After 100 Years, the Shaving Industry Is Finally being Disrupted (old insightful article)

https://www.thedailybeast.com/after-100-years-the-shaving-industry-is-finally-being-disrupted ^ | April 14, 2017 | Daniel Gross

[DoodleBob]

The Gillette-Schick duopoly better watch out for Dollar Shave Club and Harry’s, which promise more convenience and less cost to do what men hate most in the morning.

Don’t look now, bros but your morning routine is getting disrupted—in a good way.

While stubble, beards, and moustaches may be in vogue everywhere, lots and lots of men feel like they have to shave every day—or at least every other day. Which means they are subject to an industry dominated by a few big players who are quite set in their ways.

For more than a century, the shaving market has been essentially stagnant. In 1901, King Gillette introduced the safety razor in 1901, and the company bearing his name has involved into a huge firm, which is now part of the consumer products conglomerate Procter & Gamble. Schick, the Pepsi to Gillette’s Coke, is the brainchild of Colonel Jacob Schick, who introduced his first safety razor in 1921. Schick is now a unit of consumer products conglomerate Energizer Holdings.

Both offer essentially the same product—relatively cheap, utilitarian shavers and relatively expensive replacement cartridges (up to $4 each). They imbue the products with space-age technology and sex them up with slick marketing. Gillette’s ad campaign features the now-inevitable Kate Upton. Then they recoup the costs by charging an arm and leg.

Today, two upstarts on opposite coasts are attacking the duopoly with tech-influenced business models. In the east, there’s Harry’s, which is best thought of as a sort of Warby-Parker for razors with grand ambitions. And from the west comes Dollar Shave Club, a low-concept, goofier bro-directed brand that aims to take the thought and cost out of shaving.

The two have proceeded on roughly parallel tracks and have gained critical mass.

[DoodleBob]

The recent Gillette write-down and quarterly earnings fallout, after their 'woke' commercial that pretty much bashes a good chunk of their clients, came with their CEO's statement that

“But I am absolutely of the view now that for the majority of people to fall more deeply in love with today’s brands have to risk upsetting a small minority and that’s what we’ve done.”

Clearly, they've done their research and decided that the future of their brand is in younger men (and women who probably decide what brand to buy) who may be bullied by their ads.

Their big problem, however, is that all young men aren't snowflakes. There are LOTS of Deplorable millenials who won't cave in to this sort of pandering.

Time will tell, but I think this is a YUGE mistake.

[T. P. Pole]

In 1901, King Gillette introduced the safety razor in 1901

What ever happened to editing?

[blam]

Gillette CEO: $8 Billion Loss Over Woke Ads ‘Worth Paying’

[Jim W N]

I tried Harry’s. It cuts you. Fugaddabouddit.

I’ll stick with Gillette - smooth shaves, no cuts.

[stinkerpot65]

Gillette and the NFL.

Never again.

[Dr. Sivana]

Energizer holdings owns Schick, Wilkinson and Harry’s. That’s probably why Harry’s is popping up in Walmart now. Unilever bought DSC.

[Billthedrill]

That was the bet quite a few of us thought they might be making, although there might be other agendas involved such as corporate promotions and hiring. Nevertheless, it's an odd juxtaposition of events: a new CEO, new advertising vendor, sudden change in public political culture (from NASCAR babes to woke white-male bashing), and a resulting downturn in profits, slow to evidence itself at first but apparently quite real. That should have a few shareholders scratching their heads, especially when it was then rumored that the brand might be up for sale. That rumor was quashed last week when it was also announced that there was an $8 billion write-down in carrying value. A sale under those conditions would prick up a few ears at the SEC.

If I had to guess it would be more in the nature of a huge marketing mistake, either a misunderstanding in the nature of their existing market or a sense that they have it so firmly captured that insulting its members was a safe bet. The product battlefield is littered with the corpses of those who made that bet and lost.

[rbg81]

Nothing wrong with the old Atra razor design. Used it for decades.

You can go on Ebay and buy 100 Atra compatible cartridges for less than $15 (or $0.15 per cartridge) with FREE shipping. One cartridge can last you for 5-7 days.

Not sure who makes the cartridges, but the quality suits me fine. Problem solved.

[Larry Lucido]

I don’t know, but what year did all that happen again?

[Tommy Revolts]

Schick and Barbasol.

F

them leftist assholes at P&G Gillete.

[M1911A1]

And getting facts right. Schick invented a razor that was reloaded via a clip like a Mauser type rifle (career military man) in 1926 to make money while he continued to perfect his electric shaver.

Old King Camp Gillette was “woke”. He wrote a screed on a socialist Utopia where he, naturally, looked after the best interests of the duller masses. Of course, he died more or less broke.

I use a vintage safety razor and read up on all that stuff. “Journalism” is mostly a con game.

[dsrtsage]

Always hated gillette. The one and only razor that works on my thick ass ridiculous beard is the cheap plastic yellow bic razors with the single blade dont know why but they do. Not even a straight razor in the hands of a real old school barber works

[Raycpa]

I love shaving my face and I feel unclean until I do. It is never a chore.

[Nik Naym]

Where has the author of this article been? Does he do any research?

Harry’s is owned by the same company that owns Schick and Wilkenson-Sword.

Schick has not been part of Energizer since 2015.

[Nik Naym]

I just noticed that the date of the article is from 2017. This is before Schick bought Harry’s. The rest of what I said applies.

[Da Coyote]

Heh, it’s the Daily Beast.

[trisham]

It went the way of grammar and spelling.

[jeffc]

I use Walmart's Equate 4 blade razor (or 5 blade when I can find it).

Don't know who makes them and every now and then I get a blade that doesn't last very long, but they give a good shave and generally last a decent while...

[A strike]

Repeal XIX

[newfreep]

Why not change to THE sharpest blade from a Japanese company that produces medical blades?

The absolute closest shave and only 25-cents each...and waaaaay better than any multi-blade cartridge