Depilatories in the US

PROSPECTS

Women’s razors and blades continues to slump

The evident shift of women in the US to consuming fewer razors and blades continued in 2018. Similar to the trend taking place in men’s razors and blades, relaxed social norms and female tolerance of body hair has brought down sales in the category.

“Pink tax” to play an important role in marketing to women moving forward

A major theme of 2017 in women’s hair removal was the media attention brought to the alleged “pink tax”, which has historically accompanied products for women. Continuing in 2018, digital native DTC brands such as Billie and Flamingo targeted the notion that female consumers have been historically subject to slightly higher-priced goods for the sake of them being female-oriented.

A shift to more permanent options in female hair removal

Given the recent struggles of women’s razors and blades, products and services offering alternatives for hair removal have been capitalising on changing consumer preferences. Coinciding with advances in laser technology, the availability and cost of professional and at-home laser hair removal and IPL treatments have become more accessible to average US consumers.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Harry’s launches Flamingo

In an expansive move, leading DTC shaving player Harry’s launched a new sub-brand, Flamingo, specialising in women’s hair removal. With this launch, Flamingo aims to disrupt women’s razors and blades, in a similar way that Harry’s did in the men’s market.

The shaving clubs landscape for women

With another year under the belts of recently started female shave clubs, the historically overlooked market of women’s razors and blades is steadily being disrupted, just as happened in the men’s market in the early 2010s. From the historical dominance of disposable razors in the female market, the steep decline in sales of disposable razors points to more women shifting their purchases to system razors.

Innovation in women’s razors and blades

Following many other beauty and personal care categories, evolving to meet consumers’ changing needs has remained a key priority in depilatories. Historically large companies such as Procter & Gamble and Edgewell, whilst dominating sales, incur higher overhead costs when launching new products or shifting direction; thus, enabling smaller, niche brands to be more agile in responding to new trends.

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