FTC wants to stop P&G (Gillette, Venus) from buying razor startup Billie.

wemay

Site Donor 2023
Joined
Apr 4, 2012
Messages
17,196
Location
Kendall, FL
CNN: FTC wants to stop P&G from buying razor startup Billie.

"The FTC on Tuesday announced that it will file a lawsuit to keep Procter & Gamble (PG), the world's largest consumer goods company, from acquiring Billie, an upstart seller of women's razors and personal care products.

Eight months ago, the antitrust agency made a similar move, suing to stop Schick-owner Edgewell Personal Care (EPC) from absorbing Harry's, a men's razor startup. The FTC claimed the $1.4 billion Harry's buyout would "remove a critical disruptive rival that has driven down prices and spurred innovation" in an industry long-dominated by two main suppliers: Edgewell and P&G.

The Billie deal would present similar problems, according to a statement from the FTC.

Billie, founded in 2017, became a market disruptor selling razors and other products directly to consumers while championing an effort to topple the "pink tax," a practice of pricing women's products higher than men's goods.

"As its sales grew, Billie was likely to expand into brick-and-mortar stores, posing a serious threat to P&G," Ian Conner, director of the FTC'S Bureau of Competition, said in a statement. "If P&G can snuff out Billie's rapid competitive growth, consumers will likely face higher prices."

Billie could not be reached for comment.

A P&G spokesperson told CNN Business via email that the company was disappointed by the FTC's decision.

"We are considering our options in light of the decision and do not have any further comments at this time," said Erica Noble, a P&G spokesperson.

P&G, which owns brands such as Gillette, Venus and Joy, had 50.3% market share of the women's razors and blades business in 2019, according to Euromonitor. That was followed by Edgewell at 17.1% and Bic at 16.3%.
 
"driven down prices and spurred innovation" - thats your tax dollars at work people.

My guess is that Billie's sold out on their own free will and uncle sam is stepping in to stop a willing business owner from doing what he thinks is best for his company.
 
Antitrust enforcement is tax money very well spent. There’s not enough of it.
I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum. Government should have little to no involvement in business. Harry's, Dollar, Billie all came about because Gillette and Schick had a duopoly and smaller companies popped up to offer another option for consumers. And they became very successful. Let the free market reign.
 
As much as I lean towards a very limited govt, this is probably a good thing. I say this as a conservative and former executive w/ a global 200.

Competition within a free market is good, it is one of the bases of our system. But monopolies, duopolies in this case, can form and can will skew the market to prevent competition through predatory pricing, controlling needed commodities, or clout with disti's and retailers, etc., stifling innovation and potentially leading to less innovative products and/or increased prices for consumers. DeBeers anyone??
 
Last edited:
If Billie actually produces an 'innovative' product that people like, it'll be a shame to watch P&G cheapen it and turn it into the same crap Gillette makes.
Corporate buyouts always ruin good small company’s original products. They’ll cheapen the product/formula and charge more.
 
This is interesting as the FTC didn't step in and stop the Sprint/ T Mobile merger, anong others.
 
I stopped buying Gillette current shaving products more than 2+ years ago. I've purchased some Gillette Nacet blades mot recently, but never again would I spend $50 plus for less than 10 blades.

I guess the owners of these start-ups get so much money thrown at them, it would be very hard for 99.999 percent of the people to say no and never have to work another day again.
 
I stopped buying Gillette current shaving products more than 2+ years ago. I've purchased some Gillette Nacet blades mot recently, but never again would I spend $50 plus for less than 10 blades.

I guess the owners of these start-ups get so much money thrown at them, it would be very hard for 99.999 percent of the people to say no and never have to work another day again.
And there is the quandary....the founders/owners of these small, innovative businesses deserve the chance to reap their rewards, but unfortunately sometimes the greater good comes into play. The create-build-sell for mega $ dream, is the driving force behind a lot of innovation.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JC1
Lots of companies do this. I think Coke does this a lot too, they buy up beverage companies then eventually shut them down to cut down on competition. I think they just shut down a bunch of brands that weren't selling well. But maybe they killed them on purpose. Same with Cisco, they were well known in the past to buy up lots of companies, they even had dedicated teams to integrate new acquisitions.
 
Lots of companies do this. I think Coke does this a lot too, they buy up beverage companies then eventually shut them down to cut down on competition. I think they just shut down a bunch of brands that weren't selling well. But maybe they killed them on purpose. Same with Cisco, they were well known in the past to buy up lots of companies, they even had dedicated teams to integrate new acquisitions.
Yup. Most companies have New Business Development and Integration programs if not dedicated teams and yes, unfortunately "killer acquisitions" are a commonly used strategy. I did a few years in integration, never had a part in a "killer", only did accretive, but I loved the work.
 
Last edited:
Harry's started by selling the knockoffs of two-sided "safety razor" design from 100 years ago. Now it's off patent and a commodity thing in most of the world which they could buy cheaply from any number of factories. So there was no cost of entry or "innovation" other than an ad blitz convincing Americans to buy them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JC1
who really gets rich in the end? .... lawyers All because we want to ensure Americans have the latest "shaving technology". If this company is bought out, don't you think another will fill their space?
 
  • Like
Reactions: JC1
Back
Top