In 1901, King Camp Gillette, a bottle-cap salesman who lived in Brookline, Massachusetts, filed a patent application for a product that would end up revolutionizing the way men shaved. At the time, they shaved with straight razors, which along with finesse, required effort, since they needed to be stropped often to keep them sharp, or with the more modern safety razors of the time, whose blades were ensconced in a metal guard but still needed sharpening.

Gillette’s idea: a safety razor with a thin, disposable blade.

• Sales of the new razor and blades surged during World War I, when the US military contracted with Gillette to provide enlistees shaving kits.
• Gillette’s patent for his safety razor expired in 1921, and the brand, acquired by Procter & Gamble in 2005, has for decades focused on selling razors with cartridges containing more and more blades.

Mass transit. In the last decade, traditional safety razors have become popular again, as men rediscover the pleasures of shaving like their great-grandfathers did, which also often includes a shaving brush and a puck of traditional shaving soap or shaving cream. Many of these razors are luxury items, with some going for as much as $499. But here’s the paradox: Many consumers end up in the luxury-razor category because of the long-term expense of name-brand disposables in drugstore aisles.

• Gillette’s ProGlide razor-cartridge refills are $20 for a four-pack. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends replacing blades after five to seven shaves. For a daily shaver, that adds up to an annual cost of more than $250.

“A lot of people will find a safety razor because they’re sick of spending $3 or $4 for a replacement cartridge from Gillette,” Joseph Abbatangelo, co-founder of The Italian Barber, a 12-year-old Toronto online retailer that specializes in razors and shaving products, told us.

Keep reading here.—AAN

At over 100 years old, outdoor gear and apparel brand Eddie Bauer has gone through several owners and branding iterations. Known for patenting quilted down jackets and for outfitting the first American ascent of Mount Everest, the Seattle-based brand is now tackling a new challenge: enticing a younger generation of consumers.

“Our benefit, of course, as a 100-year-old brand is the fact that we have really high brand recognition,” Eddie Bauer’s vice president of marketing, Kristen Elliott, told Retail Brew. “But within certain pockets of consumers, maybe our relevancy as a brand isn’t quite where it could be.”

Of course, Eddie Bauer is on TikTok (think: epic mountain views), but brand reinvention for a younger audience also means expanding accessibility.

• Used-gear sales, which launched in August 2022, is part of the company’s (RE)Adventure program, and is a way for the brand to bring in new and different consumers, Elliott said.
• The items offered in the program, both apparel and gear, were purchased and then returned before being offered for resale.

State of play: Resale items are cheaper than new items, the cost of which Elliott said can be a major barrier to outdoor experiences. And they’re hoping that will bring in younger consumers who aren’t as familiar with the brand, but who already shop used, Elliott said.

Keep reading here.—MA

On Wednesdays, we wear pink spotlight Retail Brew’s readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.

Today we’re highlighting one of our own: Meet Retail Brew’s new editor, Erik Wander! Erik joins us from Adweek, where he served in multiple roles—including, most recently, features editor—for the past seven years. Get to know him more below.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? I help reporters tell the best stories they can possibly tell to keep an audience of retail industry professionals informed, engaged, inspired, and hopefully entertained in the process.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? It involves a tremendous amount of discussion. I suspect a lot of people picture an editor as someone with their head down reading copy much of the time. And while that’s true of my job to an extent, I come at it from the perspective that every good story is a collaboration from start to finish, and communication, mutual trust, and rapport are essential.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? At Retail Brew? Yesterday’s newsletter. :) It was my first one! Although, I had a lot of help. I always try to focus on the next project. So, while I’ve worked on plenty I’m proud of, I strive to make whatever I’m working on now my favorite.

Which emerging retail trend are you most excited about this year, and why? Sustainability efforts across all aspects of the industry. It’s plain that without significant, meaningful action right now, the climate crisis will devastate us. Retail is already at an inflection point, but how retailers respond to this increasingly urgent call to action is a huge, ongoing story that couldn’t be more important.

What’s your go-to coffee order? Large iced with almond milk, even in the dead of winter.

Worst piece of advice you’ve received? Don’t sweat the small stuff (or words to that effect from multiple well-meaning people). At least for an editor, attention to detail is every bit as important as big-picture thinking. So, yeah, I sweat absolutely everything. If I didn’t, I’d be terrible at my job.

What was your favorite retail product when you were 15, and what’s your favorite retail product now? When I was 15, it might have been my first base glove (but definitely something sports-related). Now? Probably my guitar, a Stratocaster I don’t play well, but do play loud to make up for it.

Today’s top retail reads.

Under the skin: Augustinus Bader’s $280 skin cream has become a Hollywood favorite—but while it’s marketed as a revolutionary breakthrough in skin care by its eponymous biologist founder, the science behind it has been hard to prove. (Allure)

Out of gas: As consumers drive less or turn to electric vehicles, convenience stores are becoming less about fuel and more about food. (C-Store Dive)

Lip service: When inflation threatened its bottom line, low-cost beauty brand E.l.f. raised its prices, but left a third of its products untouched. “We wanted to be sure there was an entry into E.l.f. if someone was on a budget constraint,” CEO Tarang Amin said. (the Wall Street Journal)

No cookies this holiday szn: Third-party cookies, that is. Join executives from Lands’ End, FTD, and Rokt on Sept. 29 as they discuss first-party data and how it can help deliver holiday happiness amid tightening data privacy laws, inflation, and supply-chain issues. Sign up here.*

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The retail and e-commerce industries are suffering from inflation, recession, supply-chain issues, and more. Our analysts revisit their 2022 industry predictions to inform you on the year’s end.

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