Gillette's Innovation: Performance, Capabilities, and Future Needs

This report provides an audit of innovation within Gillette, analyzing its history and strategies for increasing innovation in products and services, specifically focusing on the Venus line for women. The report details Gillette's historical innovations, starting with the safety razor and evolving through various product launches like Techmatic, Sensor, and Mach3, including female-oriented products like Venus. It assesses Gillette's existing innovation performance, highlighting its market share and product diversity, and examines the industry landscape in 2018. The report further explores Gillette's future innovation capabilities, requirements beyond 2010, and strategies for building these capabilities, emphasizing the importance of meeting consumer needs and maintaining a competitive edge. The document concludes by summarizing key findings and recommendations for Gillette's continued success in innovation. Desklib offers a wealth of similar reports and study resources for students.

MANAGING INNOVATION
IN BUSINESS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Gillette is one of the most popular brands comprising the women's as well as the men's razors
of safety and also the personal care products such as supplies of the shaving. The owner of the
Gillette multinational corporation is the Procter and Gamble. Initially, this company was
founded by King C (Gillette and McNamara, 2013). Gillette in the year of 1901 and was aimed at
manufacturing the safety razors. This organisation was founded 116 years ago. Initially, the
tagline of the Gillette organisation was “the Best a Man Can Get”. The number of employees in
the organisation of Gillette is 29,400. The assets of the company were combined with the unit
of P&G which is further called as the “Global Gillette”. The merging of the company with the
Gillette is done on the first of October in the year 2005. Further, the division of the Global
Gillette is done on the basis of two sectors which include the beauty as well as the household
products (Marjon, et al. 2016). The division of the products was done in these two sections. The
working location of this organisation is also considered in the brand name of the Gillette.
Figure 1: Gillette Logo
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Source: Administrator, 2014.
The products that it had manufactured till now includes the safety razors of the double-edged,
Gillette Fusion Power and the Phantom, Venus which is specially designed for the women
usage, Mach 3, Gillette Sensors, Sensor Excel, Blue II, Good News, Atra, Trac II, Atra Plus, Trac II
plus, Techmatic, Adjustable Techmatic, etc. it was estimated in the year 1999 that the value of
the Gillette organisation was around US$16 billion which account for the 37% of the market
shares of the organisation (Gillette, 2014). This share is approximately equal to the share of
DaimlerChrysler who was the leading as well as the popular manufacturers of the cars at that
time. The promotion is highly done by the organisation in order to attract a large number of
customers towards it (Lee, et al. 2015). The diversification of the products is also done by the
Gillette organisation in order to bring the innovation in their products by delivering the finest
care products of the shaving. Gillette has become a leader globally and is recognised all over
the world. According to the reports, 65% of the people have experienced uneasiness during
their shaving. The Gillette helps in building the high competition for the other manufacturers
around the world. Generally, the Gillette organisation manufactures the male care products.
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Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.....................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................4
GILLETTE ORGANISATION AND THE INDUSTRY OVERVIEW............................................................6
GILLETTE AND ITS INNOVATION HISTORY...................................................................................6
GILLETTE EXISTING INNOVATION PERFORMANCE AND CAPABILITIES.......................................8
THE INDUSTRY IN 2018..............................................................................................................11
THE FUTURE INNOVATION CAPABILITIES OF THE GILLETTE......................................................13
THE GILLETTE INNOVATION REQUIREMENTS 2010 AND BEYOND............................................15
BUILDING THE FUTURE INNOVATION CAPABILITIES OF THE GILLETTE.....................................17
CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................................21
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................22
APPENDICES...................................................................................................................................27
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INTRODUCTION
This report helps in conducting the audit of innovation for the Gillette Company so that the
Gillette history can be revealed as well as analysed for increasing the innovation in the products
and the services of the Gillette organisation. The product chosen for the innovation is the Venus
product which is specialized for the Women in order to determine the future requirements as
well as the activities of the innovation for the Venus. The Venus consists of the various divisions
of the razors which include the Embrace, Breeze, Vibrance, and Divine. The updated version of
the Venus Breeze is the Venus Spa Breeze which includes a white scent of the tea in order to
shave (Ahmed and Shepherd, 2010). The different characteristics are possessed by the various
varieties of the Venus razors. The launching of the product named Venus ProSkin Moisture Rich
was launched in the year of 2011 in the month of January in the United States consists of the
moisture lock phenomena of the gels.
Figure 2: Organisation Structure of Gillette
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Source: Elsaid, 2013.
