Technology Ruins Market for Gillette

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Technology Ruins Market for Gillette

Written by Scott Koegler

Sunday, 21 February 2010 19:08

fusion Ever have a great idea that you knew would change the world... or at least some portion of how the world works? I think that's what Gillette did with the Fusion razor. The brilliance of the disposable blade was always the mantra 'give away the razor and sell the blade." And my understanding is that the practice has worked for Gillette, and all the other blade manufacturers. That is, until the company added just one item that made the blades last too long.

You may have noticed the 'informational' advertisements from Gillette that explain the little blue stripe along the top of the blade side of the razor. That stripe contains some slow-dissolving lubricant that helps the blades glide along your face, and lessens the pull on the whiskers. It's a great thing, and in addition, as the material gets used up, it loses its blue color. If you couldn't tell from the increased pull of the razor on your skin, you could look at the strip and see if it was still blue. If it was just a white strip, this is an indication that the lubricant is used up... time to replace the blade.

That's all very nice, and it helps you to fork over another few dollars for a new blade. Actually, they run up to about $2 per blade. Of course a 'blade' is actually a shaving head with 6 blades in it). But here's Gillette's problem, and why we're seeing these ads informing us about the little blue stripe.

When Gillette added the battery and vibrator to the razor, creating the Fusion, it increased the life of the blade. It's now possible to use a Fusion blade long after the lubricant has been used up. This is because the vibrating motion makes the blade dance over your face, and cross-cut the whiskers. That means that the blades can be nearly dull before shaving becomes uncomfortable, and it's necessary to change the blade.

Anyhow, I like the feel ot the Fusion. I really don't mind spending the extra for the blades... even if it's more often than I really need to. But I can see from the increased ads from Gillette - not selling the razor, but imploring us to change our blades - that things didn't work out exactly as they might have planned. So much for innovation.