Although razors have been in existence since the Bronze Age, its modern counterpart was not invented until the 18th century and electric razors were not invented until the 1930s. In the 21st century, the safety razor- both electric and non-electric – is the most commonly used razor by both men and women, but other kinds still exist. As for the Chinese market, foreign brands currently control most of the market.
Domestic razor brands in China: FLYCO (飞科) and POVOS (奔腾)
FLYCO Group Co., Ltd. specializes in designing, producing and marketing different series of small home appliances. Currently, it is divided into five divisions. One of these divisions – Zhejiang FLYCO Electrical Appliance Co., Ltd. (FLYCO for short) is one of the largest men’s razor manufacturers in China. They boast the highest sales, highest production volume, and best R&D of any razor manufacturers in China. Its factor covers an area of more than 20,000 square meters and employs more than 1,800 employees. The company has multiple production lines in its factory, including 98 injection machines, 16 welded streamlines, 5 package pipelining and 20 assemble streamlines.
Shanghai POVOS Electric Works Co., Ltd. is a subsidiary company of Shanghai POVOS Enterprise Group. The company has operated in the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of personal care appliances for about 10 years. POVOS group is also one of the largest manufacturing and export bases of electrical appliances in China. As one of the leading manufacturer in the personal care industry in China, POVOS has more than 80 experienced R&D engineers, an efficient overseas marketing team, 1500 workers and 60,000 square meters construction area.
International razor brands in China: Gillette, Braun and Sanyo
Gillette is a brand of Procter & Gamble that manufactures men’s safety razors, along with other personal care products. Gillette has a long history of marketing its products, especially towards young men. Current promotions include sponsorship of sports such as Major League Baseball and the England national rugby league team, along with the Rugby League Four Nations.
Braun is a German consumer products company based in Kronberg. From 1984 until 2005 Braun was a wholly owned subsidiary of The Gillette Company, which had purchased a controlling interest in the company in 1967. Braun is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Procter & Gamble, which acquired Gillette in 2005.
Sanyo is a major electronics company and member of the Fortune 500 whose headquarters is located in Moriguchi, Osaka prefecture, Japan. Sanyo targets the middle market and has over 230 brands and affiliates. On December 21, 2009, Panasonic completed a 400 billion yen acquisition of a 50.2% stake in Sanyo, making Sanyo a subsidiary of Panasonic. In July 2010, Panasonic announced that they would acquire the remaining shares of Sanyo.
Daxue Consulting Market Research in China
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Picture Source: FLYCO
