How Gillette wants to kill DE Shaving...

[beyboo]

I am on a trip in a very small town in the South of India. This is a very small sleepy town without super markets or anything else. Almost everything here is a small agricultural plot with a 1 mile city center with a bus stand. This is the so called "Rural India" where DE Shaving is the routine. Go to a local store and asking for a Mach 3 cartridge draw strange looks.

On prominent display are the various DE blade offerings and there is intense competition between the various players. I picked up the Gillette Wilkinson DE Stainless blade tuck.

Opened it today morning to shave in the hot and nearly 80% humid climate.

This is what I find inside the wrapper...

 

[mikeypedone1]

Ahhhh they will never take us down.

 

[JimBow]

They will stop at nothing to destroy DE shaving, won't they? I mean, this is sad.

 

[lamina]

Magical India!! I wish...

Same marketing as '77 (i think...) when the Atra was introduced in US market...

Big big surprise about a Wilki' rebranded G' !!

 

[Greyfox]

And the wheel keeps on spinning.

 

[SavantStrike]

And the wheel keeps on spinning.

In the mud.

We all know Gillette has been pushing carts on a global scale, it's where they can make the most money. We just don't like to admit it.

 

[Confilo]

They are the same that are conspiring to take tallow away from shaving soap

 

[harleyfrog]

Ironic since it was King Gillette who first introduced the double-edge safety razor. Fortunately we have other blades from which to select. Long live DE!!!

 

[soapbox]

Higher profit margins on the cartridges = P&G wants to eliminate DE shaving. It's simple. You can't even argue that profitable DE production is good, since cartridges are more profitable than DE blades and razors.

DE blade production will have to be profitable for someone to do it, but as long as we're willing to pay for it, someone will be able to make a profit making DE blades. It might be Feathers and Merkurs and nothing else, but DE shaving will be around; it just won't matter to P&G's bottom line at that point. Right now, DE shaving--where it can be replaced by cartridge shaving--is viewed as a negative on their bottom line.

 

[Yushiro]

that is exactly what you will find inside of a Gillette Super Nacet DE (made in China for the Malaysian market) blade wrapper. *sigh*...to make things worse, the Super Nacet sucks big time.

 

[tam.audio]

So when the DE market "dies" and you can no longer purchase from your favorite local or online vendor will B&B start manufacturing?

 

[Bertilak]

So when the DE market "dies" and you can no longer purchase from your favorite local or online vendor will B&B start manufacturing?

No need. We can all switch to SE! I already have, but not because of this issue. Since there are other uses for SE blades besides shaving they might be around longer.

Actually, I have mostly switched to straights but can't get a good enough shave with them yet that I can rely on them completely. SEs to the rescue on days I need a BBS shave.

 

[kingfisher]

That's the exact same blade I used this morning, and last night when I loaded up my Tech that's the exact same wrapper I saw.



Pretty good blade, by the way.

 

[_JP_]

No need. We can all switch to SE! I already have, but not because of this issue. Since there are other uses for SE blades besides shaving they might be around longer.

Careful! Not all SE blades are suitable for shaving. Some are designed to be utility tools only.

 

[Bertilak]

Careful! Not all SE blades are suitable for shaving. Some are designed to be utility tools only.

Understood, but they will keep the basic manufacturing equipment in use. Also, not all non-shaving uses are just for paint scraping. There are scientific and medical uses that require just as sharp a blade.

 

[soapbox]

Understood, but they will keep the basic manufacturing equipment in use. Also, not all non-shaving uses are just for paint scraping. There are scientific and medical uses that require just as sharp a blade.

I posted a similar question on this thread: I wasn't sure which thread would be more appropriate for my post, so I'll cross-link rather than cross-post!

 

[beyboo]

A billion strong Indians ensure that DE Shaving continues well for a few generations. Even if Gillette does influence a couple of those numbers to the vector, the DE market is too big and it just cant call it quits.

Even if Gillette does the blunder, there are other DE manufacturers who will fill in the void for the demand of DE blades....

 

[Nancy Boy]

A billion strong Indians ensure that DE Shaving continues well for a few generations. Even if Gillette does influence a couple of those numbers to the vector, the DE market is too big and it just cant call it quits.

Even if Gillette does the blunder, there are other DE manufacturers who will fill in the void for the demand of DE blades....

I hope you're right. This is depressing news.

 

[Ru4scuba?]

Actually, I have mostly switched to straights but can't get a good enough shave with them yet that I can rely on them completely. SEs to the rescue on days I need a BBS shave.

Thinking about going this route myself Bob. Only been at the DE thing about five months from cartridges, so I'm going to give myself a year and have my wife buy my first quality str8 kit in the Fall/Christmas timeframe. By that time I'll be ready!

 

[htownmmm]

Higher profit margins on the cartridges = P&G wants to eliminate DE shaving. It's simple. You can't even argue that profitable DE production is good, since cartridges are more profitable than DE blades and razors.

DE blade production will have to be profitable for someone to do it, but as long as we're willing to pay for it, someone will be able to make a profit making DE blades. It might be Feathers and Merkurs and nothing else, but DE shaving will be around; it just won't matter to P&G's bottom line at that point. Right now, DE shaving--where it can be replaced by cartridge shaving--is viewed as a negative on their bottom line.

profit margins is what drives the market- not quality shaves.

that is exactly what you will find inside of a Gillette Super Nacet DE (made in China for the Malaysian market) blade wrapper. *sigh*...to make things worse, the Super Nacet sucks big time.

Do you think they would actually put a good de blade in the package if they can help it?


marty