It's clearly going to be biased, but the the FTC complaint against Edgewell-Harry's is interesting.
The claim is that as standalone DTC biz, DSC and Harry's had no impact on PG/EPC annual price increases. But once Harry's went into brick & mortar, prices actually decreased.
The claim is that as standalone DTC biz, DSC and Harry's had no impact on PG/EPC annual price increases. But once Harry's went into brick & mortar, prices actually decreased.
Multiple ways to think about this, but consistent with my priors, low brand awareness + high cost of customer acquisition meant online presence wasn't enough to influence incumbents pricing. The minute they went brick & mortar with massive distribution, the impact changed.
It's possible that on a long enough timeline, the DTC only biz would've taken enough share to impact incumbent pricing, but it seems undeniable that getting brick & mortar shelf space accelerated their growth and the incumbent reaction.
