Disposable Razors

Amalgam

I thought I'd start a thread to do with disposable razors.

Even as a safety razor shaver, you do see foreign brands, odd contraptions, thingamajigs and offers that catch your eye.

Mooching about on ebay.de, I stumbled across a seller selling: Derby 'BANYO'

http://www.ebay.de/itm/50xStk-DERBY-Einwegrasierklingen-BANYO-mehr-als-einmal-benutzen-sehr-sanft-z-Hau-/380489392054



50 x razors for €6.99 is pretty sweet, whatever your shaving habits. A 'brand' too.

My German isn't the best. I assume you're getting 50 plastic handles and not just 1 plastic handle and fifty 'split' Derby shavette blades that can be changed over, when used.

The angle of the head is quite steep, reminds me of the bic 'Metal' disposables.

The 'comb' at the razor guard is a bit of nod towards the past, open comb etc.

teddyboy

Amalgam wrote: »

I thought I'd start a thread to do with disposable razors.

Even as a safety razor shaver, you do see foreign brands, odd contraptions, thingamajigs and offers that catch your eye.

Mooching about on ebay.de, I stumbled across a seller selling: Derby 'BANYO'

http://www.ebay.de/itm/50xStk-DERBY-Einwegrasierklingen-BANYO-mehr-als-einmal-benutzen-sehr-sanft-z-Hau-/380489392054



50 x razors for €6.99 is pretty sweet, whatever your shaving habits. A 'brand' too.

My German isn't the best. I assume you're getting 50 plastic handles and not just 1 plastic handle and fifty 'split' Derby shavette blades that can be changed over, when used.

The angle of the head is quite steep, reminds me of the bic 'Metal' disposables.

The 'comb' at the razor guard is a bit of nod towards the past, open comb etc.

They look **** to me...I'd rather shave my face with a butter knife :rolleyes:

Amalgam

They can't be 'worse' than what you'd come to expect of the Derby brand.

The open comb caught my eye, mainly, you don't see that in disposables often.

Gran Hermano

Amalgam wrote: »

They can't be 'worse' than what you'd come to expect of the Derby brand.

The open comb caught my eye, mainly, you don't see that in disposables often.

Check out the Gillette Guard razor, launched by P&G India to try and get people to 'upgrade' from DE blades. It also has an open comb.
http://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=gillette%20india%20guard&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pg.com%2Fen_US%2Fdownloads%2Finnovation%2Ffactsheet_final_Gillette_Guard.pdf&ei=t0jjUI2xDcS1hAeqgYHABQ&usg=AFQjCNGYuklzCEG1--1qUgC06tkTwAzVOQ&sig2=-CKNloUATYJNlYgsw-G1zg&bvm=bv.1355534169,d.ZG4

hitemfrank

I reckon you should buy some Amalgam and try them out for everyone. I coulnd't imagine them being any worse than a BIC disposable to be honest.

I'm almost 100% sure I've read about them on Badger & Blade but I can't find the thread. If I find it I'll edit in the link to this post.

Amalgam

Interesting document, Gran Hermano. The wording\turn of phrase is very much pointing inwards, towards the industry, resellers, retailer, PR folk, rather than the consumer.

A pinch of 'dark arts' going on, the reasons listed to turn, 'these men' back to disposable..

The mention of water scarcity is interesting, of course, in this part of the world, access to it is taken for granted.

I'd happily use that disposable, my main sticking point with disposables is having to 'tap out' stubble and foam every so often. The fact that lather and stubble can travel through the shaving point is a solution of sorts.

You'd wonder why Gillette wouldn't dump these on the western market, probably too high a risk of distracting from the price inflated multi blade output..

The .pdf is from 2010 or thereabouts. The razors are available all over eBay with a large variation in price, from seller to seller. Most of them India based.

I've extracted the text and most of the graphical assets, from your linked .pdf, below.

Gillette Guard is a breakthrough new shaving system designed to provide a
safe, high-quality shave at an affordable price for more than one billion men
in emerging markets who today shave with double-edge razors. As the first
Gillette product designed specifically for men in these markets, Gillette Guard
is one of the most significant product launches in Gillette history.

Bringing Purpose-Inspired Growth to Life

Today, nearly one billion men are shaving using
technology invented by King C. Gillette more than
100 years ago, double-edge razors, because there
is no better affordable alternative – until now. Many
of these men shave without running water while
balancing a hand-held mirror, an intense, tedious
and time-consuming process that can easily result in
nicks and cuts.
Recognizing an opportunity to improve the lives of
these consumers, we took a fresh approach to every
element of our innovation process, from consumer
understanding to design to manufacturing, to create
a product uniquely for these men while carefully
managing cost to meet their affordability criteria
in a sustainable business model. The result is a
breakthrough new product that enables Gillette to
better serve wet shavers in emerging markets around
the globe.

Unique Insights, Unique Approach

Market immersion was critical to the development
of Gillette Guard. A multi-functional innovation team
spent thousands of hours with consumers in India
and other emerging markets to experience the lives
of these men, understand the role that grooming
plays in their life, and better understand their specific
shaving needs. We learned they valued safety, ease-
of-use and affordability above all else.
Thousands of men helped shape the product –
participating in interviews, in-home visits, “shop
alongs” and test shaves to fine tune the razor’s
performance. These experiences generated rich
insights that challenged many fundamental product
assumptions built on decades of experience with
men in developed markets.

From these insights, the team developed Gillette
Guard from a clean sheet of paper, filtering every
design and technology element through the eyes of
the low-income consumer and what he valued most.
This consumer inspired, laser-like focus drove
inclusion of only the most important features that
were meaningful for the consumer and allowed the
product to be offered at an affordable price. This
also enabled a dramatically simplified product design
using 80% fewer parts than Gillette Vector which
enables a streamlined and lower cost manufacturing
process.
Gillette Guard will be available in India and will sell
for a suggested retail price of approximately 15
Rupees (or 33 U.S. cents) per razor with refills costing
approximately one Rupee (or 2 U.S. cents) per shave.

About Gillette Guard Technology:

Gillette Guard is a razor system especially designed
for safety that men in emerging markets love.
Consumer testing shows that men in India prefer
Gillette Guard 6-to-1 versus double-edge razors, and
the razor also has significant wins in key areas like
value, safety and trust. 74% of men tell us Gillette
Guard provides fewer nicks and cuts and 75% tell
us they feel safer using Gillette Guard than double-
edge razors.

Double-edge users in emerging markets have unique
needs and preferences that differ from consumers in
other parts of the world. For example, these men:

• Primarily want an affordable and safe shaving
experience

• Desire a razor that can help manage longer hair
because they don’t shave every day

• Often lack running water, therefore place high
importance on easy-rinsing technology

• Use unique gripping patterns when shaving that
need to be addressed

With these insights in mind, Gillette Guard delivers:

A Focus on Safety

• A single-blade system lined with a safety comb
designed to prevent nicks and cuts

• A flexible pivoting razor head helps better
maneuver the curves of the face and neck and
tackle the hair under the chin – difficult areas for
double-edge razor users to shave safely

• An easy-to-maneuver handle with a lightweight,
ribbed design offers excellent one-handed control
to help prevent nicks and cuts

Added Convenience

• Easy-rinse cartridges to prevent clogging

• A hang hole at the end of the razor handle
provides a convenient means of storage

• Easy-click docking makes it faster and easier
to connect the blade to the razor versus the
complexity of assembling a double-edge razor

Availability:

Gillette Guard will be available in India beginning
in October 2010. The razor will sell for a suggested
retail price of fifteen Rupees (or approximately
33 U.S. cents per razor) – with refill cartridges for
approximately 5 Rupees (one Rupee per shave or
approximately 2 U.S. cents per shave).

Amalgam

hitemfrank wrote: »

I reckon you should buy some Amalgam and try them out for everyone. I coulnd't imagine them being any worse than a BIC disposable to be honest.

I'm almost 100% sure I've read about them on Badger & Blade but I can't find the thread. If I find it I'll edit in the link to this post.

I'm not sure I want\need them..

hitemfrank

There are probably a few reasons why they wont sell them in Western markets.

You can get them on ebay or direct from India through some webshops and they are still cheap. A quick look on ebay show 48 of the razor heads for a touch over €18 delivered. Sure you need to pick up a handle but that is generally the cheapest part of Gillette razors. There is no way Gillette would sell them at that price in Western markets. That's about 40 cent per razor head and the person selling them is probably making a decent profit on that too.

Even after the price is taken into account, how silly would P&G/Gillette look if the started marketing a one bladed razor when they have been for years marketing that more blades equals a better shave? I know they still make and sell the Gillette Blue disposable razors but they really dont market them.

Amalgam

hitemfrank wrote: »

That's about 40 cent per razor head and the person selling them is probably making a decent profit on that too.

An article from a few years back, worth linking, even if it is The Daily Mail.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2136440/The-great-razor-rip-Prices-blades-soar-99-just-years.html

The cartridges cost less than 10p to make, but shoppers are being charged as much as £3.49 each.

hitemfrank

The thing about that article doesn't take into account is the cost attached to the cartridges after they are manufactured. There are manufacturing overheads, payment of workers and they have to be packaged and moved to storage being distributed around the world (I'm guessinng they are probably being made in China for that cheap). The cost of transporting them itself won't be that cheap.

Then there is the tax from governments for importing them. The money the shops put on top to make a profit on them (more overheads for storage and distribution and such).

It's not quite as simple as the Daily Mail make out in the article but then again it is the Daily Mail. Sure the companies are making good profit on the cartridges but it's not the £3.39 one may assume if they just take the article on face value.

But anyway I'll stick to my straight razors and the odd DE shave because that's really saved me money over cartridges