P&G Expands Men’s Offerings With Acquisition of The Art of Shaving
Insight by Leah
In an effort to expand into the premium market for men’s product, P&G completed its acquisition of the The Art of Shaving. P&G has not been shy about it’s recent strategy to "win with men" and has made an effort to diversify and improve its beauty division sales with the purchase of mass brand Gillette in 2005. However, the purchase of The Art of Shaving firmly plants P&G in the prestige sector now as well since The Art of Shaving has 36 retail outlets and 600 retail partners, which include Saks Fifth Avenue, Sephora, Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s, where it competes against Molton Brown, Jack Black and Acqua di Parma. As well, in an interesting sidebar, P&G and The Art of Shaving both noted that neither has fully exploited the Internet yet as an effective sales channel – it currently accounts for only 10% of The Art of Shaving’s sales.
WWD Excerpt:
Procter & Gamble Co., which recently made the phrase “win with men” an incessant company mantra, is now fully armed to target the premium male shopper with its Monday purchase of the prestige grooming firm The Art of Shaving. Details of the deal were not disclosed; however, industry sources estimate P&G likely paid in the $60 million range for the manufacturer and retailer of shave and skin care items, twice the Miami-based firm’s 2008 annual sales. Read the complete article here.
One Comment
A further thought on this that I did not touch on – this is a clear foray into direct to consumer retail sales for P&G. Could this be a sign that P&G is growing increasingly tired of being squeezed on margins by big box retailers, namely Walmart? We'll keep a close eye on P&G's acquisition activity to understand if this push into retail is part of an overall business strategy, or this was simply a move to augment their men's offerings.