Gillette - An Empire Borne Out of a Unique Business Model

When a business brand is known so much that even competitors are called by its name, then what better testament could there be that a business is successful? Mention Gillette and safety razors quickly pop to mind.

Ironically though, Gillette is actually falsely credited to be the inventor of the safety razor. (The safety razor was invented in the mid-1870's by the Kampfe Brothers.) What Gillette had though was this - the eye that sees business opportunities.

Gillette - How It All Began

King Camp Gillette was born to a middle-class family who was ravaged by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. To support his family, he started to work as a traveling salesman for the Crown Cork and Seal Company. It was in the 1890s when he suddenly seized upon a business idea . He realized that there was a need in the market for cheap, disposable razor blades.

Prior his 'invention', razor blades required non-stop sharpening to be useful, which of course wore them out quickly. And since men needed to shave all the time, they were 'forced' to keep buying new razors. Gillette thought that he can earn a lot by offering the market a safety razor at a discounted price and then offering them cheap disposable razor blades ... he was right.

Although Gillette's business idea occurred in the 1890's, it was not until 1903 when he began to actually sell his products. This is because inexpensive thin steel was next to impossible to work with and extremely difficult to sharpen. A lesser business man will have abandoned his business idea by now. Not Gillette though and that's why he is regarded as one of America's top business leaders .

In 1903, he sold 51 razors and 168 blades. In 1904, he sold 90,884 razors and 123,648 blades! How did he achieve this growth in so short a span of production time? Gillette's success formula was this - low prices, excellent advertising and automated manufacturing techniques. These are the foundations why we, a century later, are still buying Gillette products.

The King C. Gillette Quick Bio

Full name: King Camp Gillette

Birth date: January 5, 1855 (deceased July 9, 1932)

Birth place: Fon du Lac, Wisconsin

Company: Gillette Company

Industry: Personal Care Home Products

Key Success Traits: patience, the aptitude to see his business idea through, an innovator when it comes to merchandising and advertising

Additional:
The Gillette Company was the maker of Gillette , Oral-B, Braun and Duracell products until 2005, when it was sold to Procter & Gamble for $57 billion.