Gillette releasing single-blade cartridges in India

Interesting, looks like an open comb and probably a swivel head?
"Gillette's newest shaving system has just one blade, a light plastic handle and a sharply lower price" Article

 

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing this with us.

 

Interesting, i would buy one to try for sure.
Would make a perfect travel razor.
Gillette won't introduce that in America, they must be too scared that peoples would choose this over the overprice Fusion.

 

The paranoid in me says that Gillette will use this to destroy the market for DE razor blades in India. Then, when it's harder to find them there, the cartridge prices will start creeping up.

But then, the article says that even this super cheap cartridge is more expensive than the most popular Indian DE brand. Five rupees each for the cartridges, two each for SuperMax blades. So maybe the strategy won't work. Any members from India have a comment?

 

Curious ... would have to try!

 

I agree. I think, ultimately, Gillette is out to force everyone the world over to buy overpriced cartridges, which means that they're first going to have to put DE blade suppliers out of business. Once the DE competition is off the board, Gillette will be calling all the moves. However, we can hope that more and more folks join our ranks and swell the domestic demand for DE blades such that the competition is significantly strengthened to insure a ready and uninterrupted supply of quality DE blades.

 

Bigger version of the advertisement for you all to enjoy:

 

This is the first cartridge I've seen since I discovered a DE razor that I'd actually consider trying.

 

I was in a hotel once and had forgotten my razor. The staff gave me a single blade disposable...bic I think. Most painful shave of my life. Gillette better make sure that single blade is sharp for 2 rupees or whatever.

The Gillette name is stamped all over those 7 oclock DE blades so it would seem they are currently getting a piece of Indian sales even without this new razor.

 

As far as i know, Gillette owns 7 oclock since a little while.

 

Oui, c'est vrai.

 

Couple more pics

Pdf from P&G's website

 

I'd take a couple off your hands. If ntohing else, might be a nice travel blade, or maybe even a good razor to introduce someone to the hobby.

 

Lets not forget to be thankful to P&G and Gillette for all those St Petersburg DE Blades aswell as their Indian DE Blades...I think they have kept alot of the great DE blade designs alive and well, even if not readily available at the U.S. corner grocery, at least available...So I don't think we have to worry about Gillette trying to put the World's DE Blade Distributors out of work just yet...

That new single blade cartridge razor is a looker...Thanks for the pictures...

 

The irony is strong with this one.
Gillette spend, quite literally, billions of dollars telling us that more blades is better.
Then what does their very latest model have? One blade.

Have they been telling us porkies? Or are the Indians somehow different?
Surely it can't be that they want a low cost entry product to entice customers into their patent protected walled garden, where they have the monopoly on blade supply, can it?

 

Here's 2 videos of the Gillette Guard:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uffvu0aztAA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAjtOD3TcNc

 

The main difference, is that the average Indian at this point in time could only dream of being rich enough to be able to afford a razor as expensive as the Fusion, or Mach 3.

The Gillette Vector (Indian version of the Atra) has solid market share there, but is still too expensive for many of the men in India.

DE is king in India, because it is the cheapest way to shave. The Gillette Guard is roughly double the cost of DE blades.

Gillette is banking on one of two things: The Gillette Guard will appeal to the growing middle class in India, or that the shave of the Gillette Guard will be so superior that even those after the cheapest shave will make sacrifices to purchase this product.

 

I prefer the Indian Gillette ads over the American one.