1


                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1

KKR TO SELL A PORTION OF ITS HOLDINGS

     Boston - Partnerships associated with Kolberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co., L.P.
have agreed to sell approximately 41 million of the 51.3 million shares of
Gillette stock they own in a public offering, underwritten by Merrill, Lynch,
Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and Goldman, Sachs & Company. Gillette will
not sell any shares in the offering.

     KKR said that the pending sale of the shares was dictated solely by the
winding down of the investment fund and did not indicate any lack of confidence
in the future prospects of Gillette.

     "We have great confidence in Jim Kilts and the future of Gillette, as
evidenced by the fact that KKR executives continue to hold approximately 10
million shares of Gillette stock," said Scott Stuart, a KKR partner.

     The KKR investment in Gillette dated to 1996, when Gillette merged with
Duracell International, Inc., a company that KKR had acquired in 1988. In August
1999, at the request of KKR, Gillette filed a shelf registration statement for
the Gillette stock held by the KRR partnerships. Gillette has no current plans
to make a public offering of its common stock.

Contact:

          Eric A. Kraus, Vice President, Corporate Communications, (617)
          421-7194 or Sarah Smithers Arcese, Director, Corporate Investor
          Relations, (617) 421-7990 or Ruth Pachman or Molly Morse, Kekst &
          Company, (212) 521-4800