THE KING'S BLOG

Check this fantastic movie out. Simply awesome. Many thanks to Sam, Mark and the Skyshave team, and to Matt Green of Evo Films for the edit. Honda, eat your heart out. The King of Blades is coming...prepare to shave cooler, closer, longer, for less!

For more months than I care to remember, I've been testing our new King of Shaves razor against A) other razors and B) with other shaving 'software' - by which I mean canned gels, as well as our tubed, aloe based AlphaGels.

This morning, I decided to stop. My research is complete. In my humble opinion,our new razor is awesome. It shaves great. It looks great. It's styling is bang on. And I reckon it's going to shake up the cosy little Wilkinette duopoly no end. And bring an end to the craziness of disposable razors at the same time.

After I'd got my son his breakfast, I had my shower and decided to return to shaving with my trusty, original, King of Shaves shaving oil and my brand new King of Shaves razor. The pure play 'King of Shaves'.

And i enjoyed a FANTASTIC shave. I'd forgotten how good it was - it took me back to early 1993, when I first started on this 'shave odyssey. Fifteen years on, we have a razor that is absolutely the 'King' of blades, and software that works in synergy with it.

I'm not going back to testing chemical, canned yuck. No, for me there's only one way forward - the future of shaving, the pure play King of Shaves!

Our 'skyshave' goes viral...from skydivingmovies.com:

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Description: The World's First 'Ultimate Close Shave'

The world's first skydiving stunt featuring shaving in a barber's chair took place this weekend in Ocana, near Madrid.

The stunt saw some of the world's finest skydivers and base jumpers jump from a plane at 15, 000 feet. The jump was led by seasoned skydiver Mark Harris.

The jump was dedicated to Paul Harris, father of Mark, who was diagnosed with a terminal illness and passed away just after the event. Mark has taken part in lots of dangerous and exciting stunts, but wanted to do something that was a world first in honour of his dad. The determined group completed the shave, whilst falling 1000's of feet through the air to celebrate Paul's life and were able show him the pictures and video footage afterwards.

The jump, which cost thousands of pounds to organise, was sponsored by Will King, founder of King of Shaves. The jump was the idea of Sam Clark, who's recently bought Will's favourite pub in nearby Winchmore Hill, the Plough. Over drinks one evening, Sam suggested that a 'Skyshave' would be fun to do, and with King of Shaves launching its first razor, will 'jumped' at the chance. Sam organised the event, and Will's looking forward to next instalment in the 'Ultimate Close Shave' series...watch this space (gulp)!
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I was pleased to be asked to speak at Lowestoft's Aspire centre yesterday, to an audience of budding young entrepreneurs, as well as business-people.

Dad was in the audience, which was nice, and I think the talk was well received - you can read a brief report on it here thanks to coverage by The Eastern Daily Press & Lowestoft Journal.

John Pawsey (my maths teacher when I was at High School) was in the audience, and he is now the Chairman of the Waveney Gymnastics Centre, one of the country's top three gymnastics training establishments. Along with my brother Doug, and a school friend, David Balls, we donated money to set the centre up some years ago.

After my talk, John asked me to see a potential future gynmastics Olympian train, 9 year old Gianni Reginni and meet his trainer, Peter Etherington. We were delighted to do so, and thanks to Vikki Rogers, the WGC manager for showing us around.

Above is a photo of Gianni - does his stand perhaps resemble anything....? We're now trying to see if we can get WGC to put on a display when our King of Shaves 'Campaign Battlebus' visits Lowestoft on its nationwide 'Choose Different, Shave Better' tour later this year.

It was a very enjoyable and rewarding day. Thanks to Justin Smith for inviting me, and the audience at the Aspire.

