What do you make of the battle between Gillette and Schick? Is the battle of one-upmanship good for either company?

Gillette is the world’s premiere producer of grooming products; best known for its line of razors and blades. Since its inception in 1901, Gillette has always prided itself on providing the best shaving care products for men and women. In fact, the company was so visionary that it didn’t have any serious competition until 1962 when Wilkinson Sword introduced its stainless steel blade. Since that time, the Wilkinson Sword-Schick Company has evolved into Gillette’s primary competitor. Through the years, Gillette has strived to stay on the cutting edge of shaving technology in a market that thrives on innovation. This focus has led to a game of one-upsmanship with Schick as each company introduced 3-bladed (Gillette’s Mach3), 4-bladed (Schick’s Quattro), and 5-bladed (Gillette’s Fusion) razors in rapid succession. Now, under the ownership and guidance of Procter & Gamble, Gillette faces a saturated U.S. market that fluctuates only when newer, more innovative products are introduced. However, many analysts believe that Gillette and Schick have reached the end of meaningful product innovation. Given this, Gillette faces the challenge of further expanding its already dominant market share around the world. And, in a market that thrives on innovation, Gillette must determine how to balance the continued investment of resources in research and development, searching for “the next big thing” in the global shaving market, with capturing more of their loyal consumers through product-line expansions and inspiring marketing campaigns.