Harry's
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Personal care, Men's grooming |
| Founded | 1 July 2012 in New York City, United States |
| Founder | Andy Katz-Mayfield, Jeff Raider |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Area served | United States, United Kingdom |
Key people | Andy Katz-Mayfield (Co-founder), Jeff Raider (Co-founder) |
| Products | Razors, shaving creams, men's grooming essentials, skincare (Flamingo), deodorant (Lumē) |
| Website | harrys |
Harry's is a U.S.-based producer and retailer specializing in shaving products and men's grooming essentials, available through both e-commerce platforms and physical stores. Their business model includes a subscription service that delivers razors, shaving creams, and other grooming supplies directly to customers' homes.
Headquartered in New York City, the company was established in 2012 by Andy Katz-Mayfield and Jeff Raider, with its subscription offering debuting the following year. To bolster manufacturing capabilities, Harry's purchased the Feintechnik razor factory located in Germany in 2014.
In May 2019, Edgewell Personal Care revealed intentions to acquire Harry's for $1.37 billion. Nevertheless, in February 2020, the Federal Trade Commission initiated legal action to prevent the merger due to antitrust concerns.
History
Harry's was launched in July 2012 by former Bain & Company colleagues Andy Katz-Mayfield and Jeff Raider. The company introduced its direct-to-consumer subscription shaving service in March 2013.
Prime Studio Inc. handled the initial product design, while branding and packaging were crafted by Partners & Spade (now Mythology), establishing the company's inaugural product lineup.
In January 2014, Harry's strategically acquired Feintechnik—a German razor blade manufacturer—for $100 million, enabling greater control over production processes. This acquisition strengthened its position against long-standing competitors.
The firm raised $75.6 million during its Series C funding round in 2015. By mid-2016, Harry's had amassed two million subscribers. Its products became available at major retail chains such as Target and Walmart by January 2017, followed by expansion into the UK market by June of that year.
In February 2018, Harry's secured $112 million in Series D financing led jointly by Alliance Consumer Growth and Temasek. Later that year, it diversified its portfolio by launching Flamingo, a skincare brand targeted at women.
Edgewell Personal Care announced a $1.4 billion acquisition plan for Harry's in May 2019 to consolidate their presence in the shaving industry. However, the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit to block this transaction in February 2020 due to competition issues, prompting Edgewell to withdraw from the deal.
In March 2021, Harry's completed a Series E funding round worth $155 million, valuing the company at $1.7 billion. Subsequently, in December 2021, it expanded its personal care lineup by acquiring deodorant brand Lumē.
By 2023, Harry's reported $300 million in revenue from its product sales within a total annual revenue of $750 million. Following an initial public offering filing disclosed in 2024, the company underwent a comprehensive rebranding effort in 2025 that refreshed its logo, packaging designs, website interface, and overall visual identity to fuel continued expansion.
Manufacturing
The production of Harry's razor blades takes place at Feintechnik GmbH Eisfeld in Eisfeld, Germany. Established in 1920, Feintechnik underwent nationalization in 1948 before being privatized by the German agency Treuhand in 1990. Harry's acquired this facility in January 2014 for $100 million. Meanwhile, razor handles are manufactured in China.
Business model
Co-founder Jeff Raider helped initiate Harry's original buy-one-donate-one initiative known as "Give a Shave," launched in 2013. This program contributed free razor blades or their equivalent cost to charitable causes supporting veterans through groups like The Mission Continues. By late 2013, the approach evolved into donating 1% of sales revenue while encouraging staff to volunteer 1% of their work hours with nonprofits such as City Year.
Currently, Harry's maintains its commitment to donating 1% of sales and provides employees with five paid volunteer days per year. The company has placed particular emphasis on mental health and suicide prevention efforts through partnerships with organizations including Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), HEADstrong Foundation, and The Trevor Project.