GILLETTE Middle East has launched the first power-based wet shaving system for men, M3Power, in the Middle East. Gillette expects the M3Power to further increase the value of the male grooming market in the region, which was valued at US $86 million in 2005, according to analysts, ACNielsen.
“The region’s male grooming sector has been growing at a steady average of 4% for the last few years and it is the right time for us to bring into this sector a totally new product that will power the growth of this sector,” said Prakash Nedungadi, a regional business director at Gillette Middle East.
Gillette’s M3Power system builds on its triple-blade Mach3 predecessor, by featuring a battery-powered system that causes the razor to oscillate. This stimulates hair, giving the user an improved shave with fewer strokes, according to Gillette.
The launch of M3Power is being supported by a multi-million dollar, six-week advertising campaign, Mohammed Kashashi, Gillette MEA’s associate regional manager for blades and razors, told RNME. “We’re following a 360 degree campaign which will surround the consumer wherever he goes,” he said.
“It includes TV advertising, a print campaign in the daily newspapers, outdoor advertising, radio stations, and direct mailing.” He added that the product is being aimed at “every single male who can shave”, although advertising is targeted primarily at an age group of 16 to 40 years.
Gillette has also launched a new shaving gel in conjunction with M3Power, in a bid to capture an increasing share of the lucrative shaving soap, gel and foam market, which is estimated to be worth some US $8 million in the Middle East. “The growth rate of this market for the last three years has been extremely healthy, averaging 10% per year,” Nedungadi said.
Gillette MEA expects M3Power to mirror the success of the Mach3 shaving system, which was launched in the Middle East in 2000, and Mach3 Turbo, which launched in 2003. The Mach3 franchise, a series of three-blades shaving systems, has already captured more than 40% of consumer spending on blades and razors, according to Nedungadi.
“Since its launch in the Middle East markets, the Mach3 system has gained tremendous popularity among the wet shaving male population, recording higher record shares of the blades and razors market in the region,” he said.
“Built on Mach3 franchise, M3Power has features and benefits that are totally unprecedented in the shaving world…We expect this new system to substantially fuel the value of the blade and razor category, in the same way that Mach3Turbo has driven growth over the past two years.”
The shaving system includes the refillable razor, a cartridge and an AAA Duracell battery. The system will retail for about US $12, while the gel will retail at about US $5.
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