No truth to the rumor, apparently, that P&G's Gillette is about to roll out the first ever ten-blade razor, reports Ellen Byron in the Wall Street Journal (2/12/10). "It's not about the blade count," says Matthew Wohl, general manager of male new products and shave care at Procter & Gamble. "Men tell us their number-one need is comfort ... They tell us they want less tug and pull, less irritation." Indeed, on average, "men need to pull through 10,000 to 15,000 beard hairs," and use 150 strokes to do so.

But rather than adding more blades, Gillette "is promising several technological advances" when it introduces its new Fusion ProGlide razor, in both manual and battery-powered versions, this June. These include "blade edges so fine they can only be seen at high magnification, a 'snow-plow guard' that prevents hydroplaning and a new ergonomic grip that improves traction." All of this innovation will come at a price, of course -- a pack of four of the manual cartridges will run $16.99, and the battery-powered $17.99.

This represents "a 15 percent premium to regular Fusion blades, which already run about twice the average price in the category." The ProGlide has been under development for several years, and has been tested on 30,000 men, including current and former P&G CEOs Robert McDonald and A.G. Lafley. Gillette currently "holds more than three-quarters of the U.S. market for razors and blades," with its Fusion line bringing in "$1 billion worldwide each year." Stew Traub, a Gillette research director, is mum about any future innovations, saying only, "I will never say we won't add more blades."

More than 125 years after David McConnell pioneered Avon, 22-year-old Kristiauna Mangum is "ringing doorbells" for cosmetics on Facebook and Twitter, reports Camille Sweeney in the New York Times (1/14/10). Kristiauna is not an Avon Lady but a Mark Girl, but it's all in the family because Avon launched Mark about seven years ago. Being a Mark Girl means Kristiauna is "one of more than 40,000" young women in North America, "who are changing the nature of direct sales by using the brand's personalized e-boutiques, iPhone app and new Facebook e-shop."

So successful is Kristiauna that she "manages 155 other Mark Girls" at Ohio State University, "selling Mark beauty products and fashion accessories for a commission in the range of 20 to 50 percent." She makes about $800 a month at this, using the proceeds to help pay off her student loans. "It's really a grass-roots kind of thing, hitting the dorms, sororities, Facebook," says Kristiauna. Claudia Poccia, president of Mark, says the concept is a natural.

"We've taken the same DNA of direct selling that has always been a part of Avon's history and applied it to the digital world for our Mark reps to reach our customers," Claudia explains. Mark also features its own product line, offered at relatively lower-price points than Avon products. The products themselves are designed with a younger shopper in mind, as well. Hook Ups, which sell for about $10, are "two-ended cosmetic dispensers that can be customized to connect, for example, lip gloss and lip pencil, eyeliner and mascara." Last year, Mark's revenues were about $70 million.

Stefano Pessina sees store-brands, health services and acquisitions driving growth for Alliance Boots pharmacies worldwide, reports Cecilie Rohwedder in the Wall Street Journal (11/20/09). "One of our main projects for the future is to internationalize the Boots brand," says Stefano, who bought Boots two years ago with KKR & Company. "We want to sell more Boots-branded products outside the U.K." Boots's U.K. success is largely propelled by a line of Boots-brand skin creams known as Boots No. 7.

The line is now also available in France and Portugal, but Stefano, a former nuclear engineer and "one of the richest men in Italy," sees his store brand spreading across Europe. As it is, various Boots brands are available in "15 countries, including the U.S," both online and in stores. Boots pharmacies currently operate "in places ranging from Holland to Thailand, and 10 of its biggest U.K. locations feature on-site doctors and opticians. Other services include "cervical cancer vaccinations, nutritional advice and programs to help customers stop smoking."

And then there's Stefano's acquisition strategy, which suffered a setback when he failed to win his bid "to buy part of Sweden's Apoteket retail pharmacy monopoly," via a government auction. Stefano said it was too expensive. His challenges include the company's "debt of over eight billion pounds," and of course today's economy, which maybe isn't a great market for skin creams. But Stefano is nothing but optimistic: "We see more confidence, customers are more keen to shop, even for items that are not really necessary to survive," he says.

