{"id":7504,"date":"2015-12-09T23:28:01","date_gmt":"2015-12-10T04:28:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/harrys-not-your-dads-razor\/"},"modified":"2015-12-09T23:28:01","modified_gmt":"2015-12-10T04:28:01","slug":"harrys-not-your-dads-razor","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/harrys-not-your-dads-razor\/","title":{"rendered":"Harry\u2019s: Not Your Dad\u2019s Razor"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"harrys<\/a><\/p>\n

Tacky marketing. Sky-high prices. Inconvenient merchandising behind cashiers or locked up in aisles. These aspects characterize the typical razor blade purchasing process in drug stores. Harry\u2019s co-founders, Jeff Raider and Andy Katz-Mayfield, have set out to improve the unsatisfying razor buying experience for men. Jeff, a co-founder of Warby Parker, hoped to disrupt the ~$3Bn razor blade market similar to how Warby Parker shook up the eyewear industry years earlier. Together, Jeff and Andy created Harry\u2019s with the mission to conveniently provide customers with well-designed, high quality shaving products at reasonable prices.<\/p>\n

Harry\u2019s designs, produces and sells its own line of high-end shaving products. This vertical integration gives Harry\u2019s complete control over its product, allowing them to successfully address the above frustrations associated with buying razors while keeping prices low.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Design<\/strong><\/p>\n

Harry\u2019s did away with the cheesy design and annoying packaging typically associated with razors. They carefully crafted their stylish shaving product line by combining contemporary ergonomics with minimalist design. Harry\u2019s razor blades are made from high grade steel that is shaped into a precise and sharp angled blade that provides the best possible shave.<\/p>\n

Harry\u2019s offers two main razor designs: the Truman, their classic razor that comes in four colors, and the Winston, a more premium razor designed for a more precise shave. Harry\u2019s also produces branded cleansers, moisturizing creams, lotions, shave gels, and shaving accessories (razor stands, travel bags). Products can be purchased a la carte or in sets. Harry\u2019s narrow range of products also enables the company to keep prices low.<\/p>\n

\"razors\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Manufacturing<\/strong><\/p>\n

The founders searched the globe for the right razor manufacturing partner. Their quest led them to Feintechnik, a 93-yr old German razor blade manufacturer. Feintechnik was a strong partner for Harry\u2019s given its vast experience producing razor blades, its flexibility in manufacturing both luxury and basic razor blades (allowing Harry\u2019s to create the perfect blade that matched their desired price point), and Feintechnik\u2019s existing relationships with European distributors. After partnering with Feintechnik for a few months, Harry\u2019s purchased the German factory for $122.5mm in January 2014 with proceeds raised from a recent funding round. Harry\u2019s factory in Germany currently employs 450 engineers, designers, and other workers that produces millions of blades a year.<\/p>\n

By owning the Feintechnik factory, Harry\u2019s has end-to-end ownership over its production and supply chain systems. This vertical integration gives Harry\u2019s a long-lasting competitive edge, as it differentiates the company from similar players that sell subscription sets of razors and blades at discounted prices online. In addition, owning the manufacturing process enables Harry\u2019s to efficiently iterate on its product design and construction. Further, this product control enables Harry\u2019s to more successfully battle current razor blade market leaders, Gillette and Shtick, who together control more about 85% of the world\u2019s razors.<\/p>\n

\"factory\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0Factory Tour:\u00a0https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gMUg2o95ZrA<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Distribution and Pricing<\/strong><\/p>\n

Harry\u2019s products are largely sold directly to customers through its owned and operated e-commerce site and mobile app. Customers can also purchase Harry\u2019s products at the company\u2019s brand-named barbershop\/showroom in NYC. This mostly online strategy gives Harry\u2019s the flexibility to sell its products at affordable prices by removing the friction costs associated with distributors and retailers. Harry\u2019s sells blades for ~$2\/blade, which is 50% cheaper than what leading competitors charge for their blades.<\/p>\n

Harry\u2019s adopted a subscription-based strategy to service customers in a hassle-free way. Customers subscribe to a shave plan (Harry\u2019s provides a free trial box set) and specify their shaving frequency. After the trial box, Harry\u2019s automatically sends a box of shaving supplies based on how often a customer shaves. Customers can cancel their shave plan at any time.<\/p>\n

Subscription plans start at just $6\/month. Harry\u2019s offers shaving sets at different price points to serve a wide base of customers. A basic set includes a razor, 3 blades, blade case, and foaming shave gel and costs $15 \u2013 a steal compared to razors that competitor Gillette sells for ~$10-$15 (which typically only includes the razor and two blade refills).<\/p>\n

The direct to consumer model enables Harry\u2019s to leverage consumer purchasing data to provide a seamless shopping experience for its users. Harry\u2019s uses consumer data to reach out to a customer when they\u2019ve predicted he needs to replenish his blades. Further, access to consumer purchasing facilitates a more personalized experience for its customers.<\/p>\n

\"process\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Harry\u2019s Giving Model<\/strong><\/p>\n

Harry\u2019s also prioritizes social responsibility. The company donates 1% of its net revenue to City Year and other charitable organizations that help young adults achieve in education and beyond.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.harrys.com<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/stevenbertoni\/2015\/07\/07\/razor-wars-harrys-raises-75-million-to-fight-gillette-and-dollar-shave-club\/<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2014\/01\/22\/10-month-old-harrys-lands-122-5m-buys-93-year-old-factory-to-go-toe-to-toe-with-gillette-and-schick\/<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/how-harrys-bought-a-german-factory-2015-6<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/SB12147335600370333763904581058081668712042<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/firstround.com\/review\/This-Startup-Cracked-a-24-Billion-Market-with-Branding-Heres-Their-Formula\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Disrupting the razor blade industry<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1065,"featured_media":7505,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[],"class_list":["post-7504","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/the-tom-challenge-tom-winners-and-losers-assignment\/","yoast_head":"\nHarry\u2019s: Not Your Dad\u2019s Razor - Technology and Operations Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/harrys-not-your-dads-razor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Harry\u2019s: Not Your Dad\u2019s Razor - Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Disrupting the razor blade industry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/harrys-not-your-dads-razor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/harrys-logo2.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"334\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"81\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/harrys-not-your-dads-razor\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/harrys-not-your-dads-razor\\\/\",\"name\":\"Harry\u2019s: Not Your Dad\u2019s Razor - 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