- Procter & Gamble (P&G) recently announced that it was buying direct-to-consumer (DTC) women’s razor company Billie. These are the details about the deal.
Recently Procter & Gamble (P&G) announced it was buying direct-to-consumer (DTC) women’s razor company Billie to add to its women’s grooming business. And this acquisition is expected to complement P&G’s portfolio of women’s consumer product brands like Venus and Joy.
Billie operates as a subscription-based platform focused on providing women with quality shaving supplies and premium body care products. And its current product portfolio also includes shaving cream, body wash, and body lotion.
The Billie brand is especially appealing for Millennial and Gen Z consumers. Andrea Hippeau, Principal at Lerer Hippeau, told AdAge that this deal is great news for the DTC market. And Hippeau pointed out that the potential for giants such as P&G for buying and integrating other startups have proven the successes of these business models.
“The sentiment in the VC market around the exit potential for DTC companies has soured, so this is a very positive signal,” said Hippeau via AdAge.
And Robert Ottenstein, Senior Managing Director and Partner at EvercoreISI, wrote in a research note obtained by AdAge that Billie received around 2 million page views in December — which is about eight times that of Venus and DTC rival Flamingo (based on SimilarWeb data).
Going forward, Billie will continue to be led by its co-founders Georgina Gooley and Jason Bravman.
“We’re thrilled by the prospect of joining P&G to bring high-quality products at affordable prices to women around the world,” said Gooley. “Their ability to create global household brands that have stood the test of time is a testament to their brand-building expertise; together, we’ll be able to create an even stronger brand for womankind.”
The combination of brands, talent, and expertise is going to strengthen P&G’s Grooming business and accelerate growth for Billie as well as fueling the development of additional products designed for the specific needs of women.
“The impact and consumer connection Georgina and Jason have been able to make with Billie in a short period of time has been remarkable,” explained Gary Coombe, Chief Executive Officer, Global Grooming Business at Procter & Gamble. “The combination of Billie’s high-quality, naturals-focused razors and body care products, and P&G’s highly-skilled and experienced people, resources, technical capabilities, and go-to-market expertise will allow us to further reach Millennial and Gen Z women through a fresh, bold attitude.”
It’s also worth mentioning that Billie is known for donating 1% of all revenue to women’s causes around the world. And Billie is currently donating to Every Mother Counts, an organization that is committed to making pregnancy and childbirth safe for women everywhere.
Prior to the acquisition, Billie raised about $35 million in funding, according to Crunchbase. Silverton Partners led Billie’s $6 million seed round in April 2018. Mike Dodd, General Partner at Silverton Partners, told Crunchbase in an email that the firm was “very fortunate to lead Billie’s seed round.”
