Company known for a viral grooming product ad moves its HQ to Durham NC from California
“Yeah, a dollar. Are the blades any good? No.”
A healthy fear of editors and parents will stop this reporter from finishing that commercial’s quote verbatim. (But you can find it in this viral video advertisement from the company then known as DollarShaveClub.com.)
To paraphrase, DollarShaveClub.com founder Michael Dubin says the razor blades are not just good — they’re really, really great.
The company, which has since dropped the “.com” from its name, was founded in California in 2011 as a direct-to-consumer brand that would mail razors to customers’ homes for a $1 monthly fee.
Dollar Shave Club has changed plenty over the years, having operated under different owners, expanded its product line and, yes, increased its prices.
Now the company is making another move, this time geographically, as it opens a new headquarters in Durham. More specifically, the company will office out of American Tobacco Campus, Matt Gladdek, the vice president of economic development for Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce, told The News & Observer in an email.
The campus already houses several retailers, including Milkshake Factory, QueenBurger, Honeygirl Meadery/Ment Beverage Co. and State of Golf. And Durham brewery Fullsteam plans to open a new taproom and restaurant there, The N&O previously reported.
Dollar Shave Club hiring in Durham
Dollar Shave Club is hiring for accounting and brand strategy and marketing positions in the Bull City. The roles will require employees to work “out of our HQ in Durham, North Carolina 4x a week.”
The company has already hired at least one person with North Carolina ties to staff its Durham office. Michael Stutts, a third-generation graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, started a new role as chief brand officer of Dollar Shave Club in January.
“I promise to be a good steward of the brand that changed the personal care game when it burst through the tunnel like a WWE challenger,” Stutts wrote in a LinkedIn post.
Neither Dollar Shave Club nor Nexus Capital Management LP, the California-based private equity firm that acquired the shaving company in 2023, immediately responded to The News & Observer’s requests for more information.
What is Dollar Shave Club?
In its early days, Dollar Shave Club touted its bare-bones approach to shaving. Like companies such as Apex phone grip maker Ohsnap and Liquid Death, Dollar Shave Club infused humor into its marketing to launch itself.
“Stop paying for shave tech you don’t need, and stop forgetting to buy your blades every month,” Dubin said in the DollarShaveClub.com ad, which now has more than 28 million views on YouTube.
After all, your handsome grandfather, who also had polio, made it work with a single blade, Dubin said.
Since then, though, the brand has expanded its product line and now sells electric trimmers, skincare and hair care. Shoppers can find Dollar Shave Club products in stores such as Target and Walmart, and the company is also making some effort to sell its products to women, too.
Company ownership has also changed. In 2016, Dollar Shave Club was acquired by Unilever, a London-based company that owns dozens of brands including Ben & Jerry’s and Dove.
Dubin stepped down as CEO in 2021. Two years later, Unilever sold Dollar Shave Club to Nexus Capital Management, while remaining as a minority owner.
“We see growth potential and will invest in cutting-edge marketing, product quality and new innovations,” Nexus partner Michael Cohen said in a news release. “Dollar Shave Club will also serve as a platform for additional brands with a similar DNA.”
Nexus Capital Management also invests in shoe brand Toms and the assessment provider ACT. Months ago, the firm had plans to acquire Big Lots, though that deal didn’t pan out.
