LONDON & ROTTERDAM, Netherlands--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wednesday July 20, 2016 – Unilever today announced that it has signed an agreement to purchase Dollar Shave Club®. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Venice, California, Dollar Shave Club (DSC) has grown into a full male grooming business that has transformed the shaving category with its lifestyle brand empowering 3.2 million members. In 2015, DSC had turnover of US$152 million and is on track to exceed US$200 million in turnover in 2016. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
With a product and brand range that extends far beyond shaving to include Wanderer® men’s personal wash products, Big Cloud® men’s skin care products, Boogies® hair styling products, and One Wipe Charlies® daily wipes, Dollar Shave Club® brings to Unilever’s personal care category a unique male grooming perspective.
“Dollar Shave Club is an innovative and disruptive male grooming brand with incredibly deep connections to its diverse and highly engaged consumers,” said Kees Kruythoff, President of Unilever North America. “In addition to its unique consumer and data insights, Dollar Shave Club is the category leader in its direct-to-consumer space. We plan to leverage the global strength of Unilever to support Dollar Shave Club in achieving its full potential in terms of offering and reach.”
Michael Dubin, founder and CEO of Dollar Shave Club, added: “DSC couldn’t be happier to have the world’s most innovative and progressive consumer-product company in our corner. We have long admired Unilever’s purpose-driven business leadership and its category expertise is unmatched. We are excited to be part of the family.”
Michael Dubin will continue to serve as CEO of DSC.
Subject to regulatory approval, the transaction is expected to close during the third quarter.
About Unilever:
Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries and reaching 2 billion consumers a day. It has 169,000 employees and generated sales of €53.3 billion in 2015. Over half (58%) of the company’s footprint is in developing and emerging markets. Unilever has more than 400 brands found in homes around the world, including Persil, Dove, Knorr, Domestos, Hellmann’s, Lipton, Wall’s, PG Tips, Ben & Jerry’s, Marmite, Magnum and Lynx.
Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan commits to:
- Helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being by 2020.
- Halving the environmental impact of our products by 2030.
- Enhancing the livelihoods of millions of people by 2020.
Unilever was ranked number one in its sector in the 2015 Dow Jones Sustainability Index. In the FTSE4Good Index, it achieved the highest environmental score of 5. It led the list of Global Corporate Sustainability Leaders in the 2016 GlobeScan/SustainAbility annual survey for the sixth year running. Unilever was ranked the most sustainable food and beverage company in Oxfam’s Behind the Brands Scorecard in 2016 for the second year.
For more information about Unilever and its brands, please visit www.unilever.com. For more information on the USLP: www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/
About Dollar Shave Club:
Dollar Shave Club is a men's grooming brand dedicated to helping men live smarter, more successful lives through high-quality personal care products, content and technology. DSC began in March 2012 with a simple offering: deliver high-quality razors for a few bucks a month. DSC has since launched a lineup of additional products on its march toward owning the men's bathroom. Those products include Wanderer, a sulfate-free shower line including Calming Body Cleanser and Body Bar, Awakening Body Cleanser and Body Bar, Face Cleanser and a Lathering Shower Cloth; Big Cloud, a compromise-free skin protection line including Hand Cream, Lip Balm, and Daily Face Moisturizer with Sunscreen; Boogie’s Gel, Clay, Cream, Fiber and Paste; Dr. Carver's Easy Shave Butter, Pillowy Shave Lather, Magnanimous Post Shave Cream, and Miracle Repair Serum; and One Wipe Charlies. DSC will soon be the easiest place for guys to get the things they use every day. For more information, visit www.dollarshaveclub.com or you can also follow Dollar Shave Club on Twitter (@DollarShaveClub), Facebook and Instagram.
Cautionary Statement/Safe Harbour:
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements, including ‘forward-looking statements’ within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as ‘will’, ‘aim’, ‘expects’, ‘anticipates’, ‘intends’, ‘looks’, ‘believes’, ‘vision’, or the negative of these terms and other similar expressions of future performance or results, and their negatives, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations and assumptions regarding anticipated developments and other factors affecting the Unilever Group (the “Group”). They are not historical facts, nor are they guarantees of future performance.
Because these forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Among other risks and uncertainties, the material or principal factors which could cause actual results to differ materially are: Unilever’s global brands not meeting consumer preferences; Unilever’s ability to innovate and remain competitive; Unilever’s investment choices in its portfolio management; inability to find sustainable solutions to support long-term growth; customer relationships; the recruitment and retention of talented employees; disruptions in our supply chain; the cost of raw materials and commodities; the production of safe and high quality products; secure and reliable IT infrastructure; successful execution of acquisitions, divestitures and business transformation projects; economic and political risks and natural disasters; financial risks; failure to meet high and ethical standards; and failure to comply with laws and regulations, including tax laws. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this document. Except as required by any applicable law or regulation, the Group expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Group’s expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. Further details of potential risks and uncertainties affecting the Group are described in the Group’s filings with the London Stock Exchange, Euronext Amsterdam and the US Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the Group’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended 31 December 2015 and the Annual Report and Accounts 2015.