Some months back, I posted an excerpt from the opening sequence of Star Wars, see it here. Whilst bathing my son this evening, I took a pic of three of his five characters we bought ages ago, when he was about 4. Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader & Darth Sidious. Wielding their light sabres, one is holding this vibrating, five bladed one pulsing with energy and threat (must be oh so difficult to hold), one is holding this strimmering vibrating, fourbladed one (no wonder he's got his head covered up) and one, is (or will be shortly) holding this one.

Da da da daaaaa daaahhhhhhh, da da da deeeeeehhh dahhhh.

You get the gist. The future of shaving is close, I can almost hear the famous words "the Force is strong with this one".

And somewhat randomly, whilst we're on the subject of Star Wars, did you know that when George Lucas was mixing the American Graffiti soundtrack, he numbered the reels of film starting with an R and numbered the dialog starting with a D.

Sound designer Walter Murch asked George for Reel 2, Dialog 2 by saying "R2D2″. George liked the way that sounded so much he integrated that into another project he was working on.

Always a backstory. Always.

Courtesy Andrew Cave writing for the Sunday Telegraph. See the full article here. Thanks Andrew.

Last night, we held the launch event for the new King of Shaves 'hybrid synergy' system razor. Approximately 200 people including my Mum and Dad attended the event at the stylish Hempel hotel in London, where I spoke for approximately 30 minutes on the inspiration for, and story behind our fabulous new razor, and was delighted with the huge applause and response from the audience, including 60 journalists.

What we will launch very, very soon will be sure to shake up the cosy duopoly enjoyed by our competitor, 'Wilkinette'.

As part of the launch, we also enjoyed the debut performance of John Tracy by new Brit band, Beanius. They played a set of three, with an encore and brought the house down - be sure to check out their website within a week or so to see the full force of their performance!

After all, to paraphrase Nickelback, "If you wanna be a Rock Star, you've gotta shave like a King!"

So, the journey starts. If you're a marketing chap, be sure to read this week's issue of Marketing Week, which has a double page spread on the entrance of King of Shaves' new hybrid synergy system razor...

No it doesn't have twin batteries, multi-vibrational sensor and 10 blades, but nor is it a cheap, triple or twin blade disposable (c'mon - we live in the age of Recycling - not chucking away). Yes it looks gorgeous, shaves beautifully, lasts longer, and in this time of the 'credit crunch' (or crisis!) costs Less.

I'm sure our competitors will read and wonder 'how' and certainly some industry 'pundits' have their view.

But to see what it says, you'll have to check out pages 22 & 23 - maybe even worth you taking out a subscription. But for a limited time, you can read the article here...

The bigger they are...

Launched last night to rapturous journalistic critical acclaim, and described by one renowned style journalist as "iPod meets Razor", the brand new King of Shaves Azor debuts next week online at KMIshop.com and at Sainsbury's stores nationwide, priced at just £4.99 for an Azor & 3 Endurium multi-bladed cartridges. Replacement cartridges cost just £4.99 for 4 & £9.49 for 8. Plus, they last a looonnnnggggg time!

Full detail, backstory, design innovations and more will be posted at shave.com/azor 'soon'.

So, overcharged shavers of the UK, who've been paying up to £2.50 per Fusion cartridge, it's time to 'take the Red Pill' and "choose Different, shave Better and save Cash". Forget Fusion, bin Bic, move on from Mach3 and quit Quattro and shave closer, longer, for less, and enjoy the King of Shaves without the Ransom. When teamed with our AlphaGel, our Azor was preferred by 7 out of 10 men* (independent test carried out by professional barbers supplied by ShaveSchool.com).

Remember, the bigger they are...

New Azor by King of Shaves. "7 out of 10 men said their whiskers preferred it"

Courtesy Sean Higgs, who picked up on my blog posting below, emailed me and said it reminded him of the iconic 1970's Whiskas TV ad.

Good one Sean, you'll be one of the first to shave with the Azor - I'll be popping you one in the post! But use it on your whiskers, not the cat's (if you have one!)

This is an extract from an email received today by me, the chap having read the Marketing Week article, published today.

