I wondered for a while why the stores that had been selling VDH started selling others, and some of the VDH was being clearanced out. It turns out that van der Hagen, based in Liberty Hills, Texas - outside of Austin - was sold, or sold itself, to a conglomerate/corporation called Universal Beauty Products, Inc. http://woodbridgegrp.com/2016/02/08...sale-van-der-hagen-universal-beauty-products/ Shortly after that is when I started seeing changes in the shaving aisles. I wonder if the purchase triggered off a contractual renegotiation for Wal-Mart, Kroger, and Target? Funny thing - their 'home' office in Liberty Hills (for VDH) was in a office/warehouse park, along with J & Z Auto repair, and Docks Decks or doors or something like that. And a Diesel mechanic shop.
Many Newbie Shavers got their starter VDH kits as an introduction to wet shaving. Still have my blue & green bowl and never did finish the Deluxe soap puck. The matching boar brush started dropping bristles some time after I acquired other better ones.
I still use VDH regularly. My brush has been in my rotation of over 4 years. I do not know if the sale caused the change. But it is very possible I would think.
I notices that the Van Der Hagen Deluxe shaving soap started to disappear around the time of the sale. It was replaced with the Van Der Hagen Luxury Shave Soap. I have not seen the Van Der Hagen Deluxe soap in quite some time. In general, items from the Premium line were gradually replaced by items from the Luxury line in most brick and mortar stores around me. The Luxury line is also sold in more stores than before the sale. Even the local supermarket carries Van Der Hagen Luxury Shave soap and safety razors. The sale makes sense. Van Der Hagen was becoming increasingly successful, and it only makes sense to sell it to a larger firm with the means to take it to the next level. The prices are still quite reasonable and the products represent a good value, at least from what I have seen.
I still have my entry level VDH razor(see 30DC). It's going back to the bench starting today in favor of my newly acquired '52 SS Black Tip. I have no idea what happened to the brush I bought at the same time.
The VDH soaps are great for the price and it whips up a nice slick lather. I still have and use the VDH boar brush I had gotten with the VDH shave set. The brush is a decent enough performer and has good backbone. I've also been using my VDH DE again from time to time. It's the razor that got me started in this hobby/way of life. I hope the sale improves and expands their product offering.
I still have two somewhat sheddy VDH brushes in the arsenal, and they live in the mug that came with the set.
Enough folks like the product as it is. Maybe there won't be any reformulation. Good time to purchase backstock if you like it.
The company was originally Surrey then sold to Van der Hagen in 2001 and moved from California to Texas. I think they manufacture the soaps for Conk as well. I do like how they have expanded with a Luxury line, razors and brushes to stay relevent - unlike Williams who rested on its laurels. Not a bad soap I used a couple of pucks when I was starting out. We'll have to see if they keep things the same or tweak the formulas for the better or worse.
From the article I read a while back, VdH was making soap for Surrey already. When Surrey went under, they bought the rights to some of the company leftovers. The Texas company was already in business, they just then decided to strike out on their own as VdH, rather than sell for private labels. That's when the razors and other stuff came out. So it looks like a year ago, they then hit their personal growth limit, or someone just gave them an offer they couldn't refuse. I'm tempted to track down the original owners and ask Hey, it's Texas. We do strange things like that.
I'll have to check HEB's tomorrow & see if they're still stocking that stuff. I do like their glycerin soap.
I prefer(ed) the Delux over the Luxuray which has an obnoxious odor in my opinion. I expect the price will go up and as already noted by others, the selection will go (has gone) down.
Went to their website over the weekend and there are changes to be sure. They offer all the nice VDH products plus some new shave sets that I hadn't seen before. Really nice looking sets too. As to the soaps, I like both the Deluxe and Luxury lines and these work very well for me. And there is great availability in my area. Walgreens carries the VDH razor, blades, soaps, kits and shave butter. Nice to see on the shelves.
I like the post shave feel of the deluxe better than luxury but luxury has a better scent to me. Of course scent is incredibly subjective. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
