BUILDING SALES

Waipa Post, Volume 47, Issue 3359, 26 August 1933, Page 5

BUILDING SALES

Thirty years ago, in the days when beards were popular, King Gillette invested his entire capital of £I2OO to advertise a new form of razor. To-day the Gillette Safety Razor Company is spending £200,000 annually in newspaper space—considerably more than in any other medium —and manufacturing some 15,000,000 razors annually. Notwithstanding the expiration of its patent a few years ago, consistent advertising has not only sustained, but rapidly increase, the company's sales, in the face of many new competitors.

In 1930, when the new model razor was introduced, £250,000 was spent in newspapers for an introductory campaign. "Our dealers never dreamed what their volume of

sales would be," said Mr F. J

Fahey, general manager, at the time. "Not more than 25 per cent, of them had ordered enough stock in advance. Many of the others found they should have ordered three or four times as much." This year, promoting its second new blade—after frankly admitting defects in the first new blade through large space newspaper announcements —Gillette realised a net profit of £BOO,OOO in the first six months as compared with £625,000 in the corresponding period of 1931.