MDIVISION Director, David Mannah, sat with WELLA Company  CEO, Annie Young-Scrivner and Wella Company Australia, New Zealand and Greater Asia General Manager, Guillaume Cantelou to discuss the present and future focus of the world’s most successful colour brand.

DM: The hair colour category is forever growing and in turn competitive. Is it challenging to keep up to date with the many start-ups entering the landscape?

AYS: It’s great to be in the hair industry with our 143 years of history. We know quality is important and the performance of our product is a leading force, so it’s a lot of fun to have new players. I think of us as a young company in many ways. As you know, we became independent just three years ago, and since then we’ve had amazing launches in both colour and haircare.

GC: When you look at Australian and New Zealand over the last two years, we’ve definitely brought amazing innovations to market. Shinefinity is one of them, and backed by a slew of new salon services to boost revenue. 

DM: What challenges does Wella face in Australia, and how are you navigating these?

GC: Because we are in Australia we have our own set of challenges, and one of them is being so far away from everyone else. Out of the COVID period, I’m sure a lot of our clients will agree, that supply chain has been a challenge. So, this is an area we’re really focused on – getting things back on track and looking at how we service our customers every day. This country suffers a lot of natural disasters – flooding and so on – so it’s important for us to stay close to our partners, and provide everything they need, no matter what. 

We are seeing less visits in salons, so we understand it’s important to arm business owners with the right tools and innovation to succeed, to support our salons in how to increase client frequency and spend, as well as attract new clients. 

DM: How is Wella supporting hair stylists on a global level?

 

AYS: We bring stylists the best innovation, best education and best business support to grow their business. Hairdressers are at the heart of what we do, and we are committed to supporting them to achieve their career goals and objectives. 

In 2020 (when everything was locked down), we invested heavily in the industry – education that we would usually charge 200 – 300 Euros for, we waivered, and we gave back to the global community about 30 million in value. Education brings the community together, and the idea was that when everything opened up again, skillsets had increased, and that’s exactly what happened.

DM: How is Wella supporting hair stylists on a local level?

GC: We invest a lot of time locally ensuring we have a strong, high performing team to partner with our salons – we want the best people with Wella as we know this partnership is proven to grow salon’s business. 

We are also always looking for new and exciting ways to inspire and showcase talent across events such as TrendVision (held in conjunction with the AHFA Weekend). 

And then of course we have our Red loyalty program for valued salon partners. We have recently evaluated the program to ensure we’re providing the right resources for salon business growth and really look forward to connecting and inspiring out network abroad at the annual conference event. 

Finally, we invested into a state of the art flagship studio which opened last year. We want this space to be a collaborative home away from home for all stylists, to network, elevate their craft and learn how they can grow their careers and business to the next level. 

Highlights of the last two years?

AYS: Innovation is one – launches such as Ultimate Repair and Shinefinity have been huge successes for us. We are pioneering in the ‘skinification’ of hair and have been able to create incredible services for the salon industry. Services that are driving clients into salons where they’re investing more, and it’s exciting to watch.

Secondly, we have been focused on talent building within Wella to have the strongest skillset in the industry. 

Lastly, labour is so important, it’s one of the things that’s popping up everywhere, so we’re asking, ‘how do we ensure salons have the right labour model so that customers can be delighted, and business owners can continue to deliver more profits?’

DM: The biggest challenges our industry is facing today?

 

AYS: It’s one of the most amazing industrys and we really need more people to be in it! Years ago, there wasn’t as much workplace competition, however there’s a lot more freedom now – flexible work environments and opportunities to easily work for yourself … such as uber drivers! People need to understand hairdressing is such an amazing career journey. 

The second challenge is making sure that industry services are really unique across the globe, so consumers are excited and delighted in salons. 

DM: Who in the industry inspires you most – who is your industry idol?

Renya Xydis 2022 AHFA Hairdresser of the Year, Lyndal Salmon 2023 AHFA Hairdresser of the Year and Frank Apostolopolus – five times Hairdresser of the Year. This is the artistic side, but I am very much impressed by business and models such as TONI&GUY Australia, who we’ve partnered with for so many years. When I see what Sara Langford is doing today as a businesswoman, leading that company, it’s truly inspiring.

And in the digital world, one of our ambassadors, Monique McMahon, has amazing reach and engagement on social media – some of the best in the industry! This is very exciting to see. 

DM: As Global CEO and someone who has had incredible corporate success, what is coming up that is exciting you?

AYS: We have a lot of opportunity to gain more market share, and why is that important to me? We are the number one salon colour brand in the world with the best quality products and performance, and I believe everybody should have the best. In Australia today, we are the colour leaders with just under 18% market share on colour, but in Germany we are the leaders with over a 40% share. The reason why people should grow with us is because globally, we’re the best!

DM: How do you see the salon industry evolving around sustainability in the coming years?

 

GC: We know it’s a big thing, when I talk to the younger generation it’s one of the first things they ask about. As young company, we joined the United Nations Global Compact, and are working through scope 1, 2 and 3 goals. We’re not only focused on carbon but also water, not just how much we’re using, but the rinse off. This and making sure we use recycled plastics wherever possible. We’re really thinking through the whole envelope so as we grow, we grow in the right way.

DM: What is Wella doing to focus on the salon channel, so it remains relevant and prosperous.

 

AYS: The ‘Pros’ are so important! As we ensure that we’re creating brands that are consumer forward it drives traffic back into the salon. We touch 91 million people on a regular basis, fashionistas, influencers etc, so how do we do a better job of leveraging that to drive traffic into the salon? This is something we’re really focused on. The salon is where we started and what we always think about, it’s at the heart of what we do.

Follow @wellapro_anz on Instagram and @wellahairanz on TikTok

For Wella Education please visit education.wella.com

For Wella Store visit au.wella.professionalstore.com