Gillette Company's global strategy and business expansion

GILLETTE COMPANY'S GLOBAL STRATEGY

Today, the Gillette Co. (the "company" or "Gillette") is an $8 billion manufacturer of male and female grooming products, alkaline batteries and manual and power toothbrushes, and markets these products globally. The company has five business segments: Blades and Razors, Duracell, Oral Care, Braun and Personal Care. The Blades and Razors segment is the primary business in terms of share of sales and profit, representing 42% of total company net sales and 68% of total operating segment profit from operations in 2003. As of December 31, 2003, Gillette had manufacturing operations at 32 facilities in 14 countries, and the company's products are sold in over 200 countries and territories. The company's largest customer is Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. together with its affiliates; these companies accounted for 13% of Gillette's net sales in 2003. The company has achieved these levels of sales and growth through a consistently applied pattern of intelligent business decisions and a philosophy of enlightened human resource management policies. To determine how and where Gillette has succeeded in this regard, this paper provides an overview and brief history of the company, followed by a review of its various business units, an examination of its strategies for growth, and an analysis of how effective these strategies have been in terms of the company's historic performance. A summary of the research is provided in the conclusion.

Abstract

CHAPTER 1: