Canada's number one beauty superstore - Glamour Secrets
Canada's number one beauty superstore - Glamour Secrets
Canada's number one beauty superstore - Glamour Secrets
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Canada’s <strong>number</strong> <strong>one</strong><br />
<strong>beauty</strong> <strong>superstore</strong><br />
The ultimate shopping experience, with ambient music, hundreds of exclusive<br />
<strong>beauty</strong> brands, tester bars and full-service salon, is heading for new<br />
international markets. Rachel Spaul discovers what <strong>Glamour</strong> <strong>Secrets</strong> has to<br />
offer serious investors<br />
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<strong>Glamour</strong> <strong>Secrets</strong> has pi<strong>one</strong>ered a chic,<br />
yet affordable, <strong>beauty</strong> <strong>superstore</strong> that<br />
sits comfortably alongside the<br />
world’s top fashion players. With premium<br />
<strong>beauty</strong> brands and services traditionally only<br />
available to consumers through salons, it has<br />
filled a market niche for leading<br />
brands at reduced prices.<br />
Established in Canada<br />
as Trade <strong>Secrets</strong> in 1989,<br />
the brand has grown to<br />
become Canada’s<br />
largest professional<br />
retailer of its kind<br />
with 66 stores, and<br />
has expanded into the<br />
USA and Kuwait.<br />
“<strong>Glamour</strong> <strong>Secrets</strong> is<br />
100 per cent<br />
successful with no<br />
store closures,” reports<br />
Doug Warren, Director<br />
of Franchising. “We have<br />
11 multiple store owners,<br />
which is a good<br />
indication of our success,<br />
and have ventured into diverse<br />
locations including shopping<br />
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Advertorial, © 2006 Franchise International<br />
‘We attract people who are<br />
willing to spoil themselves<br />
with better products. It’s a<br />
high repeat business - once<br />
a customer tries Sebastian<br />
or Redken, they never go<br />
back to the<br />
supermarket for their<br />
<strong>beauty</strong> products.<br />
This is a very<br />
underdeveloped<br />
niche.’<br />
centres, financial concourses and airports.<br />
This is a versatile concept suited to almost as<br />
many locations as fast food outlets.”<br />
According to Warren, looking good is an<br />
international industry and <strong>Glamour</strong> <strong>Secrets</strong> is<br />
aiming to establish a presence in 25 countries<br />
worldwide within 10 years. Among these<br />
target markets are the UK, Ireland, France,<br />
Italy, Eastern Europe and the US, where<br />
<strong>Glamour</strong> <strong>Secrets</strong> is looking for Area<br />
Franchisees, the professional <strong>beauty</strong> services<br />
market is a US$62 billion industry (according<br />
to Mintel), and <strong>beauty</strong> is widely recognised as<br />
a recession-proof industry.<br />
A CANDY STORE FOR WOMEN<br />
Former salon owner Joe Belotti founded<br />
<strong>Glamour</strong> <strong>Secrets</strong> having discovered that what<br />
generated the greatest returns was not cutting<br />
hair but selling associated <strong>beauty</strong><br />
products. The result is a<br />
<strong>one</strong>-stop <strong>beauty</strong>
‘We are very choosy about<br />
location and have stores<br />
next to some of the best<br />
retailers in the world. Our<br />
store volumes are very<br />
high and margins are very<br />
good. The average<br />
customer walks out with<br />
between US$60 and US$70<br />
worth of goods.’<br />
<strong>superstore</strong> that combines a wide selection of<br />
<strong>beauty</strong> products with the compliment of a<br />
full-service salon. “We attract people who<br />
are willing to spoil themselves with better<br />
products,” Warren relates. “It’s a high repeat<br />
business - once a customer tries Sebastian or<br />
Redken, they never go back to the<br />
supermarket for their <strong>beauty</strong> products. This<br />
is a very underdeveloped niche. The <strong>beauty</strong><br />
industry is huge worldwide, but at the<br />
moment these brands are mainly sold<br />
through salons.”<br />
The key to <strong>Glamour</strong> <strong>Secrets</strong>’ international<br />
success is replicating the total shopping<br />
experience in every market, from the stylish<br />
shop frontage right through to the ambient<br />
Latin music. Each store also features ‘try<br />
before you buy’ tester bars, stock between<br />
