Men with beards are taking a heavy toll on the razor industry

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Procter & Gamble is blaming its $8 billion Gillette writedown on millennial men who aren’t shaving as much as previous generations.

That’s what some bearded men are doing to save time and, in some cases, money, to boost their own personal brand and professional image. New York native Brett David, 40, went from shaving every day to growing a beard when he turned 33. Letting his facial hair flourish was partly a business decision.

“Lower shaving-frequency has reduced the size of the developed blades and razors market,” P&G Chief Financial Officer Jon Moeller said Tuesday on a call with analysts talking about the markets in the U.S. and Europe. And sharp competition from subscription services like Dollar Shave Club, now owned by Unilever UL, -0.39%, and Harry’s, now owned by Edgewell Personal Care EPC, -5.52%, aren’t making it any easier.

Another study from the University of Queensland in Australia showed children a photo of a man with a beard and the same man clean-shaven side-by-side and asked them to point out which man looked best. Most kids avoided the bearded men, but kids around the age of puberty associated bearded men with being older and stronger.

‘Disposable razors are very expensive.’ —David Miller, 30, from Queens, who worked as a lieutenant in a volunteer fire department When he left that job, he started to grow a beard and enjoyed the freedom that came with the facial hair. “Beards are very trendy right now. I love that it saves me time and hassle in the mornings,” Miller said, adding, “Disposable razors are very expensive.”

He calculated all the things he could do with the money he spends on disposable blades. “I don’t love the $5 price for a replacement blade, since it equates to a yearly expense of more than $200 — an amount equal to a good dinner at a decent restaurant, even perhaps with a bottle of wine. And trust me: I’d much rather be dining in style than shaving.”

Facial hair has paid off for some men. “But there has definitely been a significant increase in the number of products available for beard care including a large variety of artisanal beard oils and high-tech beard trimmers,” he added. “They even have specially formulated beard shampoos and beard conditioners.”

 

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I shave about 4 times/yr with clippers, take it down to about 1-day’s growth, let it grow out, repeat. It’s the least possible amount of time, money, energy, and effort I can spend on my facial hair. Clippers cost like $20-$30 & last for decades. SavingMoney SavingTime Easy

Baby boomers are fed up with shaving also.

Plot twist, they are switching back to plastic-free safety razors

Definitely think it’s a factor

OK it has nothing to do with your ridiculous advertising campaign that told all your customers that they were toxic. I will never spend another dollar with P and G and I shave everyday

Some religions of hair.

Yep

Buying a company at 25-30x earnings is not a clever idea

Gillette went from 'The fight of the week' to 'A man isn't a man until he turns feminine and limp wrist'.

As soon as Gillette put that anti straight male add on TV I ordered 4 different brands of razors online, ended up with this. Unlike PG's $4-6 blades the 7 blade Pace 50-90cents and a great shave.

Irony. Resilience.

Get woke, go broke.

The write down had nothing to do with a $uperbowl advertisement campaign that bashed their main customers. 🙄

Or how about on the idiot CEO who didn't have the intectual horsepower to hire good marketers who foresaw this and then pivot into some thing that actually serves these millennials with beards. But give him a raise to $30mm a year plus $50mm in stock options.

Hey now, Gillette & ProcterGamble, I don’t hear the grey flannel suit companies complaining about us not buying enough of their fine flannel suits. Millennials GenX

How about P&G’s “toxic masculinity” commercial, making fun of its customers? Could that be the source of torpedoing sales? Reminds of of toys r us giving to planned parenthood. Talk about a good formula for disaster/bankruptcy.

“Male toxicity”is going to bankrupt gillette

Or because they’re disposable plastic.

Or got wise to the racket that is razor blades.

That isn't it. It's your 'male toxicity' shit.

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