The Art of Shaving Store (And the Soap).

There is an AOS store in the mall where I have been stationed a few times over the holiday season. We have a booth outside their door doing demos of our systems to set appointments. I wandered in on a slow day and was met by a very friendly sales guy who gave me a handful of free samples. He told me prices (which I stared at him in disbelief) and kept making the point that with a full kit I could choose my own "razor". I put it in quotes because what he meant by "razor" was a handle for Fusion carts, and they carry quite a few high priced options. Of course that fancy handle ($100+) ends up with a crappy cart on the end. They did have a few safety razors on display, also overpriced but that's retail, and when I asked about them he didn't really seem interested in talking about them.

I tried the samples and will agree it's a good product, just not good enough to justify the price. And while I appreciate their emphasis on prep and prep products, their commitment to selling Fusion handles as their first solution really grinds my gears. Like I'm going to go through a great prep then ruin it with a cart. Give me a break.

 

Justin, I am with you. Their Sandalwood is one of my favs. It's a great lather and slickness with a rich scent. My wife got me some for Christmas and I am thoroughly enjoying it.

 

That is likely because the management and staff is told to do so by the corporate headquarters. Even so, Art of Shaving sell huge numbers of safety razors, with astronomical growth over the last few years. My local AoS will push the Fusion cartridges at first. If a customer shows a definite interest in safety razors, they immediately shift gears and start pushing their Merkur and Muhle products. This is an unusually well run store, staffed by wetshaving enthusiasts and with very good management.

The price is quite high, but not hugely out of line considering they are selling upscale. Of course, they do not have the cachet of the famed British upscale shaving retailers (Taylor of Old Bond Street, George F. Trumper, D.R. Harris, Truefitt & Hill, etc.). The very high prices are therefore somewhat less justified. Bear in mind that such products are often purchased as gifts, so the focus is on giving something the recipient would greatly enjoy, but not buy for himself.

Why the annoyance? Fusions work great for a great many shavers. Just because we are adverse to the product line in no way detracts from its merit to those men. By the same token, those with an irrational fear of safety razors do not make them any less useful to us. To each his own. That being said, the Fusion line is in a lot of trouble. Even cartridge razor users are rebelling against the ridiculously overpriced cartridges. Gillette has begun promoting the three-blade cartridge systems again, likely due to both declining Fusion sales and the resurgence of safety razors.

 

I should probably qualify my statements better. Sorry, I tend sometimes to post away without making sure my intent is clear. My wife claims the same thing about me at times in our "discussions". LOL My irritation at their pushing Fusion handles was really because I had made it clear in my opening conversation that I was a DE shaver and loved it. So, when they started showing me the package options with Fusion handles it didn't resonate well. I asked if a safety razor could be put into a package and the answer back was on the line of "why would you want that when we have these fantastic options for the Fusion"? Hopefully you can see my issue with their attitude at that point. They weren't rude, just didn't seem to have heard anything I had said before.

I will say that if I was going to use carts some of their handles were very nice and definitely a huge improvement over what Gillette sells with the carts. I also understand their price structure because they are upscale and target that market. They seem to do a very good job of it too judging from the sales I saw ringing up there . And I will also say that the quality of the samples did make me consider purchasing more, but I just can't bring myself to pay that much when I know of other products that perform as well, or close enough to pass for as well.

I was not aware that Gillette had begun promoting 3 blades again but I do think they have to do something. The price they want for Fusions is, as you stated, ridiculously overpriced and competition is heating up from people like us. I have noticed that they are marketing a 12 pack of Fusion carts for around $40 as a "year's worth of shaves". They are working hard to try and convince people that the cartridge will last an entire month. About three months ago I tried using a Fusion for a month. After two weeks I knew it was in trouble. After three I kicked myself for trying. Of course, YMMV as they say.

 

I've been one of their shops twice and the experiences get worse. Really I'm surprised how they make money which such horrible customer service. The first time I went I asked about saftey razors and the difference between models because the price difference was about double from what all they had. The only thing he told me was different was the weight. So I could get a 60 dollar razor or one over 100 and he can't tell me what's different besides the weight. The next time I was in search for a razor and brush stand. The only answer I got was this one is 60 and they walked away like I was an inconvenience to help because they went back to talking to themselves. It seems like a hipster store or at least the one where I live at.

