FRANCE. Dessange International, the leading French hair and beauty group, has set its sights on expansion in Asia, with a particular focus on the domestic markets in South East Asia.
To this aim, the company exhibited at the TFWA Asia Pacific show in Singapore last month, showcasing its extensive haircare, skincare and make-up portfolio.
Dessange International was founded in 1954 by Jacques Dessange, who pioneered a major trend in the field of hairdressing in 1975 when he and Michel Cauvin instituted the first hairdressing franchising network in France. This concept was sealed when Dessange went on to set up the first hairdressing training academy with Daniel Conte in 1979.
Today Dessange International is a world leader in prestige hairdressing, high-end beauty services and cosmetics, and beauty institute franchising. In 2007 it generated 780 million Euros in turnover.
The company is structured around two bases of activity: salons and products. It has more than 1,000 salons under three brands – Dessange, Camille Albane and Frédéric Moréno – in 45 countries and one training institute.
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Dessange Paris adopts a comprehensive high-end approach to beauty through the development of beauty treatments, beauty centres, haircare, facial and skincare products as well as a range of make-up products |
Each brand is designed to cater to a particular market segment:
• Dessange – High-end brand with a comprehensive approach to beauty through the development of beauty treatments, beauty centres, haircare, facial and skincare products as well as a range of make-up products. For over 15 years, Dessange has been an official partner of world-class events such as the Cannes Film Festival, the American Film Festival in Deauville, the Romantic Film Festival in Cabourg, and the Roland Garros;
• Camille Albane – Hairdressing, colouring and make-up brand serving the mid-to-high-end market;
• Frédéric Moréno – neighbourhood hair salons known for their attractive pricing policy
This international network is based on a master-franchise system, pinning Dessange International in regions such as the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Dubai), the US, Europe (Italy, Belgium, Swizerland), and Asia (Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, India). Today the network generates 50% of its turnover outside of France.
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To ensure the same high level of service across all its salons, a standardised training system has been put in place. Each of the three salon brands has its own training centre: Dessange and Camille Albane in Paris, Frédéric Moréno in Lyon. The training system has also been reproduced internationally by the master franchisees: Dessange International now counts eight training centres in Milan, Bruxelles, Osaka, Tokyo, Moscou, Madrid, Lisbonne, Beyrouth.
In 2003 the company established Dba (Division beauté et accessoires SA), a subsidiary focused on designing, producing and distributing haircare and beauty products.
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Dba produces four major product brands: Dessange Paris, Camille Albane, Phytodess and Natural Pigma. These are distributed in Dessange International’s three salon chains, its beauty institutes, and in perfume and department stores in France, with selective distribution abroad.
Dessange Paris features three lines of facial and body care, make-up and hair products. Distribution is highly selective, with products made available in Dessange salons and institutes worldwide, upmarket beauty institutes and prestigious perfumeries.
Also under the Dessange brand is a range of appliances, professional textiles (available for resale in salons), as well as hair and jewellery accessories. Dessange Accessories come in two collections per year and have 2,500 skus.
Camille Albane features three lines of hair, make-up and treatments reserved for Camille Albane salons.
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Phytodess is a haircare brand that targets clients seeking professional and natural products. Comprising three product lines – Science and Nature, Technoscience, and Symbiosun – it is available in all three salon chains in France and abroad.
Natural Pigma is a made-to-measure colouring concept: a shampoo that can be personalised using a series of 11 mixable pigments and after-shampoo colour fixers, all ready to use. It is available in all networks in France and abroad.
The company also has two brands developed under license: Dessange Competence Professionelle, a premium line of haircare and styling products designed in collaboration with L’Oréal, and Dessange Paris by Remington, a range of high-end hairdressing appliances.
DESSANGE INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION STRATEGY
Looking ahead four or five years, Dessange International is expecting some 1,500 salons – featuring the three key brands – to be operating in France.
“In France, steady growth is assured by the development potential of Camille Albane and Frédéric Moréno salons,” the company said. It is targeting 400 new Camille Albane salons in 2-3 years’ time and 450 new Frédéric Moréno salons in 4-5 years.
“With the Dessange network having reached maturity in France, future brand development largely depends on international product distribution,” the company added. “On an international level, Dessange International is continuing the deployment of the master franchise, though development of the Dessange network and ongoing work with the Camille Albane and Frédéric Moréno networks.”
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Dessange is expecting some 1,500 salons – featuring the three key brands – to operate in France in the next 4-5 years | |
Speaking to The Moodie Report at the TFWA Asia Pacific show, Dessange International Product Division Managing Director and Dba Executive Vice President Marie-Laure Simonin Braun highlighted two key objectives for the Asia region.
The first is to look into opening salons in the domestic markets of South East Asia. “Our objective here is more to target South East Asia, because we are already quite developed in Japan and Korea, where we have hair salons and distribution of our products. Therefore, one of our major objectives for coming here is to find local partners in South East Asia – Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.
“We want to find partners for salon activities, to see if there are any opportunities to open a Dessange salon in Singapore and Malaysia, for example, where there is a lack of international, high-end salons,” she added.
The company is also looking into travel retail opportunities in markets where it is well known, such as Korea and the Middle East.
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Dba produces four major product brands: (clockwise from top left) Phytodess, Camille Albane, Dessange Paris, and Natural Pigma (not pictured); these are distributed in Dessange International’s three salon chains and its beauty institutes |
The second objective for the TFWA show is to find distributors for its product lines.
Dessange International is hoping to leverage on its international brand name and the versatility of its offer to appeal to interested partners. “We are an international French brand, and with the prestige attached to beauty brands from Paris, that’s definitely a plus for us.
“Partners can really find in us a lot of flexibility: they don’t have to take the whole selection. They can take just the make-up, or the skincare, or the fragrances, or the haircare, depending on their strengths in terms of distribution; we have that global offer that can be broken down into different sectors according to the market needs. We can adjust the offer,” Simonin Braun said.
“Our products are not targeted at the mass market – it’s more high-end positioning. So our haircare lines can be distributed in A-plus salons or in spas, which are now doing a lot of hair spa treatments. For our skincare we can also achieve distribution in spas, [our fragrances] in perfumeries of department stores, or in selective advice-based outlets.”
She also highlighted the company’s consumer-oriented approach. “More important is our deep knowledge of services. Because we were founded as a service brand – as a salon operator, a creator, and a master franchisor – we really know what the word “˜services’ means.
“We are not just a manufacturer of products; we are a service-oriented company. We understand exactly what a distributor, a partner – who runs, say, a spa or who deals with point of sales – and a consumer is really expecting,” she added.
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For more information, contact Marie-Laure Simonin Braun, tel: +33 1 53 83 99 34, e-mail: virginie.bossard@dessange-international.com; or Florence Cazelles, tel: +33 1 42 89 13 54, e-mail: florence.cazelles@dessange-international.com; or Chloé Lamoureux Pony, tel: +33 1 53 83 99 43, e-mail: chloe.lamoureux@dessange-international.com.
Visit www.dessange-international.com, www.camillealbane.com and www.frederic-moreno-coiffure.fr.
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