Gillette

Gillette is an American shaving and personal-care brand owned by Procter & Gamble. Its origins lie in King Camp Gillette's late-nineteenth-century idea for a safety razor using a thin, replaceable blade. The concept transformed shaving from a craft requiring a sharpened straight razor into a repeat-purchase consumer-goods category. Gillette's operating company was established in 1901, began commercial production in 1903, and expanded internationally soon afterward. The brand's early growth was driven by the combination of a reusable razor handle and regularly replaced blades. Its products became especially influential during and after the First World War, when military shaving requirements introduced millions of service members to compact safety-razor kits. Gillette subsequently reinforced daily shaving as a social and commercial habit through broad advertising, sports sponsorships, and mass distribution. The business developed a distinctive pricing model in which razors could be sold relatively affordably while replacement blades generated continuing demand. During the twentieth century, Gillette expanded its technology and product range through coated and stainless-steel blades, improved dispensers, disposable razors, shaving creams, and later multi-blade cartridge systems. The company also diversified beyond shaving through acquisitions and internal launches, including personal-care products such as Right Guard deodorant. Its advertising history includes long-running associations with baseball, boxing, horse racing, American football, and other televised sports. The former Gillette Company was also a diversified consumer-products corporation with businesses and brands outside shaving. In January 2005, Procter & Gamble announced an agreement to combine with Gillette. The transaction was completed later that year, after which Gillette became a major P&G brand rather than an independent public company. P&G initially managed the acquired assets through an internal organization known as Global Gillette; that structure was dissolved in 2007 and the activities were distributed across P&G's Beauty and Household Care organizations. Gillette's Boston research and South Boston manufacturing operations continued under P&G ownership. Today, Gillette remains a global grooming brand centered on manual razors, blades, shaving preparation, and post-shave care. Its principal product families have included Mach3, Fusion, SkinGuard, ProGlide, Venus, and disposable-razor lines. The brand has increasingly addressed skin comfort, irritation reduction, body grooming, and broader forms of male and gender-inclusive personal care while retaining its traditional emphasis on engineering, closeness, convenience, and performance.

Gillette's history began with King Camp Gillette's proposal for a safety razor fitted with a disposable blade. The idea emerged in the 1890s, but producing a sufficiently thin and durable blade was technically difficult. William Emery Nickerson, an engineer associated with the project, developed machinery that made practical production possible. On September 28, 1901, Gillette and his associates established the American Safety Razor Company. Production started slowly in 1903, then accelerated after Nickerson's manufacturing improvements. The company adopted the Gillette name in 1904 and quickly established sales and production operations outside the United States. Early Gillette products were premium goods, and adoption initially remained limited because straight razors and barbershop shaving were still common. The First World War changed the market. Military shaving requirements and the distribution of compact Gillette kits familiarized large numbers of American servicemen with daily shaving and replaceable blades. Gillette used this postwar familiarity in domestic advertising, helping convert a military supply relationship into a mass-market grooming habit. In 1921, as the original patent approached expiration, the company introduced the New Improved Gillette Safety Razor and made lower-priced versions of its earlier razor available under the Brownie name. This broadened access and supported rapid growth in blade consumption. The late 1920s brought financial and governance difficulties. Gillette faced a patent dispute with AutoStrop and ultimately agreed to acquire that company. An audit also exposed overstated sales and profits during the preceding years, contributing to a change in control after the transaction. During the Great Depression, the company struggled with manufacturing quality and competition. It withdrew the Kroman blade, introduced the Blue Blade, and later developed the lighter Thin Blade. At the same time, Gillette expanded sports advertising, including the Gillette Cavalcade of Sports, which became particularly associated with televised boxing. The Second World War disrupted international operations and redirected much of Gillette's manufacturing toward military requirements. Plants were partly converted for war production, while military customers received very large quantities of razors and blades. The company also produced specialized shaving equipment for military and intelligence uses. After 1945, Gillette modernized factories, rebuilt overseas capacity, and expanded in markets across Europe, Latin America, and Asia. It introduced the Super Speed razor and a safer blade dispenser in 1947, then diversified through acquisitions such as Toni, Paper Mate, and Sterilon. Right Guard deodorant, introduced in 1960, became one of the company's notable non-shaving products. Blade technology remained central to the company's competitive strategy. Gillette introduced the coated Super Blue blade in 1960, followed by responses to the emergence of stainless-steel blades from Wilkinson Sword and other competitors. The company later developed disposable and cartridge systems that simplified blade replacement and supported recurring sales. In the 1990s and 2000s, the Mach3 and Fusion families used multiple blades and increasingly sophisticated cartridge designs to compete in the premium shaving market. Product development also expanded into skin-protection features, body grooming, and electric grooming through brands and businesses within the wider Gillette corporate portfolio. The independent Gillette Company was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 2005. P&G operated the acquired businesses under Global Gillette for a period, but reorganized them in 2007. Gillette's brand, Boston research center, and South Boston manufacturing center remained active within the P&G system. In the twenty-first century, Gillette has continued to market manual and disposable razors, cartridges, shaving preparations, skin-comfort products, and grooming systems worldwide. Its communications have also addressed changing expectations around masculinity, including the 2019 The Best Men Can Be campaign.

• 2019

  The Best Men Can Be campaign

  [1]Gilletteen.wikipedia.org

  Gillette launched a values-focused campaign addressing harmful behavior and contemporary ideas of masculinity.

• 2007

  Global Gillette reorganized

  [1]Gilletteen.wikipedia.org

  P&G dissolved Global Gillette as a separate internal organization and reassigned its activities.

• 2005

  Acquired by Procter & Gamble

  [1]Gilletteen.wikipedia.org

  The Gillette Company became part of Procter & Gamble.

• 1998

  Mach3 launched

  [1]Gilletteen.wikipedia.org

  Gillette introduced the Mach3 cartridge system, a major step in its multi-blade product strategy.

• 1960

  Super Blue blade introduced

  [1]Gilletteen.wikipedia.org

  The coated Super Blue became a major blade innovation and commercial success.

• 1947

  Super Speed razor launched

  [1]Gilletteen.wikipedia.org

  Gillette introduced the Super Speed razor and Speed-pak dispenser.

• 1930

  AutoStrop transaction and governance crisis

  [1]Gilletteen.wikipedia.org

  Gillette agreed to acquire AutoStrop after a patent dispute; an audit disclosed earlier overstated sales and profits.

• 1921

  New Improved razor introduced

  [1]Gilletteen.wikipedia.org

  Gillette launched a new safety razor and used lower-priced Brownie versions to broaden the blade market.

• 1917

  Military demand accelerates adoption

  [1]Gilletteen.wikipedia.org

  Gillette sold 1.1 million razors as military shaving requirements expanded during the First World War.

• 1904

  Company adopts the Gillette name

  [1]Gilletteen.wikipedia.org

  The business was renamed the Gillette Safety Razor Company and began expanding internationally.

Showing the 10 most recent.

A technology-led, mainstream-to-premium shaving and grooming brand emphasizing closeness, blade performance, convenience, skin comfort, and trusted everyday use.

• Manual shaving · 1903

  Safety razors and Blue Blades

  Gillette's original business centered on reusable safety-razor handles paired with replaceable blades. The Blue Blade, introduced during the 1930s after the withdrawal of the Kroman blade, became a major traditional blade line. Super Blue, launched in 1960, added a coating intended to reduce friction and improve shaving comfort.

• Cartridge razor · 1998

  Mach3

  Mach3 is a three-blade cartridge platform that helped establish Gillette's modern premium shaving strategy. It was marketed around closeness, reduced stroke requirements, and a replaceable cartridge format. Multiple versions and compatible handles have been sold in different markets.

• Cartridge razor

  Fusion and Fusion ProGlide

  Fusion is a multi-blade cartridge family positioned above Mach3 in Gillette's range. The line uses a five-blade shaving surface and, in ProGlide variants, additional design features intended to improve glide and comfort. It has been sold with manual and powered-handle options.

• Sensitive-skin shaving

  SkinGuard

  SkinGuard is designed for users concerned about irritation and razor bumps. Its cartridge architecture places emphasis on limiting contact and managing pressure against the skin rather than maximizing the number of blades. The line extends Gillette's positioning into sensitive-skin grooming.

• Advanced grooming system

  GilletteLabs

  GilletteLabs is a contemporary product platform focused on premium handles, replaceable cartridges, and added grooming technology. Products in the platform have included heated and exfoliating shaving concepts, reflecting the brand's effort to differentiate beyond conventional blade count.

• Shaving care

  Shaving preparations

  Gillette has sold shaving creams, foams, gels, and related preparation products intended to soften facial hair and improve razor glide. These products complement the razor and blade business and support a complete at-home shaving routine.

• Body shaving

  Venus

  Venus is Gillette's body-shaving brand, developed for women and other users seeking products designed around body contours and skin comfort. Its portfolio includes reusable-handle cartridge systems, disposable razors, and associated shaving-care products.

• Deodorant · 1960

  Right Guard

  Right Guard was introduced by Gillette in 1960 as an aerosol deodorant line. It represented the company's expansion from shaving into adjacent personal-care categories; ownership and market arrangements have changed within the broader P&G portfolio.

• 1930

  Overstated sales and profits disclosed

  An audit conducted during the AutoStrop transaction found that Gillette had overstated sales and profits by $12 million over a five-year period and had based executive bonuses on those figures. The disclosure affected the terms of the transaction and corporate control.

  Source

Read more

• 2019The Best Men Can Be

  United States · United Kingdom · Selected international markets

  The campaign asked men to reject bullying, sexual harassment, and the idea that harmful conduct should be excused as ordinary masculinity. Its deliberately social message broadened Gillette's advertising beyond product performance. The campaign received significant attention and polarized reaction, while becoming a prominent example of values-based brand advertising.

  Outcome. The campaign received significant attention and polarized reaction, while becoming a prominent example of values-based brand advertising.

  Source
• 1944Television advertising and sports programming

  United States

  Gillette expanded from radio into television advertising and became associated with nationally broadcast sports programming, including the Gillette Cavalcade of Sports. Television became a central component of the brand's postwar marketing.

  Outcome. Television became a central component of the brand's postwar marketing.

  Source
• 1939Gillette sports sponsorship

  United States

  Gillette increased advertising around sporting events after World Series advertising produced stronger-than-expected sales. The strategy developed into extensive sponsorship of baseball, boxing, horse racing, football, and other broadcast sports. It helped make Gillette a highly visible mass-market consumer brand.

  Outcome. Helped make Gillette a highly visible mass-market consumer brand.

  Source

• 2019

  Shift toward values-based brand communicationOther

  Background

  Public discussion of masculinity, harassment, and social responsibility was becoming increasingly important to consumer brands.

  Action taken

  Gillette launched The Best Men Can Be, linking the brand with opposition to bullying and harmful masculine behavior.

  Aftermath

  The campaign produced extensive public discussion and demonstrated the commercial and reputational risks of overtly values-led advertising.

  Source

• 2007

  Reorganized Global GilletteStrategy

  Background

  P&G initially managed Gillette assets through a dedicated internal organization called Global Gillette.

  Action taken

  P&G dissolved Global Gillette and transferred its activities to the Beauty and Household Care divisions.

  Aftermath

  Gillette continued as a P&G-owned brand rather than as a separate operating company.

  Source

• 2005

  Combination with Procter & GambleM&A

  Background

  The independent Gillette Company operated a broad consumer-products portfolio and was approached for a combination with P&G.

  Action taken

  Procter & Gamble announced and completed the acquisition of Gillette, making the brand part of P&G.

  Aftermath

  Gillette ceased to be an independent listed company, while its brand and major facilities continued under P&G ownership.

  Source

• 1960

  Introduced Super Blue coated bladeProduct launch

  Background

  Gillette needed a significant blade improvement as coated and stainless-steel technologies intensified competition.

  Action taken

  The company launched Super Blue, a coated blade designed to reduce adhesion to whiskers and improve shaving comfort.

  Aftermath

  The product was commercially successful and strengthened Gillette's position in double-edge blades before the company responded to the stainless-steel challenge.

  • Wilkinson Sword — Wilkinson Sword introduced a coated stainless-steel blade about two years later, increasing competitive pressure.

  Source

• 1932

  Blue Blade replaces KromanProduct launch

  Background

  Manufacturing problems and quality concerns affected the Kroman razor and blade program during the Depression.

  Action taken

  Gillette withdrew the Kroman blade, apologized for the quality reduction, and introduced the Blue Blade as its replacement.

  Aftermath

  The Blue Blade became an important product in Gillette's traditional blade portfolio.

  Source

• 1921

  Adopted the razor-and-blade pricing structureStrategy

  Background

  The original safety-razor patent was nearing expiration and competitors were expected to enter the category.

  Action taken

  Gillette launched the New Improved razor while making older razor designs available at lower prices under the Brownies name, expanding the installed base and replacement-blade opportunity.

  Aftermath

  The approach made Gillette products more accessible and was followed by a sharp increase in razor and blade unit sales.

  Source

• 2019

  Gillette launches The Best Men Can Be campaign[1]Gilletteen.wikipedia.org

  Campaign · Other

  Gillette released a campaign addressing bullying, sexual harassment, and expectations of male conduct. It received extensive online debate, including praise for its social message and criticism from viewers who considered the advertising accusatory or politically charged.

• 2007

  Global Gillette organization is dissolved[1]Gilletteen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  P&G ended the separate Global Gillette organizational structure and distributed its businesses across P&G Beauty and P&G Household Care.

• 2007

  Global Gillette is dissolved within Procter & Gamble[1]Gilletteen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  P&G reorganized the former Gillette operations and distributed their brands and products among P&G Beauty and P&G Household Care.

• 2005

  Procter & Gamble announces merger with The Gillette Company[1]Gilletteen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Procter & Gamble completed its acquisition of The Gillette Company in a transaction that ended Gillette's existence as an independent public company and placed the shaving brand within P&G's global consumer-products portfolio.

1. 1Gilletteen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Gillette official websitegillette.com