You just need to do ( the threat of substitute products or services).Dollar Shave Club Porter 5 Forces AnalysisRivalry Among Existing Competitors Sue
Threat of New Entrants -Sarah
Threat of Substitute Products or Services Dalal
Bargaining Power of Buyers Kayla
Bargaining Power of Suppliers GrantIntro: (someone can change if they want)
This next analysis will discuss the Porters Five Forces including level of intensity from each, that affects Dollar Shave Club. The threat of new entrants has risen quickly with the help of technology, rivalry among competitors continues to rise as well as the threat of substitute products. The high bargaining power of buyers takes a toll on razor sales, and lastly the bargaining power of suppliers is a steady (high or low).
(the order of the forces will need to be rearranged once we have everyones part)Threat of new entrants:
Since dollar shave club has risen to popularity quickly and has been able to make a profit in such a short amount of time, its likely that their industry will attract competition. Any time there is a successful market there is a high chance of imitations products or services that might be operation with an operational advantage that could quickly steal some of the established customer base. Given that there are low barriers to entry for competition, dollar shave club should look for things they could do to have a more sustainable competitive advantage. There is nothing stopping a company like gillette that is already established in the market from creating a subscription for their razors. Anyone off the street could start the $.50 shave club and offer an almost identical business model. I would say that right now Dollar Shave club has a high threat of new entry of competitors, its hard to say whether or not they have a loyal enough customer base to withstand less expensive competitors. Dollar shave club has expanded to offer shaving products like gels and creams and has expanded their advertising efforts to include marketing to women but its hard to say if that will be enough. Dollar shave club should create a plan in case of new entrants, their either need to increase the quality or their razors, drop their prices or offer a loyalty program where you either get discounts or free products if you stay with the company for a certain amount of time.
The main problem with Dollar Shave Clubs market is that there are low barriers to entry, nothing in their value chain or their production is rare un inimitable. They came in a disruptor to the old industry and quickly rose to fame, but simply identifying a problem is not enough to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage. A good example of what they are facing is what happened to Uber. Uber pioneered the market for ridesharing and now they are falling in popularity due to imitation firms taking their model and improving upon it. Right now Dollar shave club is fine, its an incredibly scaleable business and they have good brand recognition but they should not rest on laurels just yet.Bargaining Power of the Buyer:
The bargaining power of the buyer is high because, razors are not only being sold in stores but more and more online razor subscription companies have popped up. Companies such as; Harrys, and Shave Mob LLC. Buyers have the highest bargaining power over razors because, there are lots of different styles, prices, and features that gives the customer the many brands of razors to choose from. Several factors contribute to the high bargaining power of the buyers such as: switching costs are low, the customer can buy at large, the customer is price sensitive and well knowledgeable about the product, and there are lots of substitute products or brands. As a result of social trends like growing stubble or a beard and online shave clubs, Serena Ng from the Wall Street Journal goes on to discuss the declining sales in the razor industry. Sales in the U.S. fell to $2.96 billion in 2014 from $3.08 billion in 2012, according to market research firm IRI, whose data is based on sales in brick and mortar stores. At least some of the decline is a result of shoppers migrating online, Energizers Mr. Robertson told investors earlier this month. As more shave clubs keep appearing, the bargaining power of buyers keeps growing, which makes it much harder for Dollar Shave Club to keep an upperhand over competition.Wilkinson, Jim. Buyer Bargaining Power (one of Porters Five Forces) The Strategic CFO. ICal. WikiCFO, 23 July 2013. Web. 28 Oct. 2016.


Ng, Serena. Razor Sales Move Online, Away From Gillette. Wall Street Journal. Wsj.com, 22 June 2015. Web. 28 Oct. 2016.