Ella Bach actively responds to the changing needs of its customers – the beauty business has recently rolled out a brand refresh, and its salons are performing positively in response.
In terms of return on investment, average profitability across Ella Bach’s network sits at between 16 and 17 percent, which CEO Pippa Hallas says is quite good.
“I think we’ve done a pretty good job in a turbulent retail market where a lot of brands have had to change and flex to protect themselves,” she explains.
Hallas says the brand is also experiencing growth in its undergraduate college, which is based out of North Sydney.
“Taking that [the college] to as many people who want to be beauty therapists across Australia as we can has been a really good opportunity for us financially,” she explains.
The brand refresh includes updated marketing materials and a more modern store design across the company’s 100 franchises.
“Our brand from an imagery perspective looks completely different to what it did this time last year,” says Hallas.
New uniforms are also soon to be introduced. “We’ve worked with one of Australia’s top fashion designers at the moment, Kym Ellery on redesigning the uniform – the focus has been on making sure our franchisees and therapists feel really proud of what they do,” Hallas explains.
A changing marketplace and the need to differentiate Ella Bach from its competitors were the two driving forces behind the refresh.
“I believe every brand needs to be desirable for future generations. We had an advertising campaign and salon look in market for about eight years so it needed a change,” says Hallas.
“There have been a lot of changes in the beauty industry over the last five years, and because we’re such a premium brand and we believe we are the experts in skin, we needed to make sure we made ourselves a bit more premium and sophisticated to ensure we stand out from the lower priced offerings that are out there in the market.”
Hallas stresses Ella Bach isn’t simply a brand people seek out for pampering purposes; its therapists are specialists in skin and skin care.
“There’s a lot of express nail bars around now – we needed to make sure that we weren’t being seen as that pamper, get your nails painted destination. We are skin care experts and we really believe that we treat skin like no one else does in the market.
“Our therapists know everything about skin and it’s a real science, and we really need to make sure that the public see that and don’t think that we are just a pampering experience,” she explains.
Other developments include a new range and treatment designed to address toxins in the skin, a reflection of current trends in the industry.
THE DIGITAL FOCUS
The digital realm forms a key part of Ella Bach’s three year business plan, says Hallas.
“We want ensure our stores have really great customer relationship management (CRM) systems, that they are consistently communicating with their database and using their data correctly, and that they are personalising all of their communications.
“We want to ensure we are using social media from a franchisor and franchisee perspective to really drive results,” she explains.
EXPANSION PLANS
Hallas hopes to open 10 new Ella Bach stores each year; however the brand’s standards won’t be compromised to achieve this goal.
“Our strategy is about a sustained growth plan to roll out new stores where the profit return is going to be good and the franchisee is going to be very aligned to the values of the organisation,” she says.
“We have a unique business model in the sense that we don’t charge royalties or marketing fees, our franchisees get an exclusive territory and we spend a lot of time trying to bring in people that are like minded and have the same values that we do, which is really important.”
The company’s college fosters expansion through educating budding beauty therapists, many of whom eventually become franchisees.
“Part of what makes our model unique is we’ve got an education system underpinning our franchise model,” says Hallas.
“We’ve got a lot of fabulous women who have gone through our college, went on to work in some of our salons for a number of years and then they’ve become business women in their own right through the purchase of franchised stores.”
INDUSTRY TRENDS
Women have more money and less time to spend on their appearance at present, and there’s been a shift in purchasing beauty products online, says Hallas.
“Digital has changed the way people buy and consume beauty products; however people aren’t buying offshore as much now the Australian dollar is flattening out.
“Services are still doing really well – part of what we’re seeing is women in their 30s are earning a lot of money these days – they have little time to spare and they need quick services that work.”
She acknowledges anti-ageing is no doubt on the rise, and reiterates Ella Bach’s approach to the growing trend.
“Obviously there’s been an increase in the desire for botox and cosmetic surgery, and our take on that as a brand is to deliver anti-ageing in non-harmful, non-invasive ways.
“We’re not into ruining people’s skin for short term gain, or for them to look good for five minutes. It’s all about ensuring your skin is strong and healthy and delaying the ageing process from a health as opposed to artificial perspective,” she adds.
BUSINESS ADVICE
Hallas explains passion plays an important role in success – there’s no point in pursuing a business if the passion for the brand or model isn’t there.
“I think from a business perspective in general you’ve got to love what you do because there’s hard work involved in everything. If you believe in yourself and follow what you’re passionate about the success will come.”
An openness to change is also essential, she says. “Don’t be fearful of change – you’ve got to change your business model as both consumers needs and the times change. If you stand still you go backwards and you become invisible.
“You’ve got to absolutely do things in an innovative and remarkable way to make sure you’re visible and a part of your customers lives,” she adds.