Unilever sharpens focus on male grooming, acquires Dollar Shave Club

Unilever is upping its competitive streak with its latest bid to purchase Dollar Shave Club.Founded in 2012 and headquartered in California, Dollar Shave Club (DSC) has grown into a full male grooming business that has transformed the shaving category with its lifestyle brand empowering 3.2 million members. In 2015, DSC had turnover of US$152 million and is on track to exceed US$200 million in turnover in 2016.While terms of the transaction were not disclosed, according to numerous news sources, Unilever paid about US$1 billion in an all-cash deal. The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter.DSC began in March 2012 with a simple offering: deliver high-quality razors for a few bucks a month. Since then it garnered global attention following Dubin’s guerrilla marketing stunts and the company has been known for its direct-to-consumer subscription razor blades service. Now the company’s product range include the likes of  Wanderer, a sulfate-free shower line; Big Cloud, a compromise-free skin protection line; Dr. Carver's Easy Shave Butter; and One Wipe Charlies.“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.” https://youtu.be/ZUG9qYTJMsI Michael Dubin, founder and CEO of Dollar Shave Club, who will remain as CEO post acquisition added: “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.”