Combe CEO Laments Loss of Final Brylcreem User
Combe CEO, Christopher B. Combe, was notably saddened by the death of Ronald Reagan, former President of the United States, but not because he was a particularly avid supporter. Reagan, who died at 93 this past Saturday was, according to sources, the last consumer of the men’s hair-care product, Brylcreem, one among Combe’s stable of consumer products.
“To tell you the truth, I’m disappointed,” Combe said. “Losing an entire customer base is not exactly a consumer brand’s finest hour.”
Brylcreem, once a mainstay of barbershops from Maine to California, had been declining in market share as competition from new products, including hair gel, mousse, and pomades, took its toll on the antediluvian brand. Reagan, according to friends and colleagues, had used Brylcreem since his days as a Hollywood B-actor, and had continued using it long after the product had fallen out of favor among younger buyers.
“No dye ever touched Reagan's hair,” wrote Michael Deaver, Reagan’s former chief of staff, in his 2001 memoir, A Different Drummer: My Thirty Years with Ronald Reagan. “It was an old actor's trick -- Brylcreem -- that gave Reagan's hair that dark gloss, not Clairol for Men.”
Brylcreem was, according to Combe, the first mass-marketed men's hair product. Now, without any customers, the product faces an uncertain future.
“Brylcreem was America, Combe said “It fought in both world wars, and helped coif The Greatest Generation as it built the largest middle class in the history of the world. Although I suppose having no one left to buy it will likely dent its P&L. Plus, now that you mention it, it's kind of ludicrous keeping a whole organization open just to serve one guy.”
Combe added, “Maybe now we can devote some of that time to our other fine products.”
Combe also produces Aqua Velva and ‘Lectric Shave after-shave lotions, and Grecian Formula hair coloring.
Combe CEO, Christopher B. Combe, was notably saddened by the death of Ronald Reagan, former President of the United States, but not because he was a particularly avid supporter. Reagan, who died at 93 this past Saturday was, according to sources, the last consumer of the men’s hair-care product, Brylcreem, one among Combe’s stable of consumer products.
“To tell you the truth, I’m disappointed,” Combe said. “Losing an entire customer base is not exactly a consumer brand’s finest hour.”
Brylcreem, once a mainstay of barbershops from Maine to California, had been declining in market share as competition from new products, including hair gel, mousse, and pomades, took its toll on the antediluvian brand. Reagan, according to friends and colleagues, had used Brylcreem since his days as a Hollywood B-actor, and had continued using it long after the product had fallen out of favor among younger buyers.
“No dye ever touched Reagan's hair,” wrote Michael Deaver, Reagan’s former chief of staff, in his 2001 memoir, A Different Drummer: My Thirty Years with Ronald Reagan. “It was an old actor's trick -- Brylcreem -- that gave Reagan's hair that dark gloss, not Clairol for Men.”
Brylcreem was, according to Combe, the first mass-marketed men's hair product. Now, without any customers, the product faces an uncertain future.
“Brylcreem was America, Combe said “It fought in both world wars, and helped coif The Greatest Generation as it built the largest middle class in the history of the world. Although I suppose having no one left to buy it will likely dent its P&L. Plus, now that you mention it, it's kind of ludicrous keeping a whole organization open just to serve one guy.”
Combe added, “Maybe now we can devote some of that time to our other fine products.”
Combe also produces Aqua Velva and ‘Lectric Shave after-shave lotions, and Grecian Formula hair coloring.
posted by Michael at 12:34 PM
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