By Sharanya Jayathilleke
When King Camp Gillette first expressed his idea of introducing an all-new, thin, strong and disposable razor to the world, no one took him seriously. As a young man he spent most of his time tinkering with ideas, most of which the rest of the world would call him crazy for.
When he explained some of his plans on manufacturing a ‘novel razor’ to technical experts, they slammed the door in his face. But Gillette continued to live with his dream – listening to his inner voice – and hoping to get the idea off the ground sooner. He was persistent and courageous. These valuable attributes later paved the way for him to become a successful global entrepreneur.
He was actually in his 40s when he finally managed to get patent and begin to sell his disposable safety razor- which is now known as Gillette razor. It was an invention that made him a household name and revolutionized the shaving industry in the process. Today, Global Gillette continues to rank as one of the most dominant brands in the industry.
disposable razor
Explaining his dream venture, Gillette had once told the media: “As I stood there with the razor in my hand, my eyes resting on it as lightly as a bird settling down on its nest, the Gillette razor was born. In that moment I saw it all: the way the blade could be held in a holder; the idea of sharpening the two opposite edges on the thin piece of steel; the clamping plates, with a handle halfway between the two edges of the blade.” Media stories about Gillette’s success often bring out some of the rules and concepts that he used to expand his business the world over.
Early life
King Camp Gillette was born on January 6, 1855 in the small central Wisconsin town of Fond du Lac. He had three older brothers and two sisters. His parents, George Wolcott Gillette and Fanny Lemira Camp were both inventors in their own rights. As a result, the Gillette kids were encouraged to be inquisitive, to be hands on, and to take things apart to learn how they work. When Gillette was four years old his family moved to Chicago, Illinois in the hopes of achieving a better life. His father opened up a hardware store, but its promise was soon destroyed. In 1871, the great Chicago fire devastated the business and forced the Gillette family to move once again. This time, they chose New York City, where Gillette’s father became a patent agent.
Conversations around the Gillette family’s dinner table always revolved around the various inventions that had come across his desk during the day. With each passing year, the young Gillette was growing more and more inspired to invent something of his own. At 17 years old, Gillette left school and began making his living as a traveling salesman. Although it was a far cry from his dream job, it provided a steady income and also allowed him to flex his inventor’s muscle; with each product that Gillette sold door-todoor, he tried his hand at improving them in some way. By 1890, Gillette had become increasingly disappointed with his life. He had four patents to his name but none had achieved much success. “They made money for others, but seldom for myself, for I was unfortunately situated not having much time and little money with which to promote my inventions,” he had told in an interview.
Disappointment
Gillette had another worry around this time. That is to know that his parents were much more successful than him. His mother had even published the “White House Cookbook”, a compilation of her own recipes which remains in print to this day. Gillette’s disappointment was such that in 1894, at the age of 39, he published a book called “Human Drift.” It was an anticapitalist rant in which Gillette set out to criticize big business and competition as the root of all evil. As an alternative, he outlined his own ideal of a utopian, socialistic society. By his own admission, Gillette was at rock bottom. He needed a new idea, something that would make him the success he had always dreamed of. But what, he wondered. At 40 years old, what single idea could take him to the top?
Fortune
But Gillette was fortunate this time. On one spring morning in 1895 as he was getting ready to go to work, Gillette became frustrated with his razor. Its blades were dull – so much so that the razor was practically unworkable. As he tried to sharpen it, Gillette realized that it was so worn out it could not be used again. Suddenly, as his irritation with the razor grew, a light bulb went off in Gillette’s head. What about a razor that would not need sharpening to work? What about disposable razor blades that could be thrown away when they were dull? What about a razor that was safe and did not cause nicks and cuts? Gillette rushed back to his room and penned a quick note to his wife. “I’ve got it,” it read. “Our fortune is made.”
entrepreneur skills
These reports on Gillette’s entrepreneur skills say that Gillette’s success largely depended on his innovative thinking and the implementation of novel marketing, advertising and management strategies. Gillette is known as a man who created an entire new concept of advertising to sell razors. His name is often mentioned as one of the persons to understand the importance of sports imagery in advertising. Through advertising, he made a huge success in his business. He never looked at the traditional, product-focused advertising; instead he touted a different kind of lifestyle – a desirable lifestyle that he knew his target market would be attracted to, according to media reports.
Like advertising, Gillette also looked at turning bad times into his advantage. One unique example was the World War I. During that period other businessmen might have been worried about how World War I was going to negatively affect their business. But Gillette thought otherwise and found a way to use it to his advantage. He created Service Kits and distributed his razors to millions of American soldiers. Through this marketing strategy he not only built a strong customer base, but he also demonstrated his prowess in making the most of potential marketing moments.
Gillette was also very concerned about his patents, and he also knew what would happen once they expired. He anticipated competition and introduced a new product onto the scene before the competitors got in to the market. He then carefully crafted his marketing strategy, and by positioning his new razor design as the only alternative to the older obsolete razors, he ensured that his competitors would be dead before they even got off the ground.
Billion dollar company
Another article on Gillette’s business life mentioned that until his dying day, he has been disappointed by capitalism. “He believed that competition was the greatest of all evils and envisioned one “world corporation” as the answer. It is thus ironic that Gillette founded one of the most successful and long lasting companies to date. Up until it was purchased by Procter & Gamble in 2005 for $57 billion in stock, Global Gillette – the successor of The Gillette Company – remained one of the world’s leading suppliers of products under various well-known brands, including Braun, Duracell, and Oral-B.