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The Art Of Shaving (TAOS) on thin ice

Well known by the employees in the retail stores that TAOS has not been living up to their suggested image. Corporate is not providing needed inventory to keep pace with the sales they could be enjoying. Keep in mind that their selection of razors, blades and related accessories are not as diverse and well rounded as they could be.
Is anyone aware of Procter & Gamble's brand divestment moves since the start of their current fiscal year? Dropping nearly 100 underperforming brands to focus on their core units. P&G will be keeping Gillette. It's well known that TAOS is still in the red after 6 years with P&G (TAOS owned by P&G, not Gillette).
Thankfully, P&G finally took direct control of the retail stores away from the executive who had been controlling TAOS, his initials being B.M., though we don't yet know the intent of the P&G executive now in charge. Is he a liquidation specialist? We expect to have some idea by August or September this year, 2015, after this current fiscal year ends.
Just checked out the Truefitt & Hill and Taylor of Old Bond Street retail stores and Barber Shops and learned that TAOS is a mere shadow of those fine establishments.
Yes, morale is low at TAOS.
 
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There is something to this story line, though "suicide watch" is far too strong a term.
Last August, the Wall Street Journal reported P&G's effort to consolidate brands.
Earlier this month, Ad Age ran this story, which focuses on how the creative duties for marketing the grooming brands have been consolidated with one ad agency. The piece also mentions that analysts view TAoS as a divestiture candidate.

http://adage.com/article/agency-news/p-g-shifts-razor-accounts-grey-bbdo-loses-hold/298677/

If I had to guess, a private equity shop might wind up with the chain.
 
Food for thought...

P&G core units you mentioned are in other personal care lines like laundry and dishwashing detergent, bath soap and toothpaste. It would seem, just to the potential volume, that products like these are more profitable than practically everything that they don't make and sell in AOS stores.
 
I went into an AoS store in a mall once. The kid behind the counter had a full beard. I wasn't really interested in buying anything, as most of the items seemed pretty expensive, but I couldn't help but note the irony.
 
There is something to this story line, though "suicide watch" is far too strong a term.
Last August, the Wall Street Journal reported P&G's effort to consolidate brands.
Earlier this month, Ad Age ran this story, which focuses on how the creative duties for marketing the grooming brands have been consolidated with one ad agency. The piece also mentions that analysts view TAoS as a divestiture candidate. If I had to guess, a private equity shop might wind up with the chain.

Thanks for the link Rory1262 I just read the article. As you stated, it seems like they are consolidating advertizing companies more than individual products or market groups.

I've always thought Gillette was a good acquistion for P&G. To the best of my knowledge, and before that takeover, all they had to offer to the huge market for men's shaving was the Old Spice line. The last figures I saw indicated that Gillette has/had a 90% share of the world shaving market. That doesn't leave many crumbs for Schick, Bic, and the very few others!
 
I just wish they carried more diverse product in general. If P&G were buying mass quantity of other brands of everything, they would get them cheap, build a much bigger customer base (us), and make plenty of profit while being appreciated by all types of shavers.
 
One day a couple months ago my mom, sister, and brother were planning on making a day trip to the huge shopping mall at Tysons Corner in VA and I became interested (I usually hate shopping) only when I found out there was an AOS there. I figured I wouldn't be able to afford anything ($50 for shaving soap in a wooden bowl? Really?), but I wanted to tag along just to see it and see what their DE offerings were in case I ever have money to burn. My expectations were pretty low and I was still disappointed. The store was about as big as my closet and even though there were only about 5 or 6 other people in there, the display cases smack-dab in the middle of the store made it difficult to maneuver anywhere. The place was very understocked and the majority of the items seemed to be custom handles for Fusions and Mach 3s, with a few "sets" that included the aforementioned handle and a bowl of soap and a brush for an outrageous price. The employees stood there and just sort of stared at you while you were browsing which was a little creepy and made me feel for a minute like I had to buy something. I didn't. Overall just not impressed in any way by AOS, which is a shame because I think they have a lot of potential.
 
I went into an AoS store in a mall once. The kid behind the counter had a full beard. I wasn't really interested in buying anything, as most of the items seemed pretty expensive, but I couldn't help but note the irony.

At least his was full. The one I went into the kid had a hideous beard, and where it was partially shaved he did a terrible job. I'm not one to judge (just kidding, I most certainly am), but have some sort of pride in your work, even if your job is just a job at the moment.
 
AoS has been beat to death here. Not enough product variety, tremendously overpriced. They target the casual mall shopper looking for gifts and leave the rest of the market to Amazon, IB, WCS, etc.
 
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I looked at Procter & Gamble's 2014 Report and the grooming is down (net sales) from 2013 and 2012. Though the net earnings are up. They are obviously trying to bring the net sales numbers up, with the flexball razor. Now the predection of a liquidation manager could be really real. But we will have to wait until September like one of the posters said. It's sad in my opinion.
 
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I LOVE wet shaving but I find it a bit odd that someone would try to open a physical store for mens shaving supplies. For most guys shaving is something they don't really think or care about. I think most wet shavers are older and were coaxed into trying it out of sheer frustration over mainstream shaving. Price, gimmicks, razor burn etc. Or if your like me having to bang an overpriced cartridge razor on the edge of the sink every couple of passes to unclog the blades. From what I've seen the anger and frustration needs time to ferment. I just buy my stuff over the net...I've never even thought about going to a shaving shop. That's just me though.
 
It would be great if someone at P&G had a vision to emulate the models set by Taylor Of Old Bond Street or Truefitt & Hill or Geo B. Trumper, really, any respected shave supplier/barber shop combo business. Maybe someone like Schick, Harry's, Dollar Shave, Bevel, someone will step in and want the brand and the physical stores.
 

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Staff member
West Coast Shaving should buy them if they go up for sale. Then every AOS store get's rebranded West Coast Shaving and stocks everything they sell on their website.

Holy shaving heaven batman! :w00t:
 
West Coast Shaving should buy them if they go up for sale. Then every AOS store get's rebranded West Coast Shaving and stocks everything they sell on their website.

Holy shaving heaven batman! :w00t:

Talk about a recipe for success , as well as getting everyone away from Gillette's ripoff scam of cartridges. Reviving the old ways and tools would be so awesome to see.
 
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