Gillette is at number 13 in the list of International brands. This Company is worth 22.8 billion dollars. It commands 70% market of blades and razors which also produced 'safety-blades' and 'safety-razors'.
Their story starts from 1901 onwards when King Camp Gillette established this Company. At the age of 21, King Gillette was a sales-man which he continued till 28. Once, in 1895, he was shaving with a blunt razor which gave him lot of problems. At that time he visualized about razor and blade. He decided to make a blade with very thin edges on both sides. He could prepare his first blade and razor in 1901 and started commercial production in 1903. Initially he could sell only 51 razors and 168 blades. In 1904, he got the patent and started advertising in newspapers of America and Europe. By 1906, he started selling 12 million blades and earned $90,000. He had started his first office at London in 1901 and he must not have visualized that gradually, his business would become world wide in 200 Countries.
Gillette always kept control on the World market by manufacturing new models every year. They produced first razor for women in 1915 and the brand was named Venus which sold shaving products for women. In 1936, they produced brushless shaving cream, in 1953 shaving foam and in 1971 first twin-blades razor. In 1990, they produced Sensor Shaving system and in 1998 they produced three-blade razor mark III. However, Gillette was defeated by Wilkinson in producing four-blade razor and Wilkinson brought this to market in 2003. However, they produced five-blade razor Gillette Fusion in 2006.
They also started taking-over Companies which were producing goods of high brands. Such Companies were Oral-B producing tooth brushes, Parker Pen Company in 1993 and Duracell battery in 1996.
This great Company was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 2005.
King Camp Gillette would be remembered always for his contribution to World.
