Gillette Goes Stainless

The biggest of them all was really only waiting until it was ready. Last week Boston's Gillette Co., the world's largest maker of razor blades (7 billion last year), announced that it too will market a stainless steel blade. The new blades will be distributed first in New York and Philadelphia and then to the rest of Gillette's 3,500 distributors and 500,000 retail outlets. Gillette thus becomes the third major U.S. company to go stainless, and its entry into the field signals the start of what is certain to be a bitter competition for the growing U.S. stainless blade market.

Gillette entered the field with some reluctance. It could afford to ignore the success of Britain's venerable Wilkinson Sword Ltd., which has been unable to meet demand ever since it began selling its Super Sword-Edge stainless blades in the U.S. 18 months ago. But demand for the stainless blades lured Gillette competitors Schick (Krona Plus) and American Safety Razor (Personna and PAL) into the field--and Gillette was forced to go along.

The company spent months experimenting before it was convinced that it could mass-produce stainless steel blades of uniform quality; the chrome carbide particles in stainless steel make it more difficult to sharpen than the carbon steel that is used in most razor blades. Gillette will produce its stainless blades in a new $10 million addition to its Boston plant, which is capable of producing more stainless blades in a week than the 7,000,000 exported to the U.S. by Wilkinson last year.

Priced at six for 89-c-, Gillette's blades will be slightly cheaper than Super Swords (five for 75-c-) or Personna and Krona Plus (five for 79-c-). Though it plans to spend a hefty $4,000,000 to introduce its new blades, Gillette finds itself in the ironic position of hoping that they will not be a runaway success. Since the company already sells 70% of all the blades bought in the U.S., a too-spectacular acceptance could only mean a sales decline for its established lines.

Worse yet, if the stainless blade lasts for too many shaves (some Wilkinson shavers boast up to 20), it could mean a cut in Gillette's total sales. Says Mark Litchfield, Gillette's assistant treasurer: "If the stainless steel blade gives twelve shaves or more, we could have some real problems."

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