Cheap razor made after P&G watches Indians shave • Hacker News Board

Re: Cheap razor made after P&G watches Indians shave

#31

Post by KC8ZKF » Sat, Oct 05, 2013, 4:48 PM UTC

Aloha wrote: post #29

I think this is a really neat (small) study of how a product makes it to market. Truth is, I would probably buy this razor if I could, I dont need a 97 blade extravaganza I just want something to scrape the extra hair off my face. As far as using Indian students from MIT - thats a neat way of trying to lower development costs, while still targeting the specific needs to the ethnic group targeted. It didn't work perfe…

Buy a safety razor.

http://www.amazon.com/Astra-Superior-Premium-Platinum-Double...

Re: Cheap razor made after P&G watches Indians shave

#32

Post by Aloha » Sat, Oct 05, 2013, 4:49 PM UTC

KC8ZKF wrote: post #31

Aloha wrote: post #29

I think this is a really neat (small) study of how a product makes it to market. Truth is, I would probably buy this razor if I could, I dont need a 97 blade extravaganza I just want something to scrape the extra hair off my face. As far as using Indian students from MIT - thats a neat way of trying to lower development costs, while still targeting the specific needs to the ethnic group targeted. It didn't work perfe…

Buy a safety razor. http://www.amazon.com/Astra-Superior-Premium-Platinum-Double...

Yeah, the product discussed in the article is safer than a safety razor - that was part of the point.

Re: Cheap razor made after P&G watches Indians shave

#33

Post by bane » Sat, Oct 05, 2013, 4:50 PM UTC

mistercow wrote: post #22

>but instead of making the costly trip abroad, they had Indian students at nearby Massachusetts Institute of Technology test the razor. This is one of the hard things about being a tiny startup like P&G with very little capital to spare: you sometimes have to cut costs on little things that turn out to be more important than you thought. A few thousand dollars to fly your employees to India might not seem like much,…

Yes, because the cheap disposable Indian razor department gets to call on all $140B in assets in a Pyrrhic quest to crack the 12 cent foreign razor market.

Re: Cheap razor made after P&G watches Indians shave

#34

Post by KC8ZKF » Sat, Oct 05, 2013, 4:53 PM UTC

Aloha wrote: post #32

KC8ZKF wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Buy a safety razor. http://www.amazon.com/Astra-Superior-Premium-Platinum-Double...

Yeah, the product discussed in the article is safer than a safety razor - that was part of the point.

Sorry. I thought you wanted something just to scrape the extra hair off your face.

Re: Cheap razor made after P&G watches Indians shave

#35

Post by masklinn » Sat, Oct 05, 2013, 4:56 PM UTC

mistercow wrote: post #22

>but instead of making the costly trip abroad, they had Indian students at nearby Massachusetts Institute of Technology test the razor. This is one of the hard things about being a tiny startup like P&G with very little capital to spare: you sometimes have to cut costs on little things that turn out to be more important than you thought. A few thousand dollars to fly your employees to India might not seem like much,…

> This is one of the hard things about being a tiny startup like P&G

This was during the Vector's R&D circa 2002, Gillette was only bought by P&G in 2005. It's got nothing to do with P&G.

Re: Cheap razor made after P&G watches Indians shave

#36

Post by kemayo » Sat, Oct 05, 2013, 4:56 PM UTC

jblow wrote: post #14

This is a contemptible article. It seems mostly to be a product of PR, and for an American audience it seems intended to perpetuate the cognitive capture regarding razors being things that a lot of thought goes into and that therefore justify high prices. Do the math for how much a razor "should" cost, and ask why you can't buy one for remotely that much at your local Walgreens. Ask why stuff like Dollar Shave Club e…

The bit which really tripped my PR filter was:

> To do that, P&G executives would have to attract the nearly 500 million Indians who use double-edged razors, an old fashioned T-shaped razor that has no protective piece of plastic that goes between the blade and the skin when shaving.

...such razors are generally called "safety razors", and unless there's a radically different design in use in India, they're pretty hard to cut yourself with.

But a resurgence in their popularity would be pretty terrible for Gillette, given how much cheaper their blades are, so their PR can't say anything positive about them.

Re: Cheap razor made after P&G watches Indians shave

#37

Post by jccalhoun » Sat, Oct 05, 2013, 4:59 PM UTC

Aloha wrote: post #32

KC8ZKF wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Buy a safety razor. http://www.amazon.com/Astra-Superior-Premium-Platinum-Double...

Yeah, the product discussed in the article is safer than a safety razor - that was part of the point.

Allegedly. I wouldn't trust this article as proof of anything.

Re: Cheap razor made after P&G watches Indians shave

#38

Post by masklinn » Sat, Oct 05, 2013, 5:01 PM UTC

singlecomment17 wrote: post #10

LOL. Rings true. "Indian men have thicker hair and a higher hair density than their American counterparts. Adding to that, they often shave less frequently than American men, so they wind up shaving longer beards." .. " "... observed men using a cup of water to shave. All the MIT students had running water. Without that, the razor stayed clogged." I live in a first world country now, and still use a bowl of water whe…

> People who keep the water running all the time while they brush their teeth or shave drive me nuts.

Mixing valves have existed for a few decades now (unless you're in the UK, which is still waiting to discover plumbing I believe). There no reason to leave water running.

Re: Cheap razor made after P&G watches Indians shave

#39

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Oct 05, 2013, 5:01 PM UTC

avtar wrote: post #9

Everyone's shaving needs are different -- mine require me to spend a considerable amount of time and effort to make sure I don't end up with cuts or ingrown hairs. I used disposable razors for the longest time until I found a thread on a wet shaving forum[0] where someone had shared a quick tutorial video[1] on how to shave with a double edge razor. After committing to wet shaving I now get the closest shaves possibl…

[deleted]

Re: Cheap razor made after P&G watches Indians shave

#40

Post by jccalhoun » Sat, Oct 05, 2013, 5:04 PM UTC

meepmorp wrote: post #16

As an alternative solution to the problem, try growing a long, luxurious, and sexy beard. No unnecessary waste from shaving products, no razor burn, and less time dicking around in the mornings. When it gets too long, take 5 minutes and trim it back.

It doesn't even have to be a long beard. I gave up shaving regularly years ago and can't imagine shaving every day.

It might be because I have really dense hair but I always hated shaving. Maybe if I had this razor allegedly designed for thicker hair I might shave more often. Maybe I'm part Indian and didn't know it? (Although I doubt any of my ancestors ever set foot in India let alone came from there.)