The Gillette possesses a hierarchal structure as the organisation of the Gillette consists of the
various levels of the authority. The strategies of the organisation are being defined with the
help of the organisation structure of the Gillette so that the functions, as well as the roles of the
employees of the organisation of the Gillette, is equally distributed in order to develop the
coordination between the various functions of the management (Azis and Osada, 2010). These
activities reflect the operations of the management in handling the various issues. This also
helps in building the plans for the purpose of developing the innovation in the products.
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GILLETTE ORGANISATION AND THE INDUSTRY OVERVIEW
GILLETTE AND ITS INNOVATION HISTORY
The Gillette Company was founded by a salesman named King C Gillette in the year of 1901 in
Boston. This salesman was frustrated using the traditional shaving devices which led to the
cutting of the throat. So he decided to work on the razors of the model which has evolved in
the market of the shaving (Tellis, 2012). This led to the development of the foundation of the
Gillette organisation at the technical level. In the year 1903, the safety razors were launched
but it was of no success since in the market new safety razors of Steel were discovered. Then a
need for the developing the thin material of wafer is analysed so that a razor can be built of this
material.
This innovation in the product of the Safety razor has popularised the Gillette in the name of
trading and is being used by the greater population of America of about 90,000. With the view
of maintaining the market position in the world, in the year of 1905 in the Boston, another
Company was set up called the Gillette Safety Razor Company (Virani, et al. 2015). The next
innovation in the Gillette Company was the launching of the product called Techmatic razor in
the year of 1967. This razor has the speciality that the blade of the razor is not needed to be
touched by the people using it which termed it as a continuous band. The innovation again
raised in the year 1971 with the introduction and the launching of first twin blade razors in the
year 1971. In the year 1976, the twin-bladed disposable razor was introduced and launched
(Goodnow, 2014). In 1977, the innovation took place through the introduction of Contour razor.
In the year of 1980’s as well as the 1990's, there is a need realised for doing the innovation
further with the view of increasing and improving the existing features in order to have a
smoother shave by providing the level of comfort to the people (Krim, 2010). The contour plus
was introduced in the year of 1985 with the sensor in it in about 16 countries. Another
innovation occurred by developing the product called Sensor Excel which includes the feature
of cutting the hair more closely. Mach3 was introduced in the year of 1903 which was used by
the people about 90 million population of the men across the world. Mach3Turbo was also
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introduced in order to increase the performance of the razor by providing with the cooling gel,
deodorants which can be used after shaving.
Gillette has also done innovation in introducing the products of the female in the market. In the
year of 1915, Milady Decollete was introduced for the first time for the females. In the year
1975, the second innovation product for the females was introduced called the Gillette Daisy. In
the year 1922, the introduction of the Sensor was introduced for the females then an enhanced
and updated version of the sensor was introduced called the SensorExcel. Venus was
introduced in the year of 2000 which consists of the three blades mounted on it for the women
to use (Gillette, 2012). The innovation is further approached in the Venus product by
introducing the pink colour in it. Venus Divine was launched in the year 2004 which has raised
the performance of the brand.
Figure 3: Safety Razor Evolution
Source: Gillette, 2018.
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GILLETTE EXISTING INNOVATION PERFORMANCE AND CAPABILITIES
With the launching of the varied varieties of products for men as well as the women, the
innovation performance of the Gillette organisation has been significantly increased. These
razors were developed in order to meet the needs as well as the requirements of the
consumers in the market (Azemati, et al. 2013). Also, the Gillette organisation is known for
doing the innovation in developing the product as well as building the market strategy for
promotion. The market share of the Gillette with the introduction of the innovative techniques
as well as the strategies has led to an increase in its market share in the world. It contributes to
about 80% of the market share in the world (Ansari and Krop, 2012). The innovation
performance of the razors is highly increased by improving the features and building the new
products. Today, the market of the Gillette Company provides the diverse varieties of the
products in order to satisfy the needs of the people. The solution is being provided by the
Gillette for the men with various varieties of the blades range for the razor by using the latest as
well as the advanced technology. One such example of such technology used in the product is
of the Mach3Turbo (De Jong, et al. 2013). The different varieties of the gel, as well as the
foams, are being provided so that the performance of the razor can be increased. This includes
the gels, balms, splash, and the deodorants used after shaving the hair. The most successful
product of the Gillette Company is the Mach3 which enabled the performance of the company
to get raised and increased (Clauss, 2017). The optimum performance of the devices that is the
products of the Gillette is enhanced by using the strip of the lubricating nature. The indicator is
also mounted on the razor which enabled the shaving to be done as closest to the skin. The
microfins are also attached with the blades which permit the hair to be lifted through the skin
to be stretched.
