Well, Gillette US hasn't had a blade manufacturing line for 30 years now. Wouldn't make much sense to stand one up for such a low-demand product when Russia already has the capacity.
Is there a reason Gillette doesn’t sell DE blades in the US?
- Thread starter Journeyman Paul
- Start date
Well, Gillette US hasn't had a blade manufacturing line for 30 years now. Wouldn't make much sense to stand one up for such a low-demand product when Russia already has the capacity.
ERS4
My exploding razor knows secrets
Cartridges are P&G's global strategy.
I live in Taiwan, and Asian supermarket chains and drugstores only offer to buy cartridges.
Most people here use cartridges and electric shaving, de razor is just something from old movie to them.
Fortunately, since de blades are manufactured in many Asian countries, and many bakers use de blades as a tool for creating bread shapes, de blades can be purchased in some grocery stores or hardware stores.
Within a ten-minute walk of my residence, there are at least four places where you can buy gillette de blades.
I live in Taiwan, and Asian supermarket chains and drugstores only offer to buy cartridges.
Most people here use cartridges and electric shaving, de razor is just something from old movie to them.
Fortunately, since de blades are manufactured in many Asian countries, and many bakers use de blades as a tool for creating bread shapes, de blades can be purchased in some grocery stores or hardware stores.
Within a ten-minute walk of my residence, there are at least four places where you can buy gillette de blades.
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- Thread starter
- #23
I’m just surprised you don’t see them in stores for sale like you do the old cartridge blades like Mach 3 and Sensor
Many stores do carry them (of varying quality), and they are still cheaper than cart refills, but the brick and mortar stores have a higher overhead so cost of DE blades is more than what you will spend online, particularly if you buy in bulk, which you just cannot do at a store.
Chandu
I Waxed The Badger.
I think a lot of the non VDH are made by Personna and rebranded for Walgreens, CVS, etc. Generally high quality blades, just a lot pricier than if you were buying in bulk.
What everyone else said plus factor in shelf space. Shaving in general doesn't get a lot of space.....P&G/Gillette only gets so much of that....so, profit rules. We can get Wilkinson Sword from Germany in some drug stores here, but they are $5-10 for five blades! Otherwise, it's the local men's fragrance/shaving/kitchen knife/axe throwing store or bust.
if that the case I don't know why some people on forums claim these blades stink. Have never used them myself.
Personal choice, hair growth pattern, skin sensitivity, probably a lot of factors involved.
I've used those drug store branded personna blades and they work just fine for me. Not Gillette Spoiler grade, but very serviceable.
I've got a number of the dispensers in reserve.
The best part about those blades is the dispenser itself. Very few blade manufacturers are providing blades in a dispenser with a disposal slot on the back.
Good to know in case I need some in a pinch.
No and P&G has shown that they arent really committed to US production. Other than the most expensive Fusion carts, its all made in China nowdays anyways.
How many DE blades were sold in the U.S. each year BC - Before Cartridges?
From 1900 to 1970, the population ranged grew from about 100 million to 170 million, going from memory.
How many people used DE blades?
Most were men, but there were also a much smaller number of women almost from the beginning, who did not shave every day. Not everyone used a DE razor and some had beards.
Let's just take half of the 100 million = 50 million DE users.
There are 365 days in a year, so that is 18.25 billion shaves.
Let's assume that one blade lasted an average of six days. That's 3.04 billion blades used per year. Taking inflation into account, good blades were more expensive then, so that's a big market with lots of money to be made.
What's the market for DE blades in the U.S. now?
The population is 330 million, with half men = 165 million.
The vast majority of men use cartridges or electric razors, while many do not shave daily and some have beards. However, more women shave now. And some males are boys.
So I figure the population of men who shave with a blade is about 100 million. And of those, perhaps 1 percent use a DE razor.
That comes to 1 million men in the U.S. who use a DE razor.
That equals 365 million shaves per year.
If blades are good for an average of 6 shaves (which may be generous, as most contemporary blades do not last as long as the old ones), that comes to 61 million DE blades consumed per year.
How much do those blades cost? When purchased in 100s, they range from 4 cents to 40 cents, with 10 cents being about average.
That means the retail revenue market for DE blades in the United States comes to about $6 million - chump change to an international conglomerate.
