Dollar Shave Club, a US-based membership concept selling razor blades buy mail order has launched in Australia, its first international market outside North America.
The company has become well known for its cheeky advertising video, which earlier in the year went viral around the world. Following its success in the US, the company says it is aiming to change the way Australians think about shaving by making it more affordable and convenient to buy razors.
Originally established to address over priced blades and the poor shopping experience that comes with buying razor blades, Dollar Shave Club was launched in the US in March.
To fund the expansion, Dollar Shave Club raised US$9.8 million in a Series A round of funding led by Venrock. This follows US$1 million in seed funding announced in March 2012, co-led by Kleiner Perkins, Caufield & Byers and Forerunner Ventures.
The funding will help Dollar Shave Club’s plans to further expand internationally and launch other services.
To join the club, customers visit the company’s website and choose one of three razor membership levels: the “Humble Twin” ($4/month), the “4x” ($7/month), and the “Executive” ($10/month) which include a razor, a month’s supply of blades and shipping.
CEO and founder Michael Dubin said the brand is very excited to open in Australia.
“We’ve received thousands of requests for us to make membership available here, and we’re eager to have Australian men join our society of smarter consumers,” said Dublin.
“By joining Dollar Shave Club, Australian men no longer have to overpay for brand name razors and deal with the maddening experience of buying them in the store. It’s such a simple idea with unbelievable value.”
Research commissioned by Dollar Shave Club showed 75 per cent of Australian men believe razor blades are too expensive, while 52 per cent would be prepared to change their razor blade brand if it provided the same quality as a big brand, but cost less.
In less hygienic news, the survey also discovered that when Australian men run out of razor blades 47 per cent would not shave, and 12 per cent would dig out last week’s razor blade from the bin.
