DTC Case Study: Harry’s Razors
Disclosure: Part of this article was generated using AI writing too. The content was directed and edited by me as part of the writing process. We are learning to use emerging marketing toolsets as part of our class.
Harry’s is a direct-to-consumer brand that sells razors and other grooming products. Harry’s had a goal to create a brand persona that would resonate with its target audience — millennials. It also wanted to improve brand performance by increasing its distribution channels.
Brand Performance and Overview:
Harry’s Razors was founded in 2013 by Jeff Raider, Andy Katz-Mayfield, and Jim Muehlhausen. The company was started after the founders realized that there were no good razors for men on the market. The company is based in New York City and sells razors, blades, shaving cream, and other grooming products through its website and through retailers like Target and Walmart, although their core channel of distribution is still online sales through their website. Consumers of Harry’s Razors enjoy the convenience of easily replenishing their razor supply through recurring orders.
The company has been growing steadily since it launched in 2013 with $5 million in revenue in 2016. It has been making significant progress expanding into new markets like Canada as well as launching new product lines like shaving cream for women called “The Little Razor Co.”
Impressively, it has been reported that Harrys grew to a valuation of over $1.7 Billion in just 5 years, and was named by New York Times magazine as the best subscription razor in 2022.
Harry’s Razors has over 100,000 Instagram followers, 33.7K Twitter followers, and 45.2K likes on TikTok.
Brand Persona
Harry’s list its target consumer very specifically. Harry’s tends to reach men (85% men to be exact) who are age range 35–44 and are often with children and in higher earning income ranges.
Candidly, this is a different target range than I would have expected for Harry’s, maybe because I am a consumer as well and am outside of that target, but I would have thought their market would have been a younger demographic. However, after thinking more about the brand vision it makes sense to me that Harry’s can serve a stronger purpose for an older generation or workers and dads with younger children. Harry’s positions themselves to help with timing. And the emphasis on timing is evident through Harry’s entire brand persona.
The Harry’s brand persona can be aptly named Harry. Harry is a 38-year-old father of two who works just outside a big city as a mid-level corporate director. He drives a Toyota that he bought used a few years ago and his children are 7 and 4. Harry is still married but his parter also works and some of the childcare is balanced with his partner's parents who live in the area. Harry tends to spend around 10 hours a day at the office but likes to try to make sure to spend time with his family after work is over. He still holds on to some hobbies, but most of his hobbies are “at home”, like keeping up with his favorite TV shows and sports teams. He shops most often at Target behind his house and even though he sees Harry’s in store, he still prefers to have his razors delivered to his house.
Brand Awareness
Harry’s primarily utilizes social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram to generate brand awareness. Additionally, they use videos on these platforms that inform consumers on how to use their product correctly. Harry’s Razors has been able to create a brand that is not only known by men but also by women. They have been able to do this through their advertisements and marketing campaigns. As is also common with many DTC brands, the Harry’s blog on their website has been instrumental in generating awareness and has helped their SEO optimization. The blog writes a lot about shaving tips and tricks.
Distribution
Harry’s Razors operated a blended direct-to-consumer distribution. There is an option to buy razors and subscribe to razor shipments from Harrys.com, but Harry’s has engaged in numerous partnerships throughout the course of its development to allow consumers to find the brand in brick-and-mortar stores. For instance, Harry’s is in stores like Target, Walmart, CVS, and more.
Harry’s expansion from a true DTC brand into storefronts happened somewhat quickly after its founding in 2013. Harry’s was in Target and Walmarts by 2016 and has embraced this blended style of DTC branding to increase its awareness and recognition among consumers. By allowing consumers to see their product in stores right next to the Gilettes of the world, consumers could build a trusting association with Harry’s and feel more comfortable buying online or even in-store.
4 P’s Development
As part of this courses’ case study, we have discussed ways that direct-to-consumer brands can increase their opportunities by using the 4 P’s of marketing. The following are ideas/outlines Harry’s Razors can take in each of the 4 sectors to better utilize their brand.
- Product
- An option for Harrys' regarding products could be to keep all of the elements of their target demographic constant except for gender. They could expand their product line to women's razors and healthcare with little effort and slight rebranding. This would greatly increase their potential buyer pool and could even be branded as more of a partnered product and go by a name like “Sally’s Razors”. In this product expansion, the colors could be redone to look a bit more traditionally feminine, etc.
- Price
- Harry’s could make sure they stay competitive in pricing by continuing to make sure they undercut their primary competitors, namely Gillette. Currently, Harry’s replacement blades 4 back is the same price as the Gillette ones- $17. Harry’s could, and should, lower this price by even just a dollar to allow for easy marketing and the ability to show why they are a better option than the more traditional competitors.
- Place
- As a mixed-distribution DTC company, a way that Harry’s should expand their in-store access in through airports. It is already convenient for consumers and for their brand to be in places like Target, Walmart, and CVS. The next step to generate more visual brand awareness would be to have product places in airport terminals for flyers who need toiletries and can be exposed to the brand “in an emergency”.
- Promotion
- One thing that Harry’s proudly puts on their website is that 1% of all sales go to donations for non-profits supporting mental health. In today’s world, and given their target market, it is very sensible to be socially conscious. A promotion that Harry’s can undertake to further develop its brand is to increase the donation percentage for a campaign during mental health awareness month. This campaign can be the catalyst for all planned marketing efforts during this time period on social medias and even paid TV advertisements.
Harry’s has done a great job growing its DTC brand in the last 9 years. It will be interesting to see how this case study develops over the next decade, and how different DTC brands will look then as well. DTC is increasing in popularity, but I think that a blended mix of distribution will always be necessary for consumers and brands.
Sources:
https://nogood.io/2021/12/29/harrys-marketing-strategy-case-study/
https://nymag.com/strategist/article/best-razor-for-men.html