Add in competition from the other oligopoly Edgewell, plus numerous independent blade manufacturers around the world with far lower labor costs, and you wonder why the shaving oligopoly P&G doesn't make DE blades in the U.S. or even try to sell them?
Most DE blades are sold online now, so we can only guess P&G's share of the market, unless someone asks one of our friendly razor and blade sellers. But if they have one-third of the market, that means P&G sells about $2 million DE blades in the U.S. each year retail, $1 million wholesale. That's not even a bookkeeper's rounding error of a rounding error.
On the bright side, there is still a robust market for DE blades elsewhere in the world. And the name "Gillette" still carries some cachet, particularly in countries like India, where status symbols are important, and some people are willing to pay extra for them.
Now contemplate the market for cartridge razors, and their high markup. Cartridge razors typically cost $1 each, and up -- though this area I only glance at from time to time. The sky's the limit on profit, when it comes to the American consumer's gullibility.
P&G's presumed attitude toward DE shavers brings to mind Goldfinger's contempt for James Bond, rubbing the mote from his eye as he dismisses 007's utter insignificance -- You are nothing!
However, the P&G marketing folks must have noticed the tiny trend curving back to DE shaving in the U.S., hence the sale of an over-priced DE razor (reminiscent of their prestige marketing of old; I'm surprised they didn't sell it in a faux silk lined wooden box) for the first time in decades.
If you were P&G, how much would you spend on advertising of DE blades in the U.S.?
From 1900 to 1970, the population ranged grew from about 100 million to 170 million, going from memory.
How many people used DE blades?
Most were men, but there were also a much smaller number of women almost from the beginning, who did not shave every day. Not everyone used a DE razor and some had beards.
Let's just take half of the 100 million = 50 million DE users.
There are 365 days in a year, so that is 18.25 billion shaves.
Let's assume that one blade lasted an average of six days. That's 3.04 billion blades used per year. Taking inflation into account, good blades were more expensive then, so that's a big market with lots of money to be made.
What's the market for DE blades in the U.S. now?
The population is 330 million, with half men = 165 million.
The vast majority of men use cartridges or electric razors, while many do not shave daily and some have beards. However, more women shave now. And some males are boys.
So I figure the population of men who shave with a blade is about 100 million. And of those, perhaps 1 percent use a DE razor.
That comes to 1 million men in the U.S. who use a DE razor.
That equals 365 million shaves per year.
If blades are good for an average of 6 shaves (which may be generous, as most contemporary blades do not last as long as the old ones), that comes to 61 million DE blades consumed per year.
How much do those blades cost? When purchased in 100s, they range from 4 cents to 40 cents, with 10 cents being about average.
That means the retail revenue market for DE blades in the United States comes to about $6 million - chump change to an international conglomerate.
Add in competition from the other oligopoly Edgewell, plus numerous independent blade manufacturers around the world with far lower labor costs, and you wonder why the shaving oligopoly P&G doesn't make DE blades in the U.S. or even try to sell them?
Most DE blades are sold online now, so we can only guess P&G's share of the market, unless someone asks one of our friendly razor and blade sellers. But if they have one-third of the market, that means P&G sells about $2 million DE blades in the U.S. each year retail, $1 million wholesale. That's not even a bookkeeper's rounding error of a rounding error.
On the bright side, there is still a robust market for DE blades elsewhere in the world. And the name "Gillette" still carries some cachet, particularly in countries like India, where status symbols are important, and some people are willing to pay extra for them.
Now contemplate the market for cartridge razors, and their high markup. Cartridge razors typically cost $1 each, and up -- though this area I only glance at from time to time. The sky's the limit on profit, when it comes to the American consumer's gullibility.
P&G's presumed attitude toward DE shavers brings to mind Goldfinger's contempt for James Bond, rubbing the mote from his eye as he dismisses 007's utter insignificance -- You are nothing!
However, the P&G marketing folks must have noticed the tiny trend curving back to DE shaving in the U.S., hence the sale of an over-priced DE razor (reminiscent of their prestige marketing of old; I'm surprised they didn't sell it in a faux silk lined wooden box) for the first time in decades.
If you were P&G, how much would you spend on advertising of DE blades in the U.S.?
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