Wahl Clipper’s authenticity is in its DNA

Real guys, real grooming. That message has been part of the culture at Wahl Clipper since it was founded by Leo Wahl 96 years ago. Authenticity isn’t just jargon or the latest marketing phase at Wahl created to woo discerning millennials. “If you have to hire a consultant to figure out your authenticity strategy, you’re probably not authentic,” said Bruce Kramer, Wahl’s SVP North America consumer division. Consumers, he said, have a meter to know when a company is manufacturing its messages.

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Serving the grooming needs of men has been a big part of Wahl’s story since Leo introduced the first practical hair clipper, before going on to hold more than 100 patents. He passed down his passion for the business to his grandson Greg Wahl, who leads the company today. The younger Wahl has kept the innovation tradition alive, inventing the first consumer beard trimmer in 1984. Other breakthroughs include the debut of a lithium beard trimmer, the first consumer nose trimmer and the first practical handheld massagers.



The “keeping it real” message starts right at the top, with Greg Wahl — frequently spotted donning a plaid shirt and blue jeans — and is “bred into the culture” of all employees.



The consumer is always at the center of product and promotional efforts. “While competitors may go for gadgets or fads to drive their introductions, we count on improving the areas that are most important for the consumer. This takes an enormous amount of research and retesting to ensure the innovation we develop is indeed meaningful,” said Steven Yde, VP of marketing for Wahl.



The recent trend toward more facial hair has certainly boosted category growth. According to Yde, facial hair expression among millennial men is more than 65% of the market. Ten years ago, the average male shaved five times per week. Today that number is two to three. But Wahl’s category leadership emanates from understanding the difference between fads and trends.



Wahl’s attention to the core consumer is evident in every touch-point from products to advertising. Instead of a major baseball player or celebrity for advertising, the company opted for the local faces from a nearby Class A minor league baseball team. The most recent advertising campaign featured rodeo riders.



When Wahl wants to learn what consumers need in products, the company goes right to the source — for example, the Let It Grow Tour, which has developed into the Face the Day Tour. Wahl’s 40-ft. mobile barbershop travels the country interacting with consumers.“ And that’s how we really learn beyond just trying to present ourselves to them; we’re also listening out there,” Yde added.



Long before many other marketers, Wahl realized there’s no such thing as segmentation in the category. “The New General Market is an attempt to identify the current market and define what sets it apart from prior markets,” Yde said. “Defining the New General Market gives us a reason to throw out the fashionable marketing strategies that no longer apply, and to rediscover the core principles that will lead to connecting with the ever-changing market. On a superficial level, people see the New General Market as demographic changes, the browning of America, the aging of baby boomers, etc. But, on a deeper level, we discover that there are needs that bind consumers together that cross such traditional segmentations as age, ethnicity, income, etc. The New General Market defies a demographic approach to markets. It calls [upon] us, as marketers, to stop stereotyping [according to demographics], and to some extent ethnography, and focus on psycho-graphics. The way to serve this new market is understand them and meet them where they are.”



Evidently, Wahl has hit the mark on identifying what today’s new consumer wants and how Wahl intersects with their lives. Kramer relates that whenever he wears his Wahl Clipper logo shirt, people seek him out to tell their “Wahl” story. “When your customers tell you life stories about your brand and their life, then you know you’re successful,” he said. The facts also tell the story — 10 years ago, Wahl had less than a 10% market share in beard trimmers; today, the company is the market leader with a more than 40% share. In clippers it soared from 32% to more than 65% today.