
Director of Dresslier, Mary Centofanti, was essentially head hunted at the ripe age of 15. She was the best at accounting in her year, and industry importers and distributors, Dresslier wanted her onboard. She made an independent decision to leave school and has continued to make history with one power-move after the other.
In celebration of 40-years with Dresslier, we get the ups, downs and turn arounds of this receptionist to Owner/ Director story, unlike most. “I suppose you could say this industry chose me,” starts Mary.
“It all started when Dresslier contacted my high school seeking ‘the best student in accounting, shorthand and typing.’ In Year 11 at the time, I accepted the interview and was offered a full-time job straight away.”
Despite a strict upbringing, Mary’s parents left the decision in her hands. “I wasn’t allowed to go to the movies, but here I was making a decision that would change the course of my life! So, I started work at Dresslier and absolutely loved it.”
Mary was fortunate to take flight beneath the wings of Robert and David Sloan, plus their father, John, who would openly share business insights, plans and procedures; always encouraging a 15-year-old Mary to stay around and listen-in. Like a sponge, the then receptionist absorbed it all, and before too long, was climbing – swiftly – towards the top.
At the time, Dresslier was a well-known importer of premium salon equipment and the distributors of Redken among many other brands. The manufacturing arm was operating across bulk basin-led products, however secondary to everything else. Redken reaped the highest turnover … how that would change.
“I started with the business in 1984 and we went to market with Davroe in 1986 with nine products.
At this stage I was managing bookkeeping and growing relationships with both debtors and creditors of the business (some of whom are still around now!). Simultaneously, I worked closely with David and Robert to build Davroe, but it was around this time the brothers began to pull apart.”
Robert left the business, leaving David at the fold. They lost Redken as a client in 1991. Staff were moved on and Dresslier was suddenly a small business pivoting toward a greater focus on manufacturing. Davroe continued to quietly hum in the background, but it was a serendipitous poolside meeting in South Africa that blew fresh air into the sails of Dresslier.
“A woman was laying poolside and noticed a bottle of our leave-in sun protector, Sun Ex (now called Luxe) next to the lady alongside her. The product was highly recommended and before long, Davroe was taking off in South Africa.”
This helped, but it was a hard 10-years rebuilding from the loss of Redken. Alas, Davroe kept growing – slowly but surely.
In 2000, David and his son Stuart formulated ColourMax – the brand’s first sulphate-free shampoo. Miles ahead of competitors, issues were met, but producing and distributing across a more compact, local client base, meant Mary and David had the time to test and grow the concept. Stuart is still the Formulating Chemist at Dresslier today.
Children inevitably arrived for Mary, and after her second, the time had come to focus on motherhood. So, she left on wonderful terms and the promise of an open door, always.
“I was in hospital with my second child, Michael, and David stopped by. He was clearly unwell, and as it turned out, was suffering from cancer. Dresslier needed help, so I went back to work while my Mum and sister, Filio, assisted at home.”
David passed away 9-months later and his children – 26 and 19-years-old – took over the business.
“On my last visit to David, I promised him I would take care of his kids, and so at their request, made the move back to Dresslier a permanent one. After 21-years with the business, it required a lot of thought and a bold jump from my husband John, who joined me with the intention of identifying if we could actually ‘turn this ship around’ and work together.”
“We invested heavily and eventually took over the company in 2006. With Davroe, we both understood it required reinvention, and my non-negotiable was an all-sulphate-free/vegan brand and no comprise on quality ingredients. I went to Stuart with the idea and he was more than up for the challenge.”
Naturally, most people thought Mary was mad – no-one, except the consumer, truly wanted it. The salons wanted lather; the clients wanted sulphate-free. So, with the bigger picture in mind, she persisted along the road most likely to reward the hairdresser.
“We re-launched the brand 18-months later, and it wasn’t until after the first five-years that we started seeing the return of our hard work – time, energy, and money. The initial hurdle was the salons, if the industry uptake was there from the start,it would have been a much swifter turn around.”
“I’m not going to lie, there were times when I questioned what we had done, but deep down we knew we were on the right track.”
The real turning point for Mary and in turn, Davroe, was a visit to Cosmoprof, Las Vegas conference in 2012. It was here that the uniqueness of the brand truly hit home. “There was not one vegan product on the floor – no-one was doing what we were doing – and this really gave us a sense of confidence and spurred our belief that we had something special, that this could and would be something big.”
More and more salons joined the fold and Mary made the decision to open an online store – one of the first industry brands to capitalise on e-commerce. Always a big point of contention among salon owners.
“We didn’t want to be cutting into our salon market, but at the same time, there were people all around the world who wanted but couldn’t buy Davroe, and we asked ourselves, ‘why should the consumer be missing out?’”
From the moment Mary left school, she’s run her own race, at her own pace. What’s ‘normal’ or expected by society or salons has never sat centre of her decision-making process.
“We’ve always tried to push certain boundaries – with products and how we do things. We have short-and long-term plans that we never waiver from. We’re smaller than some and manufacture locally, but that doesn’t mean we’re reactive – that we’ll add a new product to a skew just because someone else has brought out a formula of the moment.”
“Launching our Curlicue Range in 2000 was another big moment for us, no one was doing a Salon Curl range based on the Curly Girl Method, completely silicone free. Now of course, these products are fast becoming part of many brand portfolios.”
Today, Dresslier (celebrating 94-years) has shifted its focus from importing to manufacturing with the jewels in the crown being Davroe and Private Label. Just like David – Mary and John have welcomed their children into the business with pride, their first born, Sophia, the current Brand and Marketing Manager and Michael the company’s Laboratory and Production Manager.
“Both John and I have always encouraged Sophia and Michael to do what makes them happy, but at the end of the day, if your kids want to come into your business, it’s kind of cool! But they must want to do it.”
As for the future, the potential of Davroe is strong with the brand in its infant stages across the US and Europe, and a strong reception at CosmoProf Bologna 2024.
“I’m extremely grateful and proud of what we have achieved as a company, leading the way in products and product development, and the first in vegan, sulphate and paraben free. Right now, Davroe is an international brand, but by the time the kids take over, it will be a global brand. It’s going to be sitting at a completely different level in every aspect.”
And we’re here for the ride. Happy 40-years Mary.
PS. Be sure to head on over to our TJ IG to catch our full docuseries and interview with Mary, here!