4,000 and 5,000 different items including<br />
hair dryers and curling irons as well as<br />
cosmetics, and are staffed by licensed<br />
cosmetologists. <strong>Glamour</strong> <strong>Secrets</strong> carries<br />
professional, high-end, internationally<br />
known brands from companies such as<br />
Redken, Rusk, Bedhead, OPI and Abba.<br />
Many stores have small salons, where both<br />
men and women can indulge in over 40<br />
services including nails, aesthetics, skin care<br />
and hairstyling.<br />
An average store is between 1,000sqft and<br />
1,200sqft situated in high-traffic, high-end<br />
convenient locations. “We are very choosy<br />
about location and have stores<br />
next to some of the best<br />
retailers in the world,”<br />
explains Warren. “Our store<br />
volumes are very high and<br />
margins are very good. The<br />
average customer walks out<br />
with between US$60 and<br />
US$70 worth of goods.”<br />
MASTER FRANCHISE<br />
OPPORTUNITY<br />
<strong>Glamour</strong> <strong>Secrets</strong> has<br />
identified Master Franchising<br />
as the most suitable method for<br />
entering new international markets, and is<br />
looking for executive entrepreneurs or<br />
organisations with significant business<br />
experience. Candidates do not need specific<br />
experience in the <strong>beauty</strong> industry, but should<br />
have a good understanding of how retail<br />
works in their country and will need to<br />
establish at least <strong>one</strong> corporate store with a<br />
view to sub-franchising.<br />
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INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION<br />
“No other company is offering the same as<br />
<strong>Glamour</strong> <strong>Secrets</strong> - a proven turnkey franchise<br />
system that offers the opportunity to develop<br />
your own chain of <strong>one</strong>-stop <strong>beauty</strong> stores,”<br />
Warren remarks. “Franchisees will have the<br />
advantage of years of proven success systems<br />
such as site selection, design and<br />
construction, merchandising,<br />
customer service, accounting,<br />
national<br />
advertising,<br />
ongoing<br />
training<br />
and<br />
support,<br />
and brand<br />
recognition that grows daily. The total<br />
investment required will vary<br />
depending upon the market.<br />
“Europe in particular is a good market<br />
and we believe that like the US there is the<br />
potential for between 600 and 800 stores.<br />
We will train Master Franchisees for four<br />
‘No other company is<br />
offering the same as<br />
<strong>Glamour</strong> <strong>Secrets</strong> - a proven<br />
franchise system that offers<br />
the opportunity to develop<br />
your own chain of <strong>one</strong>-stop<br />
<strong>beauty</strong> stores.’<br />
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‘Europe in particular is<br />
a good market and we<br />
believe that like the US<br />
there is the potential<br />
for between 600 and<br />
800 stores. We will<br />
provide ongoing<br />
support and products<br />
from North America.’<br />
weeks in Toronto on all aspects of the role,<br />
from selling franchises, to support<br />
compliance, store construction, inventory<br />
and warehouse management, and will<br />
provide ongoing support and products from<br />
North America.”<br />
Warren describes the <strong>Glamour</strong> <strong>Secrets</strong><br />
Master Franchise as a “Starbucks-type”<br />
opportunity in that it offers the chance to get<br />
in on the ground floor with a speciality niche<br />
brand. He continues: “We’re offering the<br />
opportunity for franchisees to take full<br />
advantage of over 15 years of pi<strong>one</strong>ering a<br />
success story in the <strong>beauty</strong> product retail<br />
industry, and turn it into a lucrative business<br />
of their own.”<br />
Summary<br />
The Concept: Premium <strong>beauty</strong> product<br />
and integrated salon <strong>superstore</strong>s<br />
Number of outlets: 66<br />
Countries established: USA, Canada<br />
and Kuwait<br />
Overseas expansion plans: Worldwide<br />
Type of licence available:<br />
National Master and Area Development<br />
Franchises<br />
For more information about <strong>Glamour</strong><br />
<strong>Secrets</strong> call Doug Warren on<br />
+1 905 264 2799 ext 222<br />
email doug@glamoursecrets.com<br />
or visit<br />
www.glamoursecrets.com<br />
www.tradesecrets.ca<br />
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