The female product of the Gillette consists of the sensors, Sensor Excel, gels are also available
which provides the closest shaving to the female. One of the premium products of the Gillette
Company consists of the female product called the Venus (Cooper, 2011). This product helps in
giving the females a smoother shave by giving a long lasting experience of the smoothness of
the skin. The Venus divine has been introduced which has enhanced the performance of the
existing Venus product by introducing the feature of softening the hair before doing the shave
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so that the skin can be prepared before actually starting to shave. The focus of the Gillette
Company is to increase the value of the brand by using the innovative approach which can be
achieved by improving the performance of the shaving for the consumers. The male products of
the Gillette develop an image of confident as well as the well groomed (Pesämaa, et al. 2013).
The female products of the Gillette produce an image of youthful as well as energetic among
the females. The offering of the products of the Gillette Company comprises the products of the
world-class level.
Figure 4: Gillette Venus
Source: Admin, 2010.
The organisation capabilities of the Gillette consist of the ever-increasing demands of the new
products for the consumer based on the demographic segmentation. These demands consist of
the using the latest as well as the diverse technology in order to satisfy the consumers. The
various opportunities were realised for the Gillette organisation which includes the lowering of
the rates of the inflation in order to bring stability in the market with the help of using low
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pricing strategy for the consumers (Fawcett, et al. 2012). With the involvement of the
government, the Gillette organisation can enter into a new market of the emerging nature. The
loyalty of the customers can be gained and increased by using the different type of strategy
used for pricing the products. The cost of the products of the Gillette Organisation can be
reduced by reducing the cost needed for the transportation so that the customer can get
benefits at the lower prices and also the profits of the company will get increased. The
investment can be done in the different segments of the products for obtaining the cash flow
which is stable in nature (Kumar and Sundarraj, 2016). This cash can be further used for
bringing the latest technology in the products. The Gillette can gain the competitive advantage
by developing the market along with the involvement of the government in an emerging way.
One of the main strength of the Gillette organisation is new projects are executed successfully
thereby generating a huge capital in the return (Harrington and Voehl, 2013). Also, the culture
built and developed with the various dealers as well as the distributors will promote the
products of the Gillette so that the benefits, as well as the features of the products of Gillette,
can be explained to the potential customers.
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THE INDUSTRY IN 2018
The Gillette organisation is focussing on increasing the eight new products for men as well as
the women in the year 2018. The first product of the Gillette will be based on the technology of
cooling being used for the disposable razors which include the feature of removing the facial
hairs by the Venus brand as well as through the Gillette3 and the Gillette5 model and the cost
of these razors will be $10. According to an estimate, around 40 million population of the
United States uses the razors of the disposable nature as these are based on the providing the
higher quality at the low prices (Kinnunen, et al. 2018). 50% of the population of the women in
the United States uses these razors to remove their facial hairs.
The group president of the Gillette Organisation named Charlie Pierce focused on the best
experience of grooming for the people around the world. They value the beliefs as well as the
opinions of the consumers by knowing their needs as well as the demands for bringing out the
best experiences (Gillette, 2017). The cooling technology is being used by the disposable razors
with the name of Gillette Sensor3 and also on the chill razors of the GilletteFusion5.
The costs of the Gillette3, as well as the Gillette5, are $10. The features of these two razors
aimed at bringing the shave done comfortably with closeness to the hair. The grip of the razor
can be easily handled by using the Aqua Grip handle which is soft in nature and is also
applicable when it is wet (Beatty, et al. 2018). The durability of the shave is restored by using
the Gillette5 which includes the features of a coating of Telomer as well as the atomic carbon.
The thinner blades have been used for the Mach3 as well as the Gillette Fusion5 consisting of
the low resistance possessed by it which help in cutting the hair with less effort. The Venus has
developed various versions of its products in giving the best experience to the females which
includes the Venus Face Perfections which help in removing the facial hair at the accurate
precision at the home which is even more comfortable and easier to use than the waxing
(Holland, 2018). The Venus Face Perfection will include the removal of upper lip hairs, chin,
eyebrow, as well as the forehead. The Venus Bikini Precision will help in the removal of the
bikini hairs to the closest for the smoother shave using this razor. The razors of the Gillette
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