Blade wars pit rival companies in messy patent suit over razors

BOSTON -- The battle of the blades suddenly sharpened Tuesday, with Schick introducing the first four-blade razor and Gillette countering hours later with a patent infringement suit against its rival.

Schick-Wilkinson Sword, a division of St. Louis-based Energizer Holdings, officially announced the Quattro on Tuesday, touting the $8.99 shaving system's ergonomic design and synchronized blades. It already had disclosed plans to sell Quattro starting next month.

But later in the day, Gillette said it had filed suit in Boston federal court alleging the new razor infringes on patents Gillette developed to allow the three blades on its Mach3 system to extend progressively closer to the beard. Gillette has claimed its spent $750 million to develop Mach3.

"We welcome honest and innovative competition, but we will vigorously defend our valuable intellectual property," Peter Hoffman, president of Gillette's grooming division, said in a press release.

Energizer spokeswoman Jackie Burwitz said the company had not received the suit and had no comment.

'Monkey wrench'

"One, I think this shows the seriousness with which Gillette takes the Quattro as a threat to its core blades and razors business," said Joseph Altobello, an analyst at CIBC World Markets Corp. "The second point is from a timing standpoint, it makes a lot of sense. Schick's got a lot of blades and razors sitting in warehouses next month. This kind of throws a monkey wrench into it."

The lawsuit seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions, triple damages and other relief, Gillette said.

"A four blade razor would not function well, and would not have significant market appeal, unless it utilized the progressive geometric blade configuration invented by Gillette," the lawsuit stated.

Gillette dominates the worldwide razor market but has shown signs lately of feeling pressure from Schick-Wilkinson Sword, which launched a three-bladed woman's razor earlier this year.

Last week, Gillette announced second-quarter profits that rose 15 percent and beat analysts' estimates, but told investors the battle with Schick could cost it between 5 and 7 cents per share in earnings next year.

Boston-based Gillette also announced three new shaving products of its own, including an update of its Venus system for women. Last year, its Mach3 and Mach3Turbo systems had more than $2 billion in sales.