Popular shave and personal grooming company Dollar Shave Club opened the doors of its new headquarters in the American Tobacco Campus in downtown Durham on Tuesday. It's the latest example of a company choosing to relocate from a high-tax state to the Triangle.
At Tuesday's grand opening, Dollar Shave Club CEO Larry Bodner -- who's also a Duke MBA graduate -- said Durham's livability and talent pool were major factors in choosing the Bull City over other popular destinations like Austin and Nashville.
"It's really the opportunity to come to a great market with great talent, a great quality of life, and cost of living for the employees," Bodner said.
Bodner said the decision to move the subscription-plan shave company from California to Durham is embodied in its new, 17,500 square foot headquarters.
"Instead of forcing employees to return to work, we wanted to create a magnet for a place they wanted to be," he said.
At Tuesday's event, Bodner spoke alongside Durham Mayor Leo Williams and Durham Chamber President Geoff Durham. Theirs is the latest investment in North Carolina's broader business success story. Through the second quarter of 2025, the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina reports 71 new economic development projects statewide, totaling nearly $19 billion in capital investment. That includes major investments from companies such as JetZero, which have chosen North Carolina as their manufacturing hub or place to do business.
Dollar Shave Club's new headquarters has room for 80 employees, but the company says the office could grow even larger.
"Welcome to the Bull City," said Williams at Tuesday's grand opening. "This is your home now, just make it what you want it to be. We appreciate diversity here, we appreciate everyone being so different, everyone having their own story."
The chamber president said he believes the city's culture is helping draw some of that recent investment.
"Once I started to understand that, I realize how that corporate value align with this community. And then I look around this room, and I look at this space. What an amazing cross representation of exactly who this community is and exactly who this company is," Durham said.