Glamour Secrets has pioneered a chic, yet affordable, beauty superstore that sits comfortably alongside the world's top fashion players. With premium beauty brands and services traditionally only available to consumers through salons, it has filled a market niche for leading brands at reduced prices.

Established in Canada as Trade Secrets in 1989, the brand has grown to become Canada's largest professional retailer of its kind with 66 stores, and has expanded into the USA and Kuwait. "Glamour Secrets is 100 per cent successful with no store closures," reports Doug Warren, Director of Franchising. "We have 11 multiple store owners, which is a good indication of our success, and have ventured into diverse locations including shopping centres, financial concourses and airports. This is a versatile concept suited to almost as many locations as fast food outlets."

According to Warren, looking good is an international industry and Glamour Secrets is aiming to establish a presence in 25 countries worldwide within 10 years. Among these target markets are the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Eastern Europe and the US, where Glamour Secrets is looking for Area Franchisees, the professional beauty services market is a US$62 billion industry (according to Mintel), and beauty is widely recognised as a recession-proof industry.

A CANDY STORE FOR WOMEN
Former salon owner Joe Belotti founded Glamour Secrets having discovered that what generated the greatest returns was not cutting hair but selling associated beauty products. The result is a one-stop beauty superstore that combines a wide selection of beauty products with the compliment of a full-service salon. "We attract people who are willing to spoil themselves with better products," Warren relates. "It's a high repeat business - once a customer tries Sebastian or Redken, they never go back to the supermarket for their beauty products. This is a very underdeveloped niche. The beauty industry is huge worldwide, but at the moment these brands are mainly sold through salons."

The key to Glamour Secrets' international success is replicating the total shopping experience in every market, from the stylish shop frontage right through to the ambient Latin music. Each store also features 'try before you buy' tester bars, stock between 4,000 and 5,000 different items including hair dryers and curling irons as well as cosmetics, and are staffed by licensed cosmetologists. Glamour Secrets carries professional, high-end, internationally known brands from companies such as Redken, Rusk, Bedhead, OPI and Abba. Many stores have small salons, where both men and women can indulge in over 40 services including nails, aesthetics, skin care and hairstyling. An average store is between 1,000sqft and 1,200sqft situated in high-traffic, high-end convenient locations. "We are very choosy about location and have stores next to some of the best retailers in the world," explains Warren. "Our store volumes are very high and margins are very good. The average customer walks out with between US$60 and US$70 worth of goods."

MASTER FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITY
Glamour Secrets has identified Master Franchising as the most suitable method for entering new international markets, and is looking for executive entrepreneurs or organisations with significant business experience. Candidates do not need specific experience in the beauty industry, but should have a good understanding of how retail works in their country and will need to establish at least one corporate store with a view to sub-franchising.

INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION
"No other company is offering the same as Glamour Secrets - a proven turnkey franchise system that offers the opportunity to develop your own chain of one-stop beauty stores," Warren remarks. "Franchisees will have the advantage of years of proven success systems such as site selection, design and construction, merchandising, customer service, accounting, national advertising, ongoing training and support, and brand recognition that grows daily. The total investment required will vary depending upon the market.

"Europe in particular is a good market and we believe that like the US there is the potential for between 600 and 800 stores. We will train Master Franchisees for four weeks in Toronto on all aspects of the role, from selling franchises, to support compliance, store construction, inventory and warehouse management, and will provide ongoing support and products from North America."

Warren describes the Glamour Secrets Master Franchise as a "Starbucks-type" opportunity in that it offers the chance to get in on the ground floor with a speciality niche brand. He continues: "We're offering the opportunity for franchisees to take full advantage of over 15 years of pioneering a success story in the beauty product retail industry, and turn it into a lucrative business of their own."