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Three Seven
Dominating the global market with a nail clipper
2009.08.21(금) | CNnews (
chungnamdo@korea.kr)
Three Seven has conquered the world market with its nail clippers. It manufactures 80 to 100 million nail clippers per year and exports 90% of them to 92 nations across the world including the United States, China, and European countries, accounting for the biggest portion (43%) of the international market. These remarkable numbers translate into a total of 2.6 billion people, about half the entire population of the world, using a “777”nail clipper. What’s more amazing is that Three Seven records the sales of more than 30 billion won annually by selling its nail clippers with a unit price ranging from 500 won to 1,000 won, which explains why it has never run a deficit since its foundation in 1975. In February 2003, it was listed on the KOSDAQ exchange.
A nail clipper is the ultimate combination of advanced metal processing technologies.
Manufactured from over 40 different processes, a nail clipper requires all kinds of metal processing technologies applied to automobile or airplane parts. Its small size makes it the ultimate combination of advanced metal processing technologies. Consisting of an upper and lower part, the body should be flexible enough not to lose elasticity after hundreds of repetitive actions. Its blades must be highly wear-resistant and maintain a high degree of hardness with the upper and lower blade engaging with each other. Three Seven boasts the world's best technologies in heat processing, gilding, and grinding. Unlike the nail clippers of other manufacturers whose upper and lower blades meet each other at the same location, Three Seven’s nail clippers are designed so that the lower blade will be longer than the upper blade by 0.02mm, which directs the cutting surface towards the skin under the nail and thus makes the clipping process smooth. What a marvelous ergonomic design!
Building the brand and developing diverse product lines
Starting in the middle 1990s, Three Seven has been vigorous with its policy of independent brands. In the initial stage of entering the promising markets of Chinaand Southeast Asia, it marketed its own brands and ran upscale advertisements and promotions. It also poured the profits from the exports into building the brand. All of its hard work and efforts paid off as “777” products sell for ten times more than local products in China. It was in the middle 1980s that Three Seven developed its first “set products” which included five to six items including tweezers and buffers (a device to grind the nail surface and polish it up) as well as a nail clipper. The set products would sell for several times more than regular nail clippers. Currently its major set products amount to over 100 lines. With their convenient shapes and designs, the set products have received favorable assessments both home and abroad.
Dualization strategy increases sales efficiency.
Three Seven has carried out a dualization strategy of producing high-class products in Korea and medium- and low-price ones in China in order to maintain the brand value. A source at the company explains that there is no need to market cheap products made at the Chinese factories since Three Seven products have a good image in the country. It is more profitable to sell high-class products made at Korean factories to Chinese consumers. The medium- and low-price products made at Chinese factories are exported to those markets where there there is demand for them.
The future is bright for the nail clippers of Three Seven.
Can one have optimistic prospect for a nail clipper manufacturer given that nail clippers lasts long and are a products of metal manufacturing? The answer to this question is “Yes.” Today 60% of the world population does not use nail clippers. And there is a trend for nail clippers to become favorite products rather than necessities. There can be a wide range of collections supported by design evolutions including a nail clipper whose design and functionality are superb and a disposable nail clipper used at a public bath. Three Seven has actually been doing all of those and creating a new market for itself.
A nail clipper is the ultimate combination of advanced metal processing technologies.
Manufactured from over 40 different processes, a nail clipper requires all kinds of metal processing technologies applied to automobile or airplane parts. Its small size makes it the ultimate combination of advanced metal processing technologies. Consisting of an upper and lower part, the body should be flexible enough not to lose elasticity after hundreds of repetitive actions. Its blades must be highly wear-resistant and maintain a high degree of hardness with the upper and lower blade engaging with each other. Three Seven boasts the world's best technologies in heat processing, gilding, and grinding. Unlike the nail clippers of other manufacturers whose upper and lower blades meet each other at the same location, Three Seven’s nail clippers are designed so that the lower blade will be longer than the upper blade by 0.02mm, which directs the cutting surface towards the skin under the nail and thus makes the clipping process smooth. What a marvelous ergonomic design!
Building the brand and developing diverse product lines
Starting in the middle 1990s, Three Seven has been vigorous with its policy of independent brands. In the initial stage of entering the promising markets of Chinaand Southeast Asia, it marketed its own brands and ran upscale advertisements and promotions. It also poured the profits from the exports into building the brand. All of its hard work and efforts paid off as “777” products sell for ten times more than local products in China. It was in the middle 1980s that Three Seven developed its first “set products” which included five to six items including tweezers and buffers (a device to grind the nail surface and polish it up) as well as a nail clipper. The set products would sell for several times more than regular nail clippers. Currently its major set products amount to over 100 lines. With their convenient shapes and designs, the set products have received favorable assessments both home and abroad.
Dualization strategy increases sales efficiency.
Three Seven has carried out a dualization strategy of producing high-class products in Korea and medium- and low-price ones in China in order to maintain the brand value. A source at the company explains that there is no need to market cheap products made at the Chinese factories since Three Seven products have a good image in the country. It is more profitable to sell high-class products made at Korean factories to Chinese consumers. The medium- and low-price products made at Chinese factories are exported to those markets where there there is demand for them.
The future is bright for the nail clippers of Three Seven.
Can one have optimistic prospect for a nail clipper manufacturer given that nail clippers lasts long and are a products of metal manufacturing? The answer to this question is “Yes.” Today 60% of the world population does not use nail clippers. And there is a trend for nail clippers to become favorite products rather than necessities. There can be a wide range of collections supported by design evolutions including a nail clipper whose design and functionality are superb and a disposable nail clipper used at a public bath. Three Seven has actually been doing all of those and creating a new market for itself.
