry have been wondering how long they can maintain the scam upon which their product strategy is based before enough consumers get mad as hell and aren't gonna take it anymore.

Gillette's growth is now tracking population growth, which is a rather small for any large company, especially consumer products. And, according to the report, this requires mammoth, saturation advertising. What Gillette seems to be doing is pushing to ever more complex (more blades! vibrators!) and expensive razors and cartridges, pushing cartridge prices up, and locking in customers by pushing them to save money by buying 8 cartridges at a time to save money. The natural response to rising price and long term investments is to extend the duration of each cartridge, which leads to an extended shave and skin quality decline throughout a longer period of each cartridges use.

The more people I talk to about shaving, the more instantly gripe about usurious prices, and crappier shaves, especially further along the life-time of each cartridge, etc. Then they say they must have sensitive skin. Really? Now rising numbers, seemingly the majority of American's have unusually sensitive skin, beyond the average, or even the mean? I suspect not. By definition, I'm sure it's not that their skin is out on the far end of the sensitivity bell curve as much as they fit squarely in the middle of guys whose skin is normally, naturally irritated by 5 blades, if not at first, then certainly by weeks 4-8 of each cartridge's use.

How not surprising then to see Gillette's latest products focus on sensitivity, with only 3 blades. Gillette's new products and growth seem to be coming from products designed to remedy/address the ills their previous/other products ARE CREATING! Gillette through saturation media and market domination is able to not only convince guys to shave with irritating ever more expensive cartridges, but believe that's the best solution available, and thus they push the cartridges to the point where they're messing up their faces. Guys increasingly seem to believe the fault is THEIR OWN, and so they've got to spend more money on premium priced 'sensitive skin' razors and products! From Gillette! no less, whose self-serving products and product and pricing strategies gave them 'sensitive' (irritated) skin' in the first place. It's like cigarette companies selling lite cigarettes to people who've been sensitized by smoking-induced emphysema to seek gentler cigarettes.

I don't know the source of the data for the shaving market, but if it has shrunk, does that mean people are shaving less, and thus simply not buying shaving products? Possibly -- facial hair is on a big upswing stylewise. But, I have a beard -- and I still buy lots of shaving products -- more than ever, now that I've joined B&B. And so do pretty much most guys I know with facial hair. Some buy even more products: shapers, an electric clipper plus shaving razor, mustache wax, etc. What this shaving market shrinkage may, in fact reveal is movement of the market AWAY from cartridge and electric razors, to traditional shaving: double edge, straight edge, and especially vintage and artisanal products, which are almost certainly NOT included (or vastly under-reported) on the shaving industry data cited in the article.

Gentlemen and ladies of B&B, WE in the traditional shaving movement are the vanguard -- we've taken the red pill! At least some are beginning to wake up and realize the scam -- it's called the traditional wet shaving movement -- and, to some degree, the no shaving movement: those who just trim with clippers (if they trim at all).

This could be significant information.

I will bet that Grey pushes Gillette/P&G into exploring more traditional shaving equipment. Grey has sophisticated market researchers, and fresh faces and voices will again suggest to Gillette growth strategies other than adding more blades, gimmicks, shave, skin and face destroying evil, sold with more mass media mind-control. That strategy seems increasingly exhausted. I suspect Grey will reinforce what must be at least a few young turks within Gillette and their market research agencies who must be suggesting Gillette attempt to actually provide better shaves and experiences. Look for these strategies to be explored in the next couple of years: They'll experiment with Art of Shaving and down/mid market offerings, hoping to gain more growth there. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Gillette or AOS or possibly a new brand come out with a retro themed shaving offering tied to a major media franchise: Mad Men or Boardwalk Empire or Great Gatsby, etc, etc, in an attempt to ride a nostalgia wave with a mass media push aided by a familiar and trusted (HA!) brand such as Gillette or Art of Shaving, possibly in the background. Possibly a retro-Gillette theme, utilizing ad materials from the first half of the 20th Century (You'll have your Gatsby New, Boardwalk Empire Tech, Mad Men Slim, etc). They'll have to make it a kind of up-market, style driven offering because chances are high they'll have no other genuinely shave-improving protected intellectual property (patents) to sell, so they'll have to sell style, fashion, retro-glamour hype to get premium prices for what will cost no more to produce (and will probably offer no better shave) than a kit consisting of Weishi razor and Van der Hagen brush and soap, plus, of course, Gillette DE blades. Perhaps, to protect the market, they'll slightly change blade specs, so that you can use ONLY new configuration blades with their razors, and of course they'll legally attack anyone who rips off their copyrighted blade designs (or possibly patented, and it will take years before our antiquated intellectual property law system ever gets to deciding that dubious patent's merit). They'll offer it to a college educated, mid to up-market, style sophisticate audience (hipster wannabes, not cutting edge style innovators, but second or third level followers) first, and use that to build buzz, validate the market strategy, build social acceptance, and then extend it downmarket to go broad and big. If you want to be cool and fashionable, then, you'll have your retro Gillette Tech or SuperSpeed or Fatboy, but somehow updated (actual vintage Gillette razors will be considered geek chic and/or outdated because they lack whatever patented secret snake-oil they're now pitching as their secret sauce, but which in fact exists primarily to protect market share by exploiting intellectual property law).

Then again, perhaps Gillette won't move that quickly or at all, and the lead could be taken by someone like Harry's or DollarShaveClub.

The question for all traditional wet shaving market players now is how to prepare themselves to survive and capitalize on that.

I'm sure major shaving products companies, advertising agencies, market researchers have someone at least monitoring B&B and its social media brethren, and probably using them for active research. I'd love to see of those with professional experience in the shaving industry, in market research, in financial markets discuss the business implications here on the site, or eat least point to other sources of shaving industry research. What do these numbers mean? What's their take on the shaving industry and market?

This is a great perspective, but in essence many users of Gillette razors just seem to go over the limit on terms of maximum shaves per razor. These Fusions are so expensive that they just want to get their money's worth and at the same time they over do it and the end result is irritation and nicks. I am pretty sure that anyone who is an experienced shaver would know the difference between a bad shave and a skin condition or reaction. The difference is a factor that Gillette may take advantage of through sophisticated market research, they know that the users of those hi-end razors will over do it and Gillette is always one step ahead.

I personally switched to Traditional Wet Shaving to save money. I did this when Gillette started raising the prices of carts in mid 2005. I joined the Straight Razor place and learn a lot from Mr.Lynn Abrams and the many fine members there. Most importantly I learned how to wet shave and save money. But not only save money, I also got a better shave result . I then joined B&B and I even got a better shave result and saved more money. In retrospect, Gillette had increased prices by an astronomical amount but it seems that the shave result is the same, just more blades and better advertising.
For me, that is psychological marketing geared to those who need a basic hygiene function. I am glad that I was able to avoid those psychological marketing gimmicks and joined this wonderful shave community. I feel part of a smart and elite group.