Thread: Why the Art of Shaving business/marketing model is such a missed opportunity

I could be wrong but I have a feeling that they are an impulse purchase. I think they are designed to lure in the customer that is not that into it.....yet. Because its next to the shoe store and pretzel joint, it gets the foot traffic needed to be that. It answers some initial curiosity for someone passing buy with a casual interest or a gift idea during the holiday season. But you can tell from reading the forum that there are few dedicated customers hanging around here. Some of us MIGHT use one of their creams/soaps but you wont find too many that continue to shop there for razors or brushes.

Originally Posted by OCDshaver

I could be wrong but I have a feeling that they are an impulse purchase. I think they are designed to lure in the customer that is not that into it.....yet. Because its next to the shoe store and pretzel joint, it gets the foot traffic needed to be that. It answers some initial curiosity for someone passing buy with a casual interest or a gift idea during the holiday season. But you can tell from reading the forum that there are few dedicated customers hanging around here. Some of us MIGHT use one of their creams/soaps but you wont find too many that continue to shop there for razors or brushes.

Absolutely, that is why I mentioned the kit with the brush. Only really reasonable deal. I'd much rather spend the same amount or more for a more experienced brand of brush, but it is nice that you can touch and feel the brushes. That's the reason I haven't bought 3 or 4 different simpson's, thater's or shavemac's. Too cautious on what I might spend my money on and not be satisfied.

Interesting perspectives on this business. In a dream world they could be another SRD type retailer to satisfy all your wet shaving desires. I think being a large operation sort of limits them to certain mass producers of gear that can fill the many stores throughout the nation. DOVO, Merkur and Muhle or T.I. seem to be the brands that can do this. That combined with thier own homegrown consumables soaps and stuff is what they do.
They decided to go big or go home and small operations or artisan based business models just wouldn't work.

Very good point. I can hardly imagine the store acreage required to display everything SRD sells. It would be really interesting if they educated the manager to be able to truly care for razors. If one could get a 7 day set and pay for stropping and honing from them just down the street or pay for a few lessons to know how to do it yourself with hands-on experience, that would probably bring even more people to the fold of straight razor sharpening.

Personally I believe most of their business is dudes buying DE's Soaps and brushes. I doubt they would want to get involved with honing because the usual neophyte would destroy the edge on a strop or a faucet and constantly complain about getting their straight to shave. Its a headache only the brave embrace.

It'll never happen, but it would be interesting.

Its been my opinion that if you like straight razors. There comes a day you should learn to hone your own. Back in the day when every barber on the block did this maybe. But these days even though honing services are readily available I think there is a point where you need to step up and take control. However long it takes. But I like convenience and I am the most convenient honing service for myself.

I'd have to disagree, from a devil's advocate perspective. I am honing my own, but that is because I want to know how to hone. Maybe when I live in a place that doesn't house 100 people, I'll probably take a hack at forging as well. However, if someone looks at the all the "honing" threads and says "no. never. I'd rather shove bamboo under my finger nails. I don't even know what 'quantum entanglement' means" I can totally understand, it can be a daunting rabbit hole to dive into. It can be simple from a straight maintenance side, but even then you'll probably need help or suffer a bit before it clicks. Different strokes (pun intended) for different folks.

But in all reality, adding things to AoS wouldn't really help them generate business. It would make it even more daunting walking in. Catering to the DE's, brushes and ridiculous handles for disposables is all-in-all not a terrible plan. Big change requires pushes. A little change into wet-shaving is just a little nudge.

Bro honing is simple there is no quantum entanglement or bending singularities to your will. These things are said for obvious reasons. It has its challenges I agree but it certainly isn't beyond the scope of the average invalid. Seriously it can be obtained by all and you don't need a degree in astro-physics. Keep it simple and if you stay away from problem vintage catastrophies and have just a few tried and true stones a little practice and your there.

Like I said, from a simple maintenance side, it is easy and easier with help. I think I have seen about a dozen different people mention only using a barber's hone and get by fine. But, it makes sense why someone would rather spend their time on other things than stones or not want to risk the quality of an ebay/antique store barber hone not to mention that skills degrade over lack of use. Especially if you have 2 razors and maybe need a stone touch-up every year. Or even longer, if one's skillful with the strop and some pastes. I never said that it is actually quantum entanglement, that was a wink and a nod to onimaru55's signature.... That being said, I will gladly help anyone learn to hone and think that the lack of manual skills is a terrible degradation in culture that has been accepted for the last several generations. Although, I won't try to convince those uninterested in honing that they should do so, those that need to be convinced are usually the hardest to teach.

But, back to the thread.

I also believe AoS started on the wrong foot by attaching to a mall. I know of very few people interested in wet-shaving to go to the malls. Real repeat business would probably be easier being next to hardware stores. Heck, I'd go back in to check out new stuff if they were next to my Ace. Or the drugstore. Instead, they're set-up for Christmas and birthday gifts to guys that people don't know how to shop for.