How Solving a Common Problem Can Lead to Fame and Riches
The late 19th century was a time of massive cultural, business, and lifestyle changes in the United States and Western Europe. Industrialization was in full swing. Railroads were fully formed and provided faster movement of people, goods, and food for consumers and businesses. Men like Thomas Edison, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and JP Morgan were transforming commerce and innovation. This was a golden age of consumer product invention.
The opportunity to innovate in the areas of personal hygiene, comfort, and safety was being aggressively addressed for the first time in history. The evolution of a mass consumption market was incipient. The confluence of this new mass market and a host of new products to address perceived needs created a unique confluence of opportunity.
The daily task of a man shaving his facial hair was one such opportunity. Today, when seeing the paintings and images of this era; we are amused by the highly styled and gloriously grown facial hair seen on many male faces. You rarely see a clean-shaven face. It would seem as if the men of the 1890s were striving to grow individualized works of art on their faces.
The reason so many men grew beards, mustaches, and goatees was the inherent difficulty, at the time, in the shaving process. Water was not always available to soften facial hair and lather. Warm water was even weirder. Most men, even of limited means, turned to the barber to trim their facial hair. When shaving his beard, a sharp steel razor was essential. Razors had to be sharpened regularly on a strap and had to be very sharp. Many men cut themselves and become infected by doing this simple act of personal hygiene. Shaving while riding on a moving train was very dangerous. The need to address this task was ready to be successfully commercialized.
Into this gaping void stumbled a socialist utopian dreamer named King Gillette. Gillette was considered a failure by his family. His father was a successful innovator and his mother wrote a famous cookbook, “The White House Cookbook,” which remained in print for nearly 100 years. King Gillette had received several patents but failed in his efforts to commercialize any of them. He earned his livelihood by working as a street vendor. His failures soured him and he plunged into socialism and preached a kind of anti-industrialism.
Yet this unlikely capitalist, while working as a salesman for the Crown Cork and Seal Company, was encouraged by his boss to continue trying to invent new products. Specifically, he encouraged Gillette to invent products that required subsequent periodic replacement purchases. His passion became the development of a shaving system that was safe, portable, efficient, cost-effective, and required the purchaser to replace the implement on a regular basis.
King Gillette brought his concept for a shaving device, which required an amalgamation of metals and metallurgical technology, to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Working with engineers at this prestigious school allowed Gillette to perfect the elements of the safety razor. His patents indicate an apparatus of elegant simplicity.
Gillette formed the American Safety Razor Company to commercialize his invention. Initially, due to limited capital and the high cost of production, sales were slow. While analyzing the product, the sales potential, and the virtual absence of competition, Gillette made an inspired decision: It would sell the razors at a loss to encourage sales, portable implement usage, and speed up word of mouth about their amazing razor. Sales expanded exponentially almost immediately, and the Gillette Safety Razor became one of the most revered brands in history. The term “loss leader” or losing money on the first sale to consolidate subsequent gains was born.
Gillette quickly realized that their real business was not selling razors, but selling blades. He almost immediately began giving away the razors. To this day, the purchase of a new Gillette shaving system includes a free or deeply discounted razor, ensuring years of consistent and highly profitable repeat purchases of the blades. Product fidelity was assured.
The term “planned obsolescence” is classically applied to products like Gillette blades. In the 1890s, people practically did not throw anything away. Everything was used until the complete useful life of a product was exhausted. The concept of a product being used and thrown away in favor of a replacement unit was novel. It was also key to the evolution of a dynamic consumer products market. We owe a lot to King Gillette and the business model it created. It serves us well to this day.
King Gillette was an unlikely capitalist. Even after making millions from his inventions, he hypocritically preached a strange anti-capitalist philosophy. However, he possessed all the essential characteristics so necessary to be a successful businessman. He had vision, drive and courage. Failure did not stop him. He searched and found a need. He addressed that need, cutting costs and prices to make his razors and blades affordable to the masses. He provided a simple solution to a basic human problem: shaving.
King Gillette’s lesson for all struggling entrepreneurs is obvious. There will always be a demand for innovation that addresses everyday problems through simple product benefits. Look around your home, hobby, or workplace. This is where you will find potentially lucrative and significant trading opportunities.
For assistance or inquiries about marketing your opportunity or invention, please contact the author, Geoff Ficke, Duquesa Marketing, Inc. at www.duquesamarketing.com or email [email protected]