Techniques of Selling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Techniques of Selling - Essay Example Blades & Razors is Gillette's leading business division, accounting for around 41% of sales. Division growth for the year, at 11.9%, was slightly down on 2003 (12.6%); however, performance should still be considered strong given the increase in competition, in particular from Energizer's Schick Quattro 4-blade razor product. Driving growth was the company's continued investment in product innovation, its ongoing focus "trading up" to premium, higher margin products and growth in emerging markets. A notable increase in advertising also contributed. Major product launches during the year were the M3 Power razor and the Venus Vibrance razor for women. Blades & Razors accounts for by far the largest proportion of operating profit, at 63% in 2004, at US$1.6 billion, due largely to higher sales and margins. Performance in 2004 represented an increase of 14% over 2003. Operating profit fell slightly in 2003 chiefly due to a US$50 million charge relating to the realignment of the European manufacturing and distribution operations. Focusing on Gillette's core sectors, its primary interest lies in men's razors and blades in which it was ranked number one in the world in 2004 with an increased market share of 65.5%. Gillette competes with Energizer Holdings, which was ranked second in 2004, with a market share of 15.3%, and Bic, in third place with 4.8%. Although its strong performance in 2004 meant that lower placed rivals had little chance of making up ground, razors and blades witnessed intensification in competition which while not causing Gillette to lose ground stopped its ascendancy. In late 2003, Energizer launched its Schick Quattro 4-blade razor product despite an attempt by Gillette to halt the market entry through the law courts. As a result, following three years of market share gain, Gillette recorded stagnation in 2004. Gillette responded to this launch in 2004 with a new introduction of its own, presenting the M3 Power product, a battery powered wet shaving system, in North America in May 2004. The product has since been given a wider global roll-out. Gillette have launched their new product, it's a partially new product called the Mach 3, it has had minor changes from their existing product the Sensor Excel, and they have invested heavily in the development and launch. Although this is really just a product improvement on their old razor through continuous development, Gillette has also incorporated room for product additions. This could be seen as repositioning their old product. Gillette gives continuous innovation to their products, whether it's a new product line or a new product all together. Why launch a new product I hear you say, consumer needs haven't really changed, and nothing has created new consumer needs, Gillette must have accessed competitor activity and realized a decline in the market of there existing products. There existing razor had gone through the product life cycle, it had been introduced, experienced growth, reached maturity and then entered a decline. Description of the launch strategy Gillette has identified the potential of the new product. They have analyzed the competition and technology, and taken into account the consumer problems, behavior