 

I think there is quite a range of experiences in their stores and it depends on the staff more than anything. The one here does offer shaving demos where they will show you how to use the brush to make lather and shaving technique, although I always saw them demo with the Fusion. They did tell me, though, that they usually have a barber on staff who will do straight edge shaves and more complete demos. They just don't have one on staff at the moment.

 

It just seems like a big box store experience. I go into best buy knowing what I want and a lot more about the products then the sales staff. That's not my main problem though it just seems like if you don't look like you can afford what they're selling they don't even bother with you. Hopefully I can experience something better because some of their products I'd like to try but the sales staff just pushes me away.

 

If they are rude enough to walk away from you I would be rude enough to ask them if they though I had run out of questions, that would make them come back like dogs to a treat.

 

You know, that comment piqued my interest in the current state of Art of Shaving. I went into their local store, which I last visited about a year ago, to check out the status quo. Interesting indeed... It had been invaded by a swarm of Fusions. They always had a good selection of Fusions as the most prominently displayed razors. Something like five or six safety razors were less prominently displayed, but still arranged in a nice display. Much less prominently displayed were a few straight razors on one wall. Fast forward to today...

There are lots of Fusion razors displayed alone and in sets or kits, many more than before. The Dyson ball Fusions were there, as were older types. Only three types of safety razors were in a small display, much less prominent than before, with a fourth razor displayed on a stand with a matching brush. The straight razors appeared to be gone, as I did not see any after looking around. There were two or three Mach 3 razors, as well. It looks like Gillette is really feeling the price resistance to the Fusion cartridges. To their credit, they also had a display of the different blades they sell, including Merkur and Gillette Platinum double-edge blades at the top. The sales staff was still very attentive and not at all pushy. That was as it should be. Your AoS store, and some of the others, could learn from this one.

AoS is certainly good at ringing up the sales, they set the hook and process the transaction very quickly. Everything in the store is well thought out. There was one older Aussie gentleman in there who said his son had once brought back a tube of their cream, and that it was far and away the best he had ever used. The sales clerk tried to also sell him a brush, but he said he did not use a brush. It just goes to show that a) Many people do not know there are less expensive but equally good alternatives available, and b) Most people don't even know about traditional wetshaving as an option.

Their Fusion handles certainly are nice, and AoS carried at least two special Gillette handles even before they were purchased by Gillette. I remember seeing one and thinking it was totally cool. OMG, it was $140.00!! Sticker shock! And then I took a look at the Fusion cartridges. "No ma'am, I don't want to buy the known universe, just a pack of cartridges." As it turns out, the solar system is less expensive. And that is how I got started with a safety razor and double-edge blades.

A Fusion cartridge will last for one month, provided it is only used once per week. And you are quite right, the competition really is heating up.

No sense in worrying about trying the Fusion. How would you know that it is not better than a safety razor unless you tried it?

 

Ahhhhh so THAT'S the secret. Silly me, trying to shave every day with one and expecting it to last. Interesting to hear of your recent visit. It sounds very much like what we have here, only the staff there seems a bit more open to let people look. They aren't that bad here, just don't seem to want to discuss anything but the packages the way they want to build them. Oh,the Dyson handle...I think that absolutely makes the entire thing look cheap again even with the $140 price tag. Nothing like having a big ugly orange ball in there to remove a few style and class points.

 

I have a sandalwood soap from old stock on order. They were made by Valobra, in Genova Italy. I own all shaving soaps from Valobra and they are fantastic!

 

I tried a couple of samples (pre-shave oil, cream & balm) which only come unscented. Shave cream was nice, balm was a little sticky and I don't like shave oil. Overall a good product but not worth the price tag. Those nice stores in malls and AoS's expensive packaging carry a lot of overhead and add cost.

 

Your local AoS might only have had unscented at the time, but the samples do also come in the various scents. Scent is one of Art of Shaving's strong points, the lemon is excellent and the sandalwood is cosmic.

 

Agree, AoS scents are very nice

 

I'm a sucker for Sandalwood, maybe I should try the AoS line.

 

If you like sandalwood, I can't imagine you wouldn't like theirs. The best thing is you can go smell it before you buy. Their creams are a little pricey but I noticed I use less of it so it balances out a bit. Just on my rough estimate, it takes me twice as long to go through a tub of AOS as a tube of Proraso and they're equal weights. So the price difference per shave may not be as big as you might think. Their soap I haven't tried yet but I do have one waiting its turn.