Who owns gillette razor company

Also in Gillette launched another award-winning product, the Oral-B Indicator toothbrush, which had bristles that change color to show when a new toothbrush is needed. This popular feature was added to all Oral-B toothbrushes the following year. Significant new product introductions and a major acquisition highlighted The company announced the acquisition of Parker Pen Holdings Ltd. The addition of the Parker brand to Gillette's Paper Mate and Waterman brands moved the company into the top position worldwide in writing instruments.

About 2, jobs were eliminated as a result of the reorganization. Just four years after the debut of Sensor, Gillette in late launched in continental Europe and Canada its next-generation shaving system, SensorExcel, which promised even closer and more comfortable shaving based on its skin guard made of "five soft, flexible microfins.

Other and product introductions included Braun's FlavorSelect coffeemaker; the Oral-B Advantage toothbrush, which was designed to remove plaque better than other toothbrushes; and Custom Plus men's and women's disposable razors with pivoting heads.

Gillette returned to acquisition mode in and In late Oral-B's position in Latin America was bolstered with the purchase of the Pro oral care line. Near the end of the year Gillette acquired Thermoscan Inc. Thermoscan promised to provide a base for Gillette to expand into the rapidly growing personal home diagnostic products area. Gillette thus added its first major product line since the purchase of Oral-B; in fact, batteries immediately became the company's second-leading product line in terms of sales, trailing only razors and blades.

Duracell batteries had been underdistributed outside the United States, so Gillette planned to achieve sales growth by leveraging its existing marketing channels, which reached more than countries by the mids.

In the company also launched more than 20 new products, including SensorExcel for Women. That year, a whopping 41 percent of Gillette sales came from products that debuted during the previous five years, a testament to the company's new product development strength.

And an improvement on the SensorExcel was already in the works. Gillette introduced a significant innovation in shaving technology--the first major innovation in safety razors since the beginning of the s--with the Mach 3 in The new safety razor system introduced a third blade into the twin-blade system that had dominated the wet-shaving market for the previous quarter-century.

The blades were set at an angle so that each blade shaves closer to the skin, allowing shavers to use fewer strokes to get the same close, comfortable shave. The shaving cartridge was set on a pivot, allowing the head of the razor to move with the angle of the jaw and skin. In addition, the cartridge itself was designed to facilitate cleaning, and the handle was ergonomically designed to make the razor more comfortable in the hand. As a result, the corporation set the price for replacement cartridges about 35 percent more than its previous best-selling razor, the SensorExcel.

Marketing strategy was slanted to persuade current Gillette product users to trade up their previous equipment in favor of the newer, more expensive models because of their improved performance, offering a closer shave with fewer nicks and cuts. Despite or perhaps because of the expense of the expense of introducing the new razor, Gillette saw its worst economic performance in almost a decade in Sales during the third quarter of the year alone dropped 15 percent.

In October, Gillette management announced staff cuts of 4, jobs, about 11 percent of its total workforce. Lowered sales in key markets such as Brazil, Germany, and Russia also contributed to the loss of income, and share prices dropped by 11 percent virtually overnight. Gillette's underperformance continued in and , in large part because of currency-exchange differences. Its stationery and small-appliance businesses showed the greatest losses and the battery and toiletries businesses provided most of the profits.

Kilts, who joined the firm during its centennial year, in January Kilts, who had earned a reputation as a fixer of troubled companies, needed all his skills. Gillette's battery business, which had dominated the top of the market, lost market share to other brands Energizer and Rayovac that offered similar performance at a lower cost.

In addition the company lacked fiscal discipline and used an antiquated quarterly tracking system. As a result of these and other expensive practices, Gillette's earnings continued to perform below expectations. Stock prices fell by about 60 percent in the months between early and late Gillette's control of the toiletries market was threatened early in when rival Schick-Wilkinson Sword introduced the Quattro, the world's first four-blade shaving system.

Gillette claimed that the Quattro illegally infringed on Gillette's patents for the Mach 3. The violence of the company's reaction was explained in part because the Quattro actually increased Schick's market share from about 14 percent to about 17 percent. At the same time Gillette's market share slipped by a similar amount--although the Boston-based firm still held a commanding 63 percent of the total wet-razor market.

Although Gillette lost its attempt to ban sales of the Quattro in court, it nonetheless saw sales of its products increase. By the end of the first quarter of , Gillette was able to report a 43 percent increase in profits, much of which was provided by its mens' and womens' wet razors, the Mach 3 and Venus systems.

The company's grasp of its core businesses--toiletries and oral care--remained strong. While Colman M. Mockler served as CEO from to , the company was the target of three takeover attempts.

As a result of this merger, the Gillette Company no longer exists. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions. Before submitting a question, please visit Frequently Asked Questions. If you have something to share that would enrich our knowledge about this object, use the form below. After review, selected comments will appear on this page along with the name you provide. Please note that we generally cannot answer questions about the history, rarity, or value of your personal artifacts.

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Skip to main content. Gillette Blade. Gillette also sells Oral B dental care products. IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Politics Covid U. King C. Gillette's vision has inspired more than years of innovation to bring you the best shave in the world. Gillette has the revolutionary idea of disposable blades so thin and so strong they were deemed impossible to forge by MIT-trained scientists.

The first adjustable razor with three settings was introduced for light, medium, and heavy beards. Over time more settings were added, totaling nine.