How LetsShave is Planning to go Omnichannel

LetsShave, an Indian brand built on innovation and a 'Let's do it' attitude, with shaving at its core, the brand has developed a wide range of high-quality products for both men and women to meet their everyday grooming needs, including hair and skincare and shave and beard care.

“Today, LetsShave is a family of people with different genders, skin types, and skin tones. Our aim is to solve their grooming-related problems to make them ‘feel good and stay sharp. Our vision is inspired by real-life grooming-related problems of people and not by following the trends. Hence, all personal care products are thoughtfully formulated to address skin concerns,” says Sidharth S Oberoi, Founder, LetsShave.

"I felt Indian customers deserved a new kind of quality and innovation in grooming products since it was a market that was still ruled by a handful of international brands. I decided to change the standards of this market in India and partnered with the talented pioneers of the razor industry, Dorco – Asia’s market leader to work on innovative manufacturing technology for producing razors," he adds.

USP of the Brand

LetsShave has created history by bringing the world’s first 6-blade razor to India. Earlier, the market was dependent on 3 or 5-blade razors only. 

“The 6-blade technology is available in razors for both, men and women. In addition to this, our complete grooming range is vegan, paraben-free, sulfate-free, cruelty-free, and packed in bottles made out of 100 percent post-consumer recycled material, resulting in bottles with 60 percent less plastic than a traditional one, with a mission to have the lowest impact on our planet,” he states.

Retail Strategy

The brand aims to become the one-stop solution for grooming and shaving for both, men and women in India and has made a significant dent in the hitherto monopolistic grooming products industry. 

“We have brought a diversified range of products across price points for every kind of shaver and aim to continue expanding the product portfolio over the next few months. We promote the idea of affordable quality in grooming products and have succeeded in onboarding a large demographic of millennial and Gen-X customers,” Oberoi says.

“We have dared to sell and disrupt a market that’s selling beard oil when beards are back in fashion big time. That’s because we believe that nothing gives a man a complete sense of style more than shaving. The same is true for women because modern women want to experiment with outfits, they want to try adventure sports or attend board meetings confidently. Shaving gives them that basic grooming luxury especially when they are time-pressed,” he adds.

Betting Big on D2C Category

The motive of the brand has always been providing the best quality products at an affordable price to the customers ensuring their satisfaction at all times. 

“Using the D2C model, we have been successful in eliminating the middlemen's costs and passing on the cost-benefit to our customers with an aim to offer a luxurious shave to every Indian,” he states.

Technology: A Growth Driver

The brand has always considered shaving as an art, that is enjoyed the best when done with the right kind of technology. 

“I am open to following the industry standard, but if there’s any scope of innovation that may further add value to the end-users, I would not rest unless I get the hang of that technology. I also believe that personal care should be easy, clean, and a solution to your grooming problems that support your lifestyle. And that's what we, LetsShave, believe in. The brand is born to make, deliver and develop products that make you feel good and stay sharp. We strive to offer innovative products that address your grooming concerns with respect to the skin as well as the planet,” he asserts.

Impact of Pandemic

E-commerce is one of those sectors that's been severely hit by COVID-19, worldwide. Just like other brands, LetsShave has also experienced a dramatic shift in the consumer spending patterns across categories, post-Covid as the pandemic pushes millions of households’ shoppers to buy more goods online and practice hygiene. 

“However, amidst the chaos of salary pay cuts and layoffs, LetsShave improvised its packaging and delivery methods to maintain an exceptional level of hygiene. We hired more staff and geared up to launch a few more products soon. These products would enable the consumers to get a complete at-home grooming experience and avoid stepping out,” he shares.

Future Plans

LetsShave.com began as a bootstrapped startup from Chandigarh in the Indian grooming space that started operations in November 2015. It acquired funding from the world’s leading, talented pioneers of the razor industry, Dorco in 2018. 

“With this investment in LetsShave, Dorco became the first company to invest in an Asian brand. In March 2020, we raised another round of funding from Wipro Consumer Care Ventures, which acquired a minority stake. LetsShave seeks to expand operations in the grooming industry in the offline channels along with expanding its product portfolio and growth in the online channels in the near future,” he states.

“The market is changing every day and because of the current scenario, many challenging uncertainties would be coming up. Everyone ought to be ready for all the daily challenges that come up, consider them as learning opportunities to closely monitor the buying behavior of consumers, and then plan ahead accordingly. Digital has become a crucial part of everything; be it marketing, promotion, sales, events, or whatnot,” he adds.