Gilette
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Just a few years ago, the Gillette Company, known for its brand recognition and market share in the shaving, oral care and portable power industries, celebrated it’s 100th anniversary. Production of superior products such as the Mach 3, Duracell battery and the Oral-B tooth brush, has allowed the company to achieve acknowledgement as a world leader in eight lines of products and industries. Gillette’s $9.2 billion operation began in 1901. King C. Gillette set out to sell his invention, the safety razor, a first mover in the industry. The razor was patented in 1904. The company recorded increasingly growing rates of sales of shavers and razors beginning in 1903. The one-room production process began expanding internationally to countries such as England and France. By 1920, Gillette operated on four different continents. Today, the company operates 51 factories in approximately 40 countries. Beginning in the 1950s, the Gillette Company began expanding their clientele by acquiring corporations in other industries. Paper Mate, Waterman and Park Pen holdings diversified the company in the writing instruments industry. Oral-B and Liquid Paper gave Gillette a share of the oral care business. Duracell, a battery company, was the last of their acquisitions in 1986. While many of the Gillette Company’s products have attained brand recognition, the company has been poorly managed causing the opposite of desired effect. The original mission of the company was to diversify throughout many industries and increase products lines. This has caused the corporation to decrease in net sales, the exact opposite of their original intent. Today, approximately 80 percent of sales and 90 percent of profits are obtained through the corporation’s three core industries in which they hold a dominant market share.
The shaving industry is one of Gillette’s dominant markets. The company holds 35 percent market share, second to Colgate who leads with a market share of 58 percent. Just 20 years ago, Gillette’s blades and razors outsold all competing brands in the most competitive market. Currently, Gillette is the market leader in the blade and razor segment along with women’s wet shaving market. Over the past decade and a half, the company has introduced innovative shavers such as the Sensor for Women shaving system, the Mach3 system and the Venus shaving system for women. As a result of the introduction of the Mach3, it has conquered more than 20 percent of