Kenya
– The Kenyan shaving market is still in its infancy stages with only 40 percent
of Kenyan men shaving at home with the rest preferring to visit the barber
shops who utilize electric shavers.
The market which has over 10
million potential razor users sees a man spend on average KES 2295 per month
and a woman spends KES 1200 on blades and razors over a similar period.
Gillette brand manager, Mr.
Mutune Kilonzo said that despite the steady growth in the grooming market, the
greatest challenge the Gillette brand has been facing is in trading up
consumers to the more premium and better performing brands.
Today, Gillette which commands
about 60 percent of the market, attributes its leadership position to its
constant innovation that sees the brand implementing consumers’ positive
criticism.
“The main challenges that sees us
continue constantly innovation is the African hair gene. As African men, we are
particularly susceptible to bumps due to the coarse, curly nature of their
facial hair. Our research has however shown that one can reduce the occurrence
of bumps by shaving more often, using new blades, using superior blades, and of
course prepping oneself before a shave,” said Mr. Mutune.
Mr. Mutune added that once
consumers understood the art of shaving, the market is bound to experience a
steady growth.
The global blade and razor
industry (male and female blades and razors) is currently valued as a $12.3
billion business with 800 million men shaving.
Mr. Mutune was speaking during
the unveiling of the Gillette brand of male and female razors and blades into
the Kenyan market. The brand unveiled into the market its five blade
Fusion to compete with Mach 3, a three-blade range in a bid to upgrade existing
consumers to the premium product. The move to bring Fusion into the market was
guided by consumers request for a product that offered a smoother and clear
look with less skin irritation which is a great inhibitor to blades purchase.
“What we have done is to continue
to introduce better quality products in the markets at different price ranges
for our consumers. Our research has shown that our loyal consumers are more
likely to try out a new razor which offers something more than the one he
currently uses,” said Mutune.
Best known for its slogan, “The
Best a Man can Get”, Gillette is seeking to maintain its market leadership by
offering consumers a larger variety inorder to maximize its the category sales.
“The strategy that the brand is
employing is to trade up consumers from using our disposable such as Blue 3 to
using our systems such as Mach 3 to give them a better shaving experience but
is also cost effective in the long run,” said Mr. Mutune.
Mr. Mutune added that P&G
spends over 2 billion on research and development which is paramount to
Gillette as the brand believes in once the consumer experiences the products
superior quality they will be willing to pay a high price for it.
However, the brand still faces
challenges in the market from consumers who are price sensitive settling for
low priced locally available blades and those who still prefer the traditional
methods of hair grooming.
Since its acquisition by Procter
& Gamble in 2005, the 112 year old brand has seen itself rise to become its
own competition in a market where the demand for hair grooming accessories is
growing yet the supply of quality products is low. In addition, the conversion
ratio of consumer who prefer modern methods such as non-disposal and electric
shavers to traditional methods such as razors blades. However, this has not
stopped Gillette which has the major share in the market from planning to
expand further to capture more share and push volumes.