"Burt's Bees built the business when they had a lot of white space to themselves ... And now they are the giant," says Karen Young of The Young Group in a New York Times article by Natasha Singer (5/16/07). That "white" space is more accurately "green" space -- and it dates back to 1984. That's when Roxanne Quimby, a graphic artist, met Burt Shavitz, a "photographer-turned-beekeeper." Roxanne "turned his beeswax into candles, hand salves stove polish and lip balm, using old recipes gathered from farmers. She illustrated labels for the products using Mr. Shavitz's bearded face as a logo."

The brand promise then -- and now -- is a simple one. It's that "products virtually free of chemicals are healthier for the skin. Burt's Bees "makes simple products using plain ingredients like milk, honey, beeswax and almond oil, selling them in cheerful, tongue-in-cheek retro packages." Initially sold through "thousands of independent gift stores and pharmacies," Burt's Bees began selling nationally at CVS and Walgreens" about two years ago, but has not lost its authenticity among its public. "They seem like an antiquey, farm-style company," says Jessica Wojcicki, adding: "But then you discover they have lip shines for young Gen Xers like me."

Good to know there are a few "young" Gen Xers left. Anyway, IRI's Leigh Ann Rowinski notes: "Everyone would like to capture that word-of-mouth viral marketing that spreads like wildfire, attracting a young consumer who appreciates authentic niche brands and stays away from mainstream advertising techniques." Truth is, Burt Shavitz sold his share to Roxanne in 1993, and she sold all but a 20 percent stake to a private-equity firm in 2004. Bottom line is, Burt's Bees is "the best-selling mass-market natural personal care brand ... According to the company, the products are now sold in more than 20,000 locations nationwide, up from 10,000 in 2001. Retail sales increased to $250 million in 2006, up from $60 million in 2001." ~ Tim Manners, editor

"It could alter people's perceptions of what a Kleenex facial tissue could do," says Steve Erb, a Kleenex marketing director, recalling the 2004 launch of a new kind of facial tissue infused with germ-killing pesticides, as reported by Ellen Byron in The Wall Street Journal (1/22/07). Kleenex had come a long way since its 1924 introduction "as a handy way for women to remove cold cream from their faces." In the 1930s, it was re-positioned "as a disposable handkerchief." In 1967 it became something of a fashion statement with the introduction of "cube shaped boxes" and in 1981 "Kleenex pioneered the first perfumed tissue with a light floral scent." Somewhere along the way Kleenex became the Google of facial tissues.

However, by the turn of the century, it was casting about for a new point of relevance. Consumers increasingly were using "paper towels, toilet paper and free napkins available at coffee shops and fast-food chains" instead of Kleenex. "Advances in cold therapies" also contributed to sales declines. So, in 2004, Kimberly-Clark, makers of Kleenex, decided it needed to promote a facial tissue that could also kill germs. The idea held promise because "74 percent of consumers" had the "yucky habit" of stashing and re-using tissues. It actually was not the first time Kleenex tried this, having introduced, and subsequently withdrawn, a germ-fighting tissue called Avert Virucidal back in the mid 1980s. Maybe it had something to do with the name?

Kleenex figured it could get it right this time with a better name, a better package and the claim that the new tissue's "middle layer traps and kills 99.9 percent of viruses within 15 minutes." And despite some concern about balancing the brand's gentle image with deadly properties, it launched Kleenex Anti-Viral using the ad tagline: "Ruthless Killer." In addition to lacing the tissue with "citric acid and sodium lauryl sulfate" -- a pesticide -- it also features "tiny blue dots" printed on the middle layer to show "where the antiviral treatment is applied." This required not only EPA approval for the pesticide, but also K-C's willingness to go back to using the dyes it had dropped for environmental reasons. Bottom line is that two years later, the product is a success, having claimed four percent of the U.S. market, and $140 million in global sales across 22 countries. ~ Tim Manners, editor