Harry's is an American company that manufactures and sells shaving equipment and men's personal care products via online and retail channels. The company is known for their subscription service where customers receive new razor blades, shaving cream, and other grooming products by mail. Harry's is based in New York. The company was founded in July 2012 by Andy Katz-Mayfield and Jeff Raider. The company launched its subscription service in March 2013. In February 2014, Harry's acquired the German razor blade manufacturer Feintechnik for $100 million. In May 2019, Edgewell Personal Care, the owner of the Schick brand of shaving products, announced it would purchase Harry's for $1.4 billion. The merger was intended to finalise by the end of the first quarter of 2020. In February 2020, the Federal Trade Commission sued Edgewell to block the merger, stating that bringing Schick and Harry's together could hurt competition.
History
The company was founded in July 2012 by Andy Katz-Mayfield and Jeff Raider. The subscription service launched in March 2013. In January 2014, Harry's purchased the Feintechnik razor factory in Germany for a reported $100 million in an effort to provide control over the entire process of manufacturing their products. In July 2015 the company received a third-round financing of US$75.6 million. In an interview published in July 2016, Katz-Mayfield said Harry's had two million customers. As of January 2017, Harry's shaving products are also available at Target stores. In late June 2017, Harry's started selling its products in the United Kingdom. In February 2018, Harry's raised $112 million in Series D funding co-led by Alliance Consumer Growth and Temasek co-led, with participation from Tao Capital Partners. In October 2018, Harry's launched Flamingo, a women's skin care brand. In May 2019, Edgewell Personal Care, the owner of the Schick brand of shaving products, announced plans to purchase Harry's for $1.4 billion. The merger was intended to finalise by the end of the first quarter of 2020. On February 3, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission sued Edgewell to block the merger, stating that bringing Schick and Harry's together could hurt competition and Edgewell backed away from the deal. In March 2020, Harry's launched Cat Person as an independent startup out of the company's innovation group, Harry's Labs. Cat Person is a lineup of cat care products including grain-free cat food, toys, beds, and bowls.
Philanthropy
Similar to Warby Parker, which was also co-founded by Jeff Raider, Harry's began with a buy-one-donate-onebusiness model, donating a free razor blade to charitable organizations. The program started in 2013 by supporting The Mission Continues to help veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and it was called the "Give a Shave" program. By the end of 2013, the "Give a Shave" program had changed slightly such that Harry's would donate 1% of their sales and the employees would donate 1% of their time to charitable orgainzations like City Year. Currently, the donation model remains 1% of sales, and employees now receive five days of paid time off to volunteer with a registered non-profit organization. Various charities have received this benefit, and Harry's has recenlty focused on promoting better mental health care for men and suicide prevention, making news for working with organizations such as Campaign Against Living Miserably, HEADstrong Foundation, and The Trevor Project.
