Some Info from Shavemac

[Rudy Vey]

I was speaking with Bernd in the last days, he has written a little statement for us to clarify the situation, here it is:

"How Shavemac can continue?

Dear customers, after the announcement that the Shavemac configurator will be closed, I have received many questions about whether and how Shavemac can continue. This depends largely on two factors:

1. will you, dear customers, continue to buy shaving brushes from Shavemac even without the configurator? I plan to introduce a fixed range of brushes on 01.03.2024. This would be comprised of the most popular configurations from the last few years. This should reflect all my experience and expertise.

2. we want to find more specialized dealers as sales partners to get enough reach for our products. This is a prerequisite for Shavemac to be able to operate economically. If both things happen, there is a good chance that Shavemac will continue and can be placed in new hands. Then a Shavemac "Made in Germany" with the same quality and excellence would be guaranteed in the long term.

Bernd Blos"

 

[rockviper]

Thank you for this information, Rudy.

 

[Yvonivz]

Very helpful thanks

 

[Mr. Shavington]

Hmmm. This seems to raise more questions than it answers. It suggests that (1) the business can only continue in the medium to long term if they are successful finding new distribution and retail outlets, and (2) Bernd is looking to hand over the business to a new owner.

Probably we cannot ask him to say more than he has about such things.

Oh well. We have Bernd and Shavemac for now. If we value what Bernd does we should be sure to support it - buy the brushes and tell people why we like them. It’s on us, at least to some extent. And, to put this in perspective, I wish we had heard from Thäter or Vie-Long before they closed - while we could still have made a difference. I wish I had bought more of their brushes when they were available.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

Hmmm. This seems to raise more questions than it answers. It suggests that (1) the business can only continue in the medium to long term if they are successful finding new distribution and retail outlets, and (2) Bernd is looking to hand over the business to a new owner.

Probably we cannot ask him to say more than he has about such things.

Oh well. We have Bernd and Shavemac for now. If we value what Bernd does we should be sure to support it - buy the brushes and tell people why we like them. It’s on us, at least to some extent. And, to put this in perspective, I wish we had heard from Thäter or Vie-Long before they closed - while we could still have made a difference. I wish I had bought more of their brushes when they were available.

In my experience when a company is sold the new owners want to cut costs and maximise their return. It is not a labour of love for them it is simply another page in their investment portfolio. Products rately if ever improve as a result but only time will tell in this case.

 

[J-MN]

Thanks for following up with this, Rudy! Unfortunately, it doesn't sound very promising.

 

[Balin]

Hmmm. This seems to raise more questions than it answers. It suggests that (1) the business can only continue in the medium to long term if they are successful finding new distribution and retail outlets, and (2) Bernd is looking to hand over the business to a new owner.

Probably we cannot ask him to say more than he has about such things.

Oh well. We have Bernd and Shavemac for now. If we value what Bernd does we should be sure to support it - buy the brushes and tell people why we like them. It’s on us, at least to some extent. And, to put this in perspective, I wish we had heard from Thäter or Vie-Long before they closed - while we could still have made a difference. I wish I had bought more of their brushes when they were available.

I am doing the best I can! I picked up 4 Shavemacs last year and 2 in 2022!!

 

[brucered]

In my experience when a company is sold the new owners want to cut costs and maximise their return. It is not a labour of love for them it is simply another page in their investment portfolio. Products rately if ever improve as a result but only time will tell in this case.

And if you aren't a collector or want 20 brushes, often times 1 brush will last decades from the quality makers.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

In my experience when a company is sold the new owners want to cut costs and maximise their return. It is not a labour of love for them it is simply another page in their investment portfolio. Products rately if ever improve as a result but only time will tell in this case.

Well, I wouldn’t make any assumptions at this point who Bernd may pass the business to, and how he might make that happen. If and when it happens we can judge how we feel about the brand going forward. He could even have somebody he is already training, for all we know.

 

[Phoenixkh]

I know of several businesses where the owner sold the business to employees or other investors and the quality and customer service remained outstanding. On the other hand, I also know of several who were not successful for various reasons.

There is reason to hope ShaveMac will be in the former group and continue to be a great asset to our community for years to come.

 

[RRGGMM]

There are enough shavers to support a business making great products easily. But how many shavers are wet shavers? I wonder if the segment of the market we comprise is growing, flat, or shrinking. I know some younger men are here getting into wet shaving, but I wonder if that is a rising trend or an anomaly. So much has changed over the last few years, and most of it I am not fond of. Since I can't stop it, I just have to watch it all evolve. I am excited to get my new Shavemac brush and I love the first one I purchased.

 

[brucered]

There are enough shavers to support a business making great products easily...

Are there?

And if there are, how many are willing to spend $100-200usd+ on a brush? The ones who do, may only buy one, from one maker (there are others) and use that brush exclusively forever or until it konks out.

I think that is part of the reason you are seeing some brush makers, handle makers and razor makers, start to pack it in. Plus, many of them are not spring chickens any more.

As has been pointed out, most brush thread buying questions lately (past few years) are "Should I buy this AliExpress brush or that one?" type questions.

I haven't purchased a $$$ in some time. Part of the reason being, they last and are near perfect as is. So if I have a top tier brush, why do I need a 2nd or 7th? I own a Paladin, Simpson, Shavemac, some Rooney and some M&F (Sabini) for reference. All are fantastic.

Just my thoughts on it.

 

[RRGGMM]

Are there?

And if there are, how many are willing to spend $100-200usd+ on a brush? The ones who do, may only buy one, from one maker (there are others) and use that brush exclusively forever or until it konks out.

I think that is part of the reason you are seeing some brush makers, handle makers and razor makers, start to pack it in. Plus, many of them are not spring chickens any more.

As has been pointed out, most brush thread buying questions lately (past few years) are "Should I buy this AliExpress brush or that one?" type questions.

I haven't purchased a $$$ in some time. Part of the reason being, they last and are near perfect as is. So if I have a top tier brush, why do I need a 2nd or 7th? I own a Paladin, Simpson, Shavemac, some Rooney and some M&F (Sabini) for reference. All are fantastic.

Just my thoughts on it.

I meant there are enough men that shave. I attempted to say, "How many of those men are wet shavers?" And, of the wet shavers, how many will buy more than a single brush? Even back in the old days, a couple of big companies produced most of the products. Like Gillette, etc. When I got into wet shaving in 2012, there seemed to be considerably fewer options for wet shaving products than today. When I returned to B&B a few months ago to research, I was blown away by all the brands and wondered how they could make it work.

I think we are making the same point. I didn't articulate my opinion very well.

Recently, I bought another Shavemac to take advantage of the configurator closing. Since I was all wound up on brushes, I also ordered another Simpson. That will bring me to six brushes, and I will probably never order another brush again. I get that it is a small market. You answered my question in a roundabout way in your comment about people asking about brushes from Ali Express. I want and appreciate quality. I don't think many younger shavers care. They are looking for a deal.

 

[garyg]

Are there?

And if there are, how many are willing to spend $100-200usd+ on a brush? The ones who do, may only buy one, from one maker (there are others) and use that brush exclusively forever or until it konks out.

I think that is part of the reason you are seeing some brush makers, handle makers and razor makers, start to pack it in. Plus, many of them are not spring chickens any more.

As has been pointed out, most brush thread buying questions lately (past few years) are "Should I buy this AliExpress brush or that one?" type questions.

I haven't purchased a $$$ in some time. Part of the reason being, they last and are near perfect as is. So if I have a top tier brush, why do I need a 2nd or 7th? I own a Paladin, Simpson, Shavemac, some Rooney and some M&F (Sabini) for reference. All are fantastic.

Just my thoughts on it.

+1 I've a bunch, mostly from enablers here. Not sure I could recall without looking, but Paladin was born here. One of the Simpson's was once a member, Rudy Vey has kept us up on Bernd at Shavemac while contributing several fine brushes for my den.

Sad that the synthetic ChinaMart crowd is pushing the others out, but as someone else said that's life.

 

[Michael S]

".. there is a good chance that Shavemac will continue and can be placed in new hands."

Maybe there's a clue in the 'About Us' section of the Shavemac web site where it says Bernd started working for his father 40 years ago in 1984?

 

[Kyle89]

I don't think many younger shavers care. They are looking for a deal.

A lot of the younger guys (not all, mind you) that I've been talking to about the hobby don't want to spend money on a top quality brush. Personally for most of my 20s, ordering a brush from Shavemac or Simpson or any higher end maker just wasn't going to be an option and I get it.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

A lot of the younger guys (not all, mind you) that I've been talking to about the hobby don't want to spend money on a top quality brush. Personally for most of my 20s, ordering a brush from Shavemac or Simpson or any higher end maker just wasn't going to be an option and I get it.

Ah, but younger guys always turn into older guys eventually. They are the larva form of us.

 

[brucered]

Ah, but younger guys always turn into older guys eventually. They are the larva form of us.

Both our teenagers wet shave (16/18).

They have access and tried many of my brushes and razors. Both settled on $20 synthetics as they didn't like the feel of badger or boar. Both started with a Tech. The younger still uses it and the older gravitated toward a modern SS (Mamba) and has his own now.

I'm guessing one day they will reach for a natural brush and start to see it's benefits and tradition. I enjoy all of them and it's one of the few things in my shave routine I will mix up or change my selection right before a shave and it won't affect the outcome too much, as I'm familiar with all of them.

 

[BigJ]

Interesting!! Hope he can continue in business.

 

[muzichead]

and (2) Bernd is looking to hand over the business to a new owner.

I think you might have the wrong idea in the 2nd part of it as how I read it was, "new hands" meant new customers and not owners...