The resurgence of men’s barbering has fathered a huge variety of new brands across the country, each vying for standout over their competitors. But there is still one thing many have in common – a link to the past, a nod to traditional men’s barbering with wet shaves and sharp haircuts.
But capturing the old-fashioned appeal of a traditional barbershop where excellence and companionability are the cornerstone of the business takes more than a tiled floor and black and white pictures on the wall. It needs skilled barbers on hand, all armed with the right tools. It’s what the consumer is looking for.
We’ve experienced the barbering revival first hand, because Fromm produces the right tools: the smooth straight razor, the well-crafted sharpening strop, and the sharp shears. As the oldest manufacturer of leather strops in the US, we have seen sales of Fromm barbering tools rise to match the resurgence of specialist men’s salons. You can’t get more old-time authenticity than Fromm because we are the genuine article. Every time a barber sharpens and polishes his or her Fromm straight-edge razor back and forth on one of our strops, they are continuing a tradition that goes back more than 110 years.
In 1907 James Simon launched his strop-making business in Illinois, followed by his Fromm razor in 1929. Our strops were hanging in barbershops before Ford unveiled his Model T car, before prohibition, and before cinema transformed the lives of ordinary people. And we are still here – a family business providing technically superior tools to barbers and hairdressers.
Our brand is steeped in this heritage, which benefits those barbers and salons keen to associate their brand with old-time values. We make it easy for them to buy into that appeal with online training videos focused on perfecting the straight shave and more on YouTube. But Fromm’s longevity isn’t just about branding. We are still here a century after James Simon produced his first strop because we have focused on manufacturing quality, creating the most authentic, beautiful, and excellent products on the market today, while innovating for tomorrow.
And that’s the key. Putting innovation at the heart of a business is what keeps it fresh and vital, ready to take the ups and downs, the revivals, the stagnation, the fall from favor, the resurgence. Fromm survives because it keeps on developing and adding to its high-end product ranges. Wet shaves are back in demand; so are the people with the skills to do it, and they are looking to Fromm for the best tools and brand association so they can deliver the best service in the best environment.
