Business Case Studies, Leadership Case Study, Tata Group,Ratan Tata

Code : COM0013

Year : 2004

Industry : Home Appliances and Personal Care Products

Region : USA

Teaching Note:Not Available

Structured Assignment :Not Available

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Introduction:By 2003, 'The Gillette Company' (Gillette) had been facing severe competitive pressures in several of its product lines. Although for most of its 102-year corporate life, Gillette had dominated the global scenario in the razors and blades market, by the turn of the 21st century, smaller and comparatively newer competitors like 'Schick' (a subsidiary of Energizer Holding Inc.) had been threatening its leadership.

The new competitor, armed with the latest technologies and rapid innovations of high-end shaving products, was eroding the customer base and the global market share of Gillette. After some years of playing a distant No. 2 to Gillette, Schick, in September 2003, released 'Quattro' - the first four-blade razor system for men, as a direct attack on Gillette's enormously successful ‘Mach3’ line.

Quattro started eroding the market of the Mach3 Turbo razor and prompted Gillette to rely on its strong research and development abilities to come out with another innovation - the 'M3Power', a battery-powered upgrade to its Mach3 line that is to be launched in May 2004. Gillette's ability to sustain its dominance in the razor and blade market against stiff competition from Schick's Quattro remains to be seen.