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First Name: J
Last Name: N
Company:
Address: Sandbach, Cheshire
Postcode:
Country: United Kingdom
Telephone:
Email:

Enquiry Type: Message for Will King

Having just read an article in Marketing Week about the Azor I felt compelled to write. Which is strange for me as I rearly (sic) engage so whole heartedly with brands. Personally I have used a Mach 3 for years and while it is good I begrudgingly pay for refills as I feel they have got very greedy charging substaintially extra for what offers no real value.

I've used the KOS software for years and it's fantastic. I am really pleased you are challanging the 'big boys' . i wish you every success - I will certainly be switching.

Also The womans range was a great move too. My wife had been stealing my shave gel for years and I always thought it was a missed opportunity .
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Many thanks!!! In short, to, to get the King of Shaves without the Ransom, choose our new hybrid synergy system razor, the Azor. Prepare to shave closer, longer, for less!

Since 1993, our AlphaOil shaving oils and AlphaGel shaving gels have delivered tens of millions of shaves, often lasting twice or three times as long as the average 'can'ventional can of shaving gel.

In short, and from 21st June 2008, our Azor will deliver you the King of Shaves without being held to ransom by the (90%+ monopolistic) competitor we term 'Wilkinette'.

So, why choose the Azor? Well, let me summarise:

You will be using the latest in shaving hardware, designed, engineered and developed in Britain to deliver you the closest, most comfortable shave you've ever experienced.
And:
You won't be paying for unnecessary over-bladed vibrational technology.
You won't be paying for bloated, overweight handles.
You won't be paying for completely unnecessary secondary packaging.
You won't be paying the agents fees for (already) well paid World Champions.

And if, like Neo, you 'choose the Red Pill' and move from the clutches of 'The Matrix' to enjoy the freedom, performance and shaving simplicity of the Azor, I guarantee:

You will be paying less for our Azor that's been described as "iPhone meets razor"
You will be paying less to get more shaves per replacement cartridge.
You will be paying less (up to half the price) of comparative system razors
You will be paying less for less packaging, and in the process putting less into Landfill
You will be able to enjoy the King of Shaves without the ransom.

In short, we're going to prove that "Less is Mor" with our new King of Shaves Azor. Why not read our 'Fair Shave Manifesto' here to see why choosing the King won't cost you the earth.

Enjoy

Published today:

As expected, Gillette has slashed the price of their Fusion Manual and Fusion Power handles today in anticipation of the Azor launch next week. Prices at Boots.com have Fusion Manual handles at £3.49 (from £7.49) and Fusion Power handles a whopping 50% off at £4.99 (from £9.99).

Surely a bargain? But not if you look closer - remember my blog posting, no such thing as a free lunch. There are no price reductions on replacement blades (which incidentally, will be costing you even more to buy shortly, watch this space).

I'm already being contacted by people with half a dozen (unwanted) Fusion handles wanting to know if we're going to run a Fusion amnesty (they send in unwanted handle, we send out brand new Azor). I'm thinking about it...

Additionally (and according to IRI, who monitor retailer sales data) sales of Fusion handles actually decreased from 1.1m to 930K (Fusion Manual) and 830K to 408K (Fusion Power) in the 12 months to week ending 19th April 2008.

The Azor's coming. Prepare to shave closer, for longer, for less!

There's an article coming out in this weekend's 'Live' magazine in the multi-million selling 'Mail on Sunday' about razors.

Despite cutting it "a bit too close", at the start, can the new King of Shaves Azor win over its tester, or will it be pummeled into submission by its ugly, vibrating, multi-billion pound resourced competitors...

...watch this space to see if the Apple style Azor should get YOUR vote!

In an editorial review of the new King of Shaves Azor versus the industry's three other men's system razors, the Azor scored five out of five, closely followed by Gillette's Mach3 Power (4/5), Gillette's Fusion Power (3/5) and lastly, the Wilkinson Sword Quattro (2/5).

