King of Shaves
Will King
Will King founded The King of Shaves Company in 1993 with his business partner, Hiten Dayal, under umbrella company Knowledge & Merchandising Inc. Today, The King of Shaves brand has overtaken Wilkinson Sword and Nivea to become number two to Gillette in the shaving prep market in the UK. The product is also taking off in the USA where it is being sold in over 20,000 stores.
Following a Mechanical Engineering degree at Portsmouth Polytechnic Will got a job selling advertising space for Marketing Magazine. Discovering an aptitude for sales, he soon moved into the world of corporate events and conference/video production, working on a number of high profile launches for a variety of international companies.
The recession of the early 1990s brought substantial cutbacks to marketing spends and led to Will being made redundant. However, he seized upon this sudden free time to develop shaving oil – a product inspired by his long-running battle with razor burn. Starting in his own kitchen, he worked away until he had a bottled, labelled shaving oil. A game of cards with his father brought about the name King of Shaves after the king of spades was dealt – “After all, it’s your name, isn’t it?” commented King senior.
King of Shaves is the leading UK manufacturer of men’s & women’s shaving & skincare products. It was founded in 1993 with several thousand pounds secured from friends, family and Will’s business partner, Hiten Dayal. The product wasn’t an instant success and sales in the first year totalled just £300 against a £30,000 development cost, but Will drew on his marketing skills to secure more retailers. By 1997 the company’s turnover had increased to over £1m, and was doubling year on year.
In 1998, Will King and Hiten Dayal secured a fragrance licensing deal with Ted Baker plc, and in 2000 sold the first King of Shaves products in America, as well as signing another licensing deal with cult Soho barber, Fish. In 2003, it was the first company to create a mainstream line of ‘male cosmetics’, called XCD. Sales in 2004 were just over £11m.
Awards:
2009 T Mobile Fast Growth Business of the Year
2009 Product Business of the Year at the Growing Business, Fast Growth Business Awards
2009 Which? Best Buy – Men’s Razors
2009 Shortlist Men’s Grooming Award
2008 CBI and Real Business Company of the Year
2008 FHM Men’s Grooming Award – Highly Commended – Azor
Will was also named a regional winner for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for London and the South East region.
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