Cash is the enemy of creativity!
The Founder and CEO of King of Shaves, Will King gave an engaging and dynamic presentation to a large audience of economics and business students at our Entrepreneurship Society last night. The UK sales figures for the new Azor razors are quite remarkable and are testimony to the impact that this challenger brand is having on a monopolistic/duopolistic market. In the past four weeks in the UK KoS has sold 107,000+ Azor system razor handles and 602,000+ Azor Endurium cartridges.
Conventional MBA theory would suggest that the barriers to entry are just too high for a new firm to dislocate and disrupt the cosy market power of Gillette and Wilkinson Sword. The razor remains of the most patent protected products in the world and the billions of blades sold each year (at profit margin of over 90 per cent) represent an enormous cash cow for the US shaving giants. But easy cash can often stifle genuine creativity. The momentum of passionate and persistent challenger brands who truly understand the web and who talk to customers in a different way can make a big difference. The big Mo is with King of Shaves and it is easy to see why!
Will reports on his visit here
Our next meeting (Thursday 12th November) focuses on global economics and is with Paul Donovan, Chief Economist of UBS.
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King of Shaves takes on Wilkinette
Will King, Founder and CEO of the fast-growing King of Shaves brand gave a superb presentation to the National Conference for Economics Teachers in London last week. The business was founded in 1993 and sixteen years later King of Shaves is making significant in-roads into the market for male and female shaving and grooming products. The battle against Wilkinette is well and truly joined but - as with most entrepreneurial success stories - the challenge of establishing a foothold in an oligopolistic market dominated by two corporate giants has not been smooth.
Economics Teacher National Conference 2009 - Some Images
Here is a selection of photos I took at the Economics Teacher National Conference 2009 at the British Library today. It was a really lovely event - terrific speakers and a fantastic audience of enthusiastic Economics teachers. Economics teaching is in good hands…
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