The Azor's a Contender! Full article pages 36-37 in 'Live' Magazine, The Mail on Sunday, published June 22nd 2008.

New King of Shaves Azor. Voted (by Live) the King of Blades. Shave closer, longer, for less, without a King's Ransom! Available at Sainsbury's from June 23rd and online at KMIshop.com

Firstly, many thanks to Shortlist, who not only devoted an entire page to our new King of Shaves Azor, but were absolutely 'bang on' with the descriptions and comparisons. We really, really appreciated the review, and also seeing one of our shaving oils being highly rated amongst others was very rewarding. You can see their review on p22 online, or in the mag. We're looking forward to shaving the iGeneration!

I'm pleased to see that people are now starting to blog about the Azor, having either bought online from kmishop.com, or from Sainsbury's. They are still being merchandised in many stores, but let me tell you, the sales this week are in the thousands already...

Read it here

So, why is it actually better? And why do Gillette suddenly feel the need to advertise the fact it is better than 10 year old Mach3 razors?

i don't know if it's just me, but in the last couple of weeks I've seen a massive surge in advertisements for the Gillette Fusion Power razor. We're being told it's better than Mach3, launched over 10 years ago, and have its many 'features and benefits' pointed out in ads that exhort to you that it's 'Gillette's Best Shave Ever'.

Which, of course, I hope it is, given the 'hundreds of millions of pounds' being spent on telling you this fact.

The facts however, suggest a different story. Whilst sales of replacement blades are up for the Fusion, sales of actual handles are down year on year (according to IRI Infoscan anyway). And I'm emailed regularly with people who have several, sometimes half a dozen handles, just to take advantage of the current 'half price offer' (no free lunch remember, replacement blades aren't half price). You can only put so much salt into water, before you can't drink it, and I reckon the Fusion's cup has already runneth over...

With our new Azor you can "Shave & Prosper'. Not only is it half the price of Gillette's Fusion Power at £4.99, but each cartridge is only £1.25 apiece (not £2-2.50) and when you buy either the handle & 3 blades, or a 4 or 8 replacement blade pack, you'll find a further £1 off!

So, like I say in my Fair Shave Manifesto, "the more we sell, the more cost effective we hope to make your purchase". As well as being tough on stubble and the causes of stubble, we're intent on lowering Stealth shaving taxes...

And our first week sales (from just a handful of Sainsbury's stores) are in the thousands already, let alone sales from our online store.

So, why not escape The Matrix and take the Red Pill, choose different, shave better and save cash in the bargain. Those pounds saved over the year ahead will add up - and help you pay for daily essentials.

You know it makes sense! Less for them, Mor for you! You can buy the Azor ('Warp' style) from Sainsbury's now, or for the next few weeks, get the white ('Pola') style from KMI's online store here

New King of Shaves Azor. The King of Shaves, without the ransom.

I'm so pleased with how magazine editors have picked up on the Azor's qualities of minimal design, 'reduce to the max' - 'less is mor'. I don't think we've ever had a King of Shaves product in ARENA magazine before, and when we do, we get nearly a double page spread.

The Azor compares well with its primary competitors, Fusion (which probably somewhat predictably gets 4/5 in the 'closeness' test), and our Azor (3/5) along with Quattro (3/5).

It is the way the Azor is written about though that delights me:

"Design equivalent: the Swatch"
"Minimal packaging, all 100% recyclable"
"....the pared down Azor is the antithesis of its over-designed rivals"

Sales are already in the thousands, so many thanks to Ahmed, I know you thought the Azor could have shaved you closer, but keep using it, and I'm sure you'll get the King of Shaves...!

The 'Pola' version of the Azor is exclusively available at KMIshop.com until 21st July, full details on the Azor along with the 'backstory' of its development can shortly be found at www.shave.com/Azor