Business Spotlight

Shave, Save, and Spread the Costs with King of Shaves!

Last updated January 2022

Subscriptions are “In”. Or are they? 

Companies all over the world are taking hard looks at their carbon footprint in the midst of environmental issues and climate change challenges. This means businesses are on the hunt for unique and creative solutions to help them become more environmentally friendly and sustainable. 

Often, the companies that are the most successful at adapting to such changes are the ones that see what kinds of services already exist and are capable of applying them in new and ingenious ways. 

One company in particular has really taken this message to heart. King of Shaves, a shaving company based in the UK, has an amazing line of premium shaving products that are meant to change the way people shave – to make it an enjoyable process, not something you have to endure. Without the foam that most products have, you are able to see what you are doing, while the clean and natural ingredients soothes and protects the skin, leaving you with a smooth, close and burn-free shave every time. Their entire shaving and skincare range is even suitable for vegans!

King of Shaves’ team has consistently adapted to changes in the market, remaining open to innovative and new ways of thinking. And, they have once again found a way to stay ahead of the curve and focus on a way to become more environmentally focused. 

Back when the market started down the path of subscription-based business, they followed suit with part of their online business. However, they have seen how this strategy has proven to not be sustainable and not exactly environmentally friendly either. So, they came up with a rather brilliant and simple plan to shift their business down a new path.

King of Shaves partnered with Splitit to offer their brand new EcoPlans – a modern take on a subscription plan. Instead of spreading out your deliveries each month, they spread out your payments. Payments are set up automatically through Splitit over 6 months, so you never even have to think about it, and you get all your products right away. It doesn’t take up that much room in your bathroom storage and you won’t have to think about resupply for a good while. Actually, shoppers end up paying the same amount or even less per shave in the long run through these EcoPlans. 

What an amazing way to incentivize their customers to be more environmentally friendly! By delivering one bulk package, they are able to use less plastic, less fuel and have a lower carbon footprint. 

History in The Making

Let me take you back for a second to where it all began. 

The founder, Will King, started the company because he always suffered from razor burn. His wife loved essential oils and had a whole collection. One day in 1993, Will ran out of shaving cream, so he decided to dip into her stash of essential oils to use instead since he didn’t have time to run to the store. Surprisingly, he found that the essential oils protected his skin far better than any product he had used before. Shaving with these oils left him with the cleanest shave he’d ever had and his skin was well protected in the process. And thus his business was born! 

Will spent time in his kitchen developing the perfect recipe, went out, bought a hand pump and filled 10,000 bottles by hand (which took 2 weeks), before heading out to knock on doors. Retailers took to this product very quickly, seeing the quality of his product and that it offered a premium option to shaving that had not previously existed. 

As the company grew, Will made sure that his team was always looking for ways to adapt and change to keep up with the market, if not stay ahead. For example, Will was a pretty internet savvy guy, so he was already up and running with ecommerce back in 1999 when it was still a novelty of an idea (they had launched their first website already in 1995). 

A Brilliant Idea’s Humble Beginnings

The team at King of Shaves takes this concept of innovation to heart! Andy, a guy who has worked for this company for over 20 years, was recently shopping for a dehumidifier. (Side note – most employees have been there for almost as long…talk about low turnover and company loyalty. Seems like a pretty great place to work as well!) 

Anyway, Andy came across a website that sold dehumidifiers with an installment payment option. He immediately thought, “this is a really cool idea!” before purchasing the item and checking out how the payment options worked for himself.

This random personal online shopping experience sparked an innovative idea that he brought back to his team. He came up with a way to not only make the company more environmentally friendly, but would also be better for their business overall. You see, King of Shaves has, over time, turned a portion of their business into an online subscription business (as previously mentioned). As I’m sure you’ve seen, this trend has been spreading not only within this industry, but across others as well. Other examples of subscription based businesses popping up include clothing, cleaning products, even food, etc. 

This business model means extra costs to send out product to customers every single month – mostly due to more fuel consumed with each shipment and more plastic used because of individual packaging. By offering alternative payment options as a “plan” available to their clients, they are able to encourage their shoppers to purchase in bulk, which means less waste. 

How Does it Work?

Splitit is the only global installment payment solution available and they partner with retailers around the world to provide alternative payment options to their shoppers. It’s the quickest checkout system, has the highest approval rate, pairing with your existing credit card, has zero interest, and there are no hidden fees. In addition, there are no applications to fill out or credit checks involved. Splitit integrates seamlessly with King of Shaves’ checkout process, so when you shop, it’s a simple check box. 

At checkout, you fill out the standard credit card and shipping information and pay the first installment. The rest will be automatically drawn from your credit card each month. No setup required. It’s actually a win-win opportunity for shoppers, because you continue to build your credit (because you are using your credit card) and you will get all the benefits tied to that credit card. 

Splitit is the future of alternative payment options in a world of greater consumer purchasing power, offering consumers the ability to self finance with no additional interest, instead of turning to banks for financial loans.