"(They) need a good product, and hopefully this is it," said analyst Jason Fox of Olde Discount Corp. "Early indications are that it is."

The new razor debuted in Japan late last year as the Flex Synchro and has become the best-selling shaver in Japan, according to Gillette.

The Synchro, which is how it will be marketed in the rest of the world, is scheduled to reach stores in Europe during the first quarter of this year, and will be introduced in the United States this summer, the company said.

Disappointment has nicked Gillette like a rusty razor in recent quarters, as inventory revamps, an uneven global economy, and underperformance in its Braun and stationery units have dulled Gillette's once-reliable earnings.

Analyst Robert Izmirlian of S&P; Equity Group said Gillette neglected innovation across some of its business lines by focusing so heavily on the Mach3 razor.

At the Braun and stationery lines, "there really hadn't been much of anything new," Izmirlian said.

Gillette shares traded at 34-5/16 on Friday, far below a 52-week high of 64-3/8 and near a year-low of 33-1/16.

Last month, Gillette hired J.P. Morgan & Co. to figure out what to do with its Braun hair care, household products, and personal diagnostics lines, including possible sale. Gillette said it will keep the Braun hair-removal and oral care lines.

Earlier in February, Gillette launched a similar plan for its stationery unit, which includes Parker, Papermate and Waterman pens.

Gillette is optimistic about the new high-end shaver, which includes a refillable self-cleaning mechanism and will retail for about $139, according to spokeswoman Michele Szynal.

"It's done phenomenally well" in Japan, where it has boosted Gillette's dry shaving market share, measured by value, from 27.5 percent to 34.3 percent, Szynal said.

Since 1995, Gillette's unit share of the global electric shaver market has dipped from 20 percent to 18 percent.

"We see this new shaver as being a spark to get some of that market share back," said Fox of Olde Discount Corp.

Germany is the world's largest "dry" shaving market, followed by Japan and the United States. Globally, about 70 percent of men who shave use a "wet" razor, compared with 30 percent who use an electric razor. Rarely does a man switch from one mode of shaving to the other, Gillette said.

In North America, privately-held Norelco has the largest share of the electric shaver market, followed by Gillette's Braun and privately held Remington, according to Gillette.

Gillette doesn't break out revenue figures for individual products, but the entire Braun line posted net sales of $1.58 billion in 1999, generating profit from operations of $154 million. The Braun lines that Gillette may sell accounted for about 35 percent of that revenue.