West Coast Shaving

What West Coast Shaving does

West Coast Shaving (legally Main Merch, Inc.) is a privately held, direct-to-consumer e-commerce retailer founded in 2007 and headquartered in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The company sells traditional wet shaving supplies — safety razors, straight razors, double-edge replacement blades, shaving soaps and creams, brushes, aftershaves, and grooming accessories — through its owned online storefront westcoastshaving.com, supported by 1-business-day shipping and a 100% authenticity guarantee. Its assortment aggregates more than 20 specialty brands (including Stirling Soap Company, Taylor of Old Bond Street, Noble Otter, Ariana & Evans, Merkur, Dovo, Proraso, and Geo F Trumper), alongside an in-house WCS private-label line featuring duck fat soaps and proprietary brushes.

The business model is straightforward unit-e-commerce: one-time product transactions at price points ranging from $1.99 (replacement blades) to $360 (premium brushes), with no subscription component. Revenue is driven by seasonal promotional events — notably an Independence Day Sale offering 20% sitewide plus a $10 digital gift certificate, and Summer Sale clearance events with discounts up to 70% — rather than by recurring contracts or enterprise agreements. The customer base consists of individual men's grooming enthusiasts and traditional wet-shaving hobbyists, acquired primarily through an email-list funnel (15% first-order incentive), Facebook and Instagram organic presence, and an educational blog on wet-shaving topics. West Coast Shaving operates with no disclosed venture funding, no parent company, and a headcount of 1–10, indicating an independently owned, lifestyle-scale operation.

Name

West Coast Shaving

Legal name

Main Merch, Inc.

Website

https://westcoastshaving.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

West Coast Shaving is a privately held, direct-to-consumer e-commerce retailer founded in 2007 that sells traditional wet shaving supplies — safety razors, blades, soaps, brushes, and aftershaves — from 20-plus specialty brands plus its own WCS private label to men's grooming enthusiasts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Men's Grooming & Wet Shaving Supplies

NAICS

Health and Personal Care Retailers (4561), Cosmetics, Beauty Supplies, and Perfume Retailers (456120)

SIC

Perfumes, Cosmetics & Other Toilet Preparations (2844)

akta.pro primary industry

Shaving Hardware (Manual & Electric Razors) (CRABAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Shaving Prep & Post-Shave (Creams, Foams, Gels, Aftershaves) (CRABAGAB), Beard & Mustache Care (Oils, Balms, Waxes, Wash) (CRABAGAC), Men’s Bath & Body (Body Wash, Soap, Body Lotion) (CRABAGAH)

Keywords

• Wet shaving supplies
• Safety razors
• Shaving soaps
• Shaving brushes
• Men's grooming products

Headquarters

HQ city

Myrtle Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Product Sales: One-time product sales of wet shaving supplies including safety razors, straight razors, shaving soaps, shaving creams, brushes, aftershaves, and grooming accessories. Revenue is generated through individual product transactions with no subscription component visible. Seasonal promotional sales events (Independence Day Sale, Summer Sale, Clearance) drive significant sales volume.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

West Coast Shaving is a direct-to-consumer e-commerce retailer that sells traditional wet shaving products including safety razors, straight razors, replacement double-edge blades, shaving soaps, shaving creams, brushes, aftershaves, and grooming accessories. The assortment spans 20+ specialty brands plus a WCS-branded private label collection featuring duck fat shaving soaps and proprietary brushes. Products are sold online and shipped directly to consumers with 1-business-day fulfillment on in-stock items.

Product overview

West Coast Shaving is a traditional wet-shaving e-commerce retailer offering a comprehensive portfolio of grooming products. The core offering centers on safety razors (including Merkur, Henson, Parker, and WCS-branded models), straight razors, and replacement double-edge blades. These are complemented by an extensive selection of artisan shaving soaps and creams from over 20 brands including Ariana & Evans, Taylor of Old Bond Street, Stirling Soap Company, Noble Otter, Barrister and Mann, and Proraso. The company also offers professional-grade shaving brushes from Omega, Simpsons, Yaqi, and WCS in synthetic, badger, and boar varieties, along with post-shave products including aftershaves, splashes, and balms from Pinaud Clubman and others. The product line extends to pre-shave preparations, shaving stands, strops, colognes, deodorants, and hair/body care products. West Coast Shaving also sells its own WCS private label collection featuring duck fat-based shaving soaps and tortoiseshell brushes. The platform operates as a multi-brand marketplace with periodic sales events including Independence Day and Summer promotions featuring up to 70% off clearance items.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• WCS (West Coast Shaving) Branded Products: Private label shaving soaps, brushes, and razors sold under the WCS brand

