MORE THAN SKIN DEEP

What has beauty chain Ella Baché done to put profits at its franchisees’ fingertips?

What beauty chain Ella Bache has done to put profits at its franchisees’ fingertips.

Anew model innovation