Gillette Will Take Aim At China Razor Market

BOSTON

The Gillette Co. yesterday announced a joint venture to start a blade- and razor-manufacturing company in Shanghai, China.

The merger with the Shanghai Razor Blade Factory will give Gillette more than half the Chinese market of about 1 billion blades annually, a Gillette spokesman said.

Gillette Shanghai Ltd. will make twin-blade-cartridge shaving products at the factory, which has 1,000 employees. The company will start up later this year.

Gillette will have 70 percent control in the venture, he said. Gillette and the Shanghai factory are initially investing a total of $29.5 million.

Gillette runs another joint venture in Shenyang, about 800 miles northeast of Beijing.