Products and services

• Safety Razors

Quantifiable outcome

• 1 business day shipping on all in-stock items
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Stirling Soap CompanycoreOthersWest Coast Shaving is an authorized retailer of Stirling Soap Company products, one of their featured brands. Stirling offers artisan shaving soaps, aftershaves, and bath products.
• Taylor of Old Bond StreetcoreOthersWest Coast Shaving is an authorized retailer of Taylor of Old Bond Street traditional English grooming products including shaving creams, soaps, and aftershaves.
• Ariana & EvanscoreOthersWest Coast Shaving carries Ariana & Evans artisan shaving soaps and aftershaves, a boutique wet shaving brand.
• Noble OttercoreOthersWest Coast Shaving is an authorized retailer of Noble Otter shaving soaps and aftershaves.
• Geo F TrumpercoreOthersWest Coast Shaving carries Geo F Trumper traditional English grooming products including shaving creams, soaps, and colognes.
• OmegaminorOthersWest Coast Shaving is an authorized retailer of Omega shaving brushes and shaving accessories.
• Simpson ShavingminorOthersWest Coast Shaving carries premium Simpson shaving brushes made in England.
• Barrister and ManncoreOthersWest Coast Shaving is an authorized retailer of Barrister and Mann artisan shaving products.
• Wholly KawminorOthersWest Coast Shaving carries Wholly Kaw artisan shaving soaps and products.
• MerkurcoreOthersWest Coast Shaving is an authorized retailer of Merkur safety razors, a leading German manufacturer of double edge razors.
• Parker ShavingminorOthersWest Coast Shaving carries Parker shaving razors and straight razors.
• DovominorOthersWest Coast Shaving is an authorized retailer of Dovo straight razors and shavettes, a premium German manufacturer.
• Pinaud ClubmancoreOthersWest Coast Shaving carries Pinaud Clubman traditional grooming products including aftershaves and barber sprays.
• ProrasocoreOthersWest Coast Shaving is an authorized retailer of Proraso Italian shaving creams and pre/post shave products.
• YaqiminorOthersWest Coast Shaving carries Yaqi shaving brushes and accessories, a Chinese brand known for synthetic brushes.
• Ogallala Bay RumcoreOthersWest Coast Shaving is an authorized retailer of Ogallala Bay Rum traditional American grooming products including bay rum aftershaves and shaving soaps.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Amazon: General e-commerce incumbent carrying most of the same razors, blades, soaps, and aftershaves as West Coast Shaving. Competes on convenience, price, and Prime delivery rather than curation.

Direct peers

• Italian Barber: Canadian-based DTC retailer specializing in traditional wet shaving products, carrying many of the same artisan soap and brush brands (Omega, Proraso, Stirling) as West Coast Shaving.
• Razor Emporium: Specialty retailer focused on straight razors, safety razors, and traditional shaving accessories. Comparable curated model and enthusiast target customer.
• Maggard Razors: A long-running DTC wet shaving retailer carrying safety razors, brushes, soaps, and aftershaves from a comparable set of artisan brands. Most direct like-for-like competitor to West Coast Shaving in the U.S. enthusiast market.
• Classic Shaving: Online retailer specializing in traditional men's shaving products including double-edge razors and artisan soaps. Operates in the same niche with comparable product mix.
• Connaught Shaving: UK-based traditional shaving retailer offering razors, brushes, soaps, and aftershaves. Similar curated multi-brand DTC model in the wet shaving enthusiast segment.
• The Razor Company: UK-based specialty retailer of safety razors, straight razors, and traditional shaving supplies. Direct peer in the curated wet shaving e-commerce niche.
• Viking Blade: European wet shaving retailer with multi-brand assortment of razors, soaps, brushes, and aftershaves. Direct competitor operating an analogous DTC marketplace model.

Emerging players

• Stirling Soap Company: Artisan shaving soap brand carried by West Coast Shaving that also sells directly to consumers. Comparable because it both competes as a brand-DTC site and overlaps on product category (soaps, aftershaves, brushes).

Others

• Sharpologist: Wet shaving review and education site covering many of the same brands West Coast Shaving sells. Thematically adjacent ecosystem participant that shapes purchasing decisions in the niche.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/westcoastshaving
• Instagraminstagram.com/wcshaving/?hl=en
• Xx.com/wcshaving

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about West Coast Shaving