There's a new shaving device in town -- please play the theme to The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly inside your head at this time -- and it's ready to duel to the death if necessary, hoping to slash the letter G on its opponent's chest. That's G, as in Gillette (NYSE:G).
The opponent? None other than the company whose mascot is a rabbit that keeps going and going: Energizer Holdings (NYSE:ENR), owner of the Schick razor brand. Don't kid yourself -- this is serious business.
Gillette is hoping that its innovative M3Power razor will capture the imaginations of men around the world who always want that clean-shaven look. Product development is crucial for this market. Bells and whistles that constantly engage the consumer and provide a differentiated item are a must. Each new iteration represents some sort of sleek, technological advancement. If you stop and consider razors for a moment, they're rather simple, banal objects that don't need a high degree of complexity to do the trick. Gillette and Energizer, however, do a good job in transforming these tools into seemingly high-end members of a unique portfolio, linking style and perceived value for premium prices.
In this way, they are excellent marketers and share a lot in common with Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP) -- companies that are merely in the business of convincing consumers that their container of potable high-sugar solution is better than the other guy's.
The M3Power system is based on, "micro-power technology" that uses "micro-pulses" to situate the facial hair into a more shave-worthy position (this sounds like something out of Star Trek). I saw the commercial, and to be honest, it did pique my interest. My intellectual gut tells me that Gillette should have a winner on its hands. Great news, as a successful core product such as this will obviously make shareholders happy and aid in keeping its earnings momentum going.
Of course, don't count Energizer out of the razor race yet. Its Quattro brand is strong. And the anti-beard category isn't the only theater of battle -- there's the battery conflict as well, and this affected the perception of Energizer's last quarterly report. We'll have to wait and see if Gillette and the M3Power system can make some rabbit stew out of its No. 1 nemesis.
Are you interested in Gillette's new M3Power? Will it trounce the competition with this product? Share your thoughts on our Gillette discussion board.
Fool contributor Steven Mallas owns shares of Coca-Cola.
