Reading the post it sounds as if the feelings expressed are less about the “exclusive” than the perceived abandonment of reddit. I don’t frequent reddit (I actually have no idea how to purposely access and search reddit, it’s like the dark web to me) and I am not an owner of any B&M products so this news has no impact on my life at all.
From what I have seen the past few months it seems WCS is executing a plan to expand its foot print. WCS is one of few wet shaving product vendors located in California and we lost TWO in 2018 leaving room for the remaining few to expand. I applaud the effort on many levels but I also know that expansion and growth require change and change upsets a lot of people. I recall a conversation here on TSC about B&M’s “frequent” base changes and boundary pushing themes. For the new guy just finding B&M and loving the new themes our conversation must have sounded like a bunch of old curmudgeons bickering about the good old days and kids these days...but to the old curmudgeons the conversation had meaning. It’s all relative.
as far as the business decision goes, it is a two party decision. Not only has Will decided to go exclusive (if that’s the truth), WCS is seeking exclusive sources of product. Again, I applaud the move on WCS part for the potential to claim market share it presents BUT... I can also see how it may end up hurting some small artisans. Regardless, whether it is Maggard’s, WCS or Bullgoose (or Italian Barber etc.) we need places who are willing to put stock on shelves so we can order what we want more efficiently. The threat really is Amazon. They provide a very easy to use “market place” for artisans to sell. The Amazon marketing power can propel small artisans to the stars if the artisan can keep volume up and maintain the ability to profit on small margins. If/when amazon finds the wet shaving community they will add a new dimension of change.