A man who had no background in manufacturing or metallurgy but his cutting-edge idea proved to be a game-changer in the men’s grooming industry. There was a famous Russian proverb, ‘It is easier to bear a child every year than to shave every day.’ Prior to the 1900s, the razors used to have an unprotected sharp blade that was dangerous, time-consuming and caused skin burns and cuts. One needed to sharpen the blade every time before shaving. However, where there is a problem, there is also an opportunity, which King Camp Gillette identified well in time.
I dared where the wise one’s feared to tread
After losing everything in a fire in Chicago city in 1871, King Camp Gillette’s family relocated to New York. Later in life, he became a successful travelling salesman who enjoyed tinkering and inventing new products, though he was often unsuccessful. His tinkering drew the attention of one of his employers who suggested Gillette try his luck on some use and throw product so that the customer gets used to it.
In 1901, Gillette Safety Razor Company was incorporated with King Camp Gillette as its President. In 1903, the company recorded sales of 51 razors and 168 blades. The sales skyrocketed to 90,000 odd razors and 12,400,000 odd blades the following year, making Gillette the undisputed king of the newfound market. Today the brand value of Gillette stands at $14.5 billion and ranked #42 on the Forbes list of the World’s Most Valuable Brands 2021. Proctor and Gamble Co. bought Gillette in a $54 billion deal back in 2005.
The tagline of the Gillette Company is ‘The Best A Man Can Get,’ and his product fits that description.
A visionary, an inventor, and a successful entrepreneur ‘King Camp Gillette’, who turned his idea into a masterpiece, was never got dissuaded by the negative comments about his company or product. Let’s dig deeper into the achievements of the founder of Gillette:
The razor was looked upon as a joke by all my friends, A common greeting was,”Well, Gillette, how’s the razor?’ If I had been technically trained, I would have quit.
There are two kinds of men who never amount to much: those who cannot do what they are told and those who can do nothing else.
The post is a part of a B’day Series where we celebrate the birthday of renowned personalities from Tech Industry, very frequently. The series includes Entrepreneurs, C-level Executives, innovators or renewed leaders who moved the industry with their exponential skill set and vision. The intent is to highlight the person’s achievements and touch base the little known, but interesting, part of his life. You can see the list of all earlier celebrated tech personalities, including Mark Zuckerberg, Marissa Mayor, Sean Parker, Andy Rubin, Julian Assange, Sir Richard Branson, Sergey Brin by following this link or subscribe to your daily newsletter.
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