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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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…
Speaker Programme for the London Conference in June
There are four main sessions in the provision programme:
Will King - King of Shaves
Will King the founder and CEO of King of Shaves will be giving a keynote presentation on the growth and development of his business. It is a great story and one that promises to be a terrific case study in the importance of innovation, ethical business and the fierce battle to overcome the market dominance of Gillette and Wilkinson Sword. King of Shaves has won many plaudits for their range of shave gels, face washes and moisturizers and their new Azor razor is making big in-roads into the personal grooming market! Every delegate to the conference will receive a King of Shaves gift bag full of goodies to take away for the summer holidays! Will King’s personal motto is ‘Enthuse, Exceed, Enjoy!’ - expect a high energy session from one of Britain’s brightest entrepreneurs. Will’s blog can be found here:
David Smith - The Economic Outlook
David Smith is one of our finest Economics journalists and a must-read for many of us on a Sunday morning. We can be sure that his talk and Q&A will offer plenty of food for thought and prompt plenty of lively discussion. David’s web site can be found here:
Peter Day - A Changing Business Landscape
Peter Day is a well known and much loved voice from BBC Radio 4 where he has presented In Business and Global Business for more than two decades. Peter has always had a gift for making sense of an ever changing business and economic landscape and his Radio programmes are among the most popular of the BBC podcasts available from iTunes.
Energizing the Economics Classroom
For our ‘hands on’ session, Ruth Tarrant and Geoff Riley will be combining to give a lively presentation on fresh ideas for teaching difficult topics. We will be taking a cluster of tricky micro and macro topics and presenting some new ideas for active learning in the classroom and varying homework assignments to deepen student awareness and understanding. All of the new resources will be on a conference CD for delegates.
The British Library Conference Centre is a superb setting for our event. Wireless internet access is available for a small daily charge and the British Library itself is just a few metres stroll away and an awesome place to visit either before or after the conference. The full delegate rate includes a three course buffet lunch with wine provided by Leiths of London and there is our customary wine and soft drink reception for those who can stay a while and enjoy a relaxing post-event drink.
Your can secure your place at this event by clicking here. We are offering a ‘Departmental Deal’ for schools and colleges sending three or more delegates with a rate of just £100 for the day and there are also sizeable reductions for NQTs, PCGE students and departments sending a second delegate.
I look forward to meeting many of you in London in June!
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