P&G recently announced it has acquired another prestigious male grooming brand called Zirh. (P&G also acquired “The Art of Shaving” brand earlier in June).

Zirh was founded in 1995 by Brian Robinson. The brand developed rapidly and became a leader in male’s skin care products internationally. In 2004, the Japanese skin-care brand Shiseido acquired the brand, but surprisingly Robinson bought Zirh back in 2008.

 As Zirh is a high-end brand sold in specialty stores, its acquisition could serve to position P&G products for more affluent consumers. (P&G currently holds Old Spice and Gillette brands which target the mass market.) Although Zirh and P&G view the move as beneficial for both companies, have they done their research? According to Mintel data (a market research firm), only 21% of men use moisturizer compared with 64% of women. For facial cleansers, the numbers were 17% for males, 54% for females (as cited in Brandweek). Not only will P&G have to successfully integrate Zirh into their portfolio and continue to build the brand, they will also have to build a market for luxury male grooming products.

 Also, how will the Zirh brand image be affected? Will consumers be confused by the switchover, especially since Zirh has already been acquired by Shiseido and subsequently bought back? It is possible that brand loyalty could suffer due to these frequent and significant changes for the Zirh brand.

 There are a number of large scale competitors in the male grooming industry such as Unilever and L’Oreal. P&G and Zirh need to carefully consider their brand strategy to ensure this new addition to P&G’s portfolio will effectively maintain and build the value of both brands.