SCHICK Will a new 4-blade razor mean bigger slice of sales?

Four blades crammed on the head of a razor? It's coming.
BOSTON (AP) -- The battle of the blades is becoming even more cutthroat.
Word in the shaving industry is that Schick plans to introduce the world's first four-blade razor later this year, a bid to slice into rival Gillette's big lead in high-end "shaving systems," which account for 70 percent of razor sales.
Schick's new parent company, Energizer Holdings, confirms only that it plans to launch a new "shaving system" for men later this year. But on a recent conference call with investors, Gillette executives said they believe Schick will become the first company to cram four blades into the head of a razor.
Is it the start of a new blade arms race? Are five-, six-, or 10-blade razors in the works? For now, nobody knows if customers will embrace even four-blade razors, but the move could force Gillette to match the product or at least spend marketing dollars to defend its current, industry leading three-blade offerings.
Share of market
Those products command 32 percent of the shaving system market, while Gillette's three-blade competitors combined manage just 1 percent. Figures from IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm, show Gillette's Venus, Mach3Turbo and Mach3 razors hold the top three slots in the razor category, followed by Schick's Xtreme3.
But in March, St. Louis-based Energizer Holdings Inc. completed its acquisition of Schick from Pfizer Inc. for $930 million. The idea was to complement Energizer's battery business, which competes with Gillette's Duracell.
Some think Energizer will back the Schick line, reportedly to be called "Quattro," more enthusiastically than drug maker Pfizer did.
"This is the first time Schick's done a big introduction while owned by Energizer," said William B. Chappell, an analyst with SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. "They'd like a return on their investment and I imagine they're going to do everything they can to get it."
Gillette's plans
Asked if Gillette had plans for its own four-blade system, Gillette spokesman Eric Kraus said only that the company won't introduce a new product unless it improves on Gillette's Mach3Turbo, the three-blade that is the world's top-selling razor.
"While we haven't seen or tested the product, I can say we know from several decades of research that adding blades alone does not ensure a superior product," Chris Jakubik, Gillette's vice president of investor relations, said when asked by an analyst whether Schick's product posed a threat.
In 1971, Gillette debuted the first two-blade shaving system, designed to reduce the number of strokes and prevent irritating "tugging" that single-blade systems and disposables can cause.
A Japanese company called Kai broke the three-blade razor in 1998, though Gillette dominates that category. Gillette is also rolling out the first disposable three-blade this month.