Case: Gillette MACH3
For decades, The Gillette
co. has followed a simple strategy for success: Replace excellent blade
technology with an even better one. Over the years, Gillette has brought us the
Blue Blade, the Platinum Plus, the Trac II, the Atra, the Sensor, then the
Sensor Excel. In April 1998, Gillette announced the next generation of razor: a
three blade pivoting cartridge system called the MACH3.
The idea of a three bladed system was being investigated
by Gillette engineers as early as 1970 without much success. The three-bladed
system irritated the skin, yet didn’t produce a closer shave. During the 1970s
and 1980s, Gillette launched the twin bladed Atra and Sensor, which had its
blades mounted on tiny springs, meanwhile continuing the design work on the
three bladed razor.
By the early 1990s, the design problems that had stalled
the three bladed system had been overcome. A Prototype three bladed razor (code
named the Manx) was developed and shown to outperform the Sensor in internal
tests. A key element of the Manx’s design was the positioning of the three
blades. Each blade was a little closer to the face than the previous one. This
patented design reduced the irritation caused by the third blade. In addition,
the pivot point was removed to the bottom of the cartridge (those familiar with
Sensor know that its pivot point is in the middle of the cartridge.) The new
pivot point made shaving feel a little like using a paint brush, added to the
cartridges stability, and ensured that the bottom edge of the cartridge always
touched the face first (ensuring that hairs were properly lifted). Other design
features were also built into the Manx. To the white lubricating strip found on
the Sensor, a blue indicator was added that gradually faded, indicating that
the blade needed changing. And engineers were working on better blades,
perfecting a way t make them thinner and harder, thanks to new metal technology
borrowed from the manufacture of semi conductors. Furthermore, consumer studies
found an interesting problem incurred by Sensor users that suggested a
potential product improvement: 18 percent of men put the cartridge on the razor
upside down! A new snap mechanism was developed that would work only in the
right direction.
Unfortunately, the new design was going to be costly to
manufacture. There was internal resistance within the ranks of Gillette, with
some managers believing that the company should go with a less revolutionary,
three bladed Sensor Excel rather than a costly and risky introduction of a
totally new product. Alfred N Zeien, Gillette’s CEO and an engineer by
training, favoured the new design, believing that the best chance for a sure
winner was to go with the most technologically advanced design. Michael T
Cowhig, director of manufacturing for the North Atlantic Group, felt that the
new metal technology, excellent for making computer chips, would not be ready
to make blades, especially in the numbers Gillette expected to sell annually.
He said, “I knew we could make one blade; I didn’t know if we could make 3.6
billion. “ His assessment was that the MACH3 blade would cost about 50 percent
more to manufacture than Sensor Excel, the premium Gillette blade at the time.
Nevertheless, the new design (now called by the code name
225) was locked in during the month of April 1995. The next three years were
spent in designing and producing the equipment needed to manufacture the new
cartridges – most of the machinery had to be specially designed for the task.
Meanwhile, product use tests with consumers were showing that the MACH3 was
outperforming the Sensor Excel 2 to 1 and doing even better against the
competitive brands. The consumer tests were also suggesting that users were
fairly insensitive to price – the MACH3 tested well even at a 45 percent price
premium over Sensor Excel.
Gillette geared up for an April 1998 launch. All told,
the MACH3 development took six years and $750 million, about four times what
the Sensor cost. Further, $300 million was allocated for marketing in the first
year ($100 million in the