Consumer goods giant Unilever has announced its plans to buy US-based men’s grooming brand, Dollar Shave Club.
Dollar Shave Club is a membership service that delivers razor blades to members each month. Founded in 2012, the company gained global media attention after its YouTube video went viral (it has since clocked up almost 23 million views). Dollar Shave Club launched in Australia in early 2013, which was its first market outside of North America.
Today Dollar Shave Club has more than 3.2 million members worldwide and in 2015 the male grooming brand had turnover of $US152 million. The company is understood to be on track to exceed US$200 million in turnover in 2016. While terms of the transaction have not been disclosed it has been reported that the acquisition is understood to be worth $US1 billion.
“Dollar Shave Club is an innovative and disruptive male grooming brand with incredibly deep connections to its diverse and highly engaged consumers,” said Kees Kruythoff, president of Unilever North America.
“In addition to its unique consumer and data insights, Dollar Shave Club is the category leader in its direct to consumer space. We plan to leverage the global strength of Unilever to support Dollar Shave Club in achieving its full potential in terms of offering and reach.”
Michael Dubin, founder and CEO of Dollar Shave Club, said: “DSC couldn’t be happier to have the world’s most innovative and progressive consumer product company in our corner. We have long admired Unilever’s purpose driven business leadership and its category expertise is unmatched. We are excited to be part of the family.”
Michael Dubin will continue to serve as CEO of Dollar Shave Club. Subject to regulatory approval, the transaction is expected to close during the third quarter.
C&I Week contacted Dollar Shave Club Australia for comment but did not receive a response prior to publication.
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