OT: Can't wait to see the commercials for this...

[MikeVic]

hxxp://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=677&e=3&u=/usatoday/20041216/bs_usatoday/gillettehopestopowershaversalestowomenwithvibrance
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Gillette hopes to power shaver sales to women with Vibrance

Thu Dec 16, 6:56 AM ET

By Theresa Howard, USA TODAY

Gillette (G) will announce Thursday its strategy to go after a bigger cut of the women's shaving market this spring, including two new products in its successful Venus line and - in an unusual move in personal care products - equality with similar men's products in price.

The company will roll out a battery-powered Venus Vibrance shaver, similar to its men's M3Power, that sends little vibrations to the skin to raise the hair for a closer shave. It also will add Venus disposables.

In a product category where women's products generally are priced higher than men's - on the assumption women will pay more for personal care - the suggested retail prices for the Venus Vibrance will be $9.99 to $11.99, equal to the new lower price the M3Power gets next month.

Price equality for essentially the same product could help nick the competition, one expert says.

Women "are not going to pay more for the sake of paying more. There has to be something in it for them," says Denise Fedewa, co-founder of Leo Burnett USA's LeoShe unit, which specializes in marketing to women.

Gillette is counting on the promise of a closer shave and the vibrant pink design to help its Venus franchise reclaim its spot as the top women's brand in the $200 million razor business.

An estimated $40 million ad campaign will promote the brand's new features.

"We expect it (the pulsing technology) to have similar positive impact on Venus as it has had on the Mach3 brand," says Peter Hoffman, Gillette's president for blades and razors.

While Venus Vibrance costs the same as the men's M3Power version, the added technology makes the shaver about 15% pricier than the current, lower-tech Venus.

That might be OK with women, Fedewa says. "Women are very discerning shoppers, but they will pay more for something when it has some kind of benefit, tangible or intangible to them, that justifies paying more," she says. "When these products are out in display in your bathroom, you want it to look nice, feel good in your hands or go over contours better. "

Formerly the top-selling razor, Venus is No. 4 overall and No. 2 for women, according to sales tracker Information Resources Inc. Venus ranks behind the No. 1 overall Schick Intuition for the 52 weeks ended Nov. 28. In blades, Venus, with sales of $73 million, beats Schick, with sales of $40.2 million, according to IRI. Data do not include Wal-Mart and clubs, which don't release sales.

The No. 2 razor overall and tops for men is Gillette's M3Power, which is heading for $30 million in first-year sales.

Gillette achieved price parity by setting a lower price point for the Venus than the M3Power, launched last spring with a suggested retail price of $14.99, then cutting the price of the men's razor (effective next month). The price cut was achieved in part by packaging both models as a razor, a carrying case and one refill, dropping one extra refill from the M3Power package.

"Our testing indicated that there is an upside potential to penetrate more razors at a slightly reduced price," Hoffman says.

In addition to the new high-tech model, however, Gillette is not ignoring the lowly disposable razor - used by 54% of women in North America. The company is adding a fancy Venus disposable which - at $6.50 to $7.99 for three razors - will be "the most expensive disposable on the market," Hoffman says. That works out to at least $2.17 per shaver, or 40% more than Gillette's Sensor at $1.55 per shaver.

"We think Venus disposable will be a nice premium niche for those women who want better performance but are committed to disposables," Hoffman says. The average woman uses nine disposable razors annually, so "that's $20 a year to shave," he says.
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Is it just me, or is there potential for some funny commercials.

[Hurst2112]

What? a shaver shaped like a vibrator?

[Leonidas]

My wife's reaction: "Does it come with a contour shaped dildo?"

[duckman]

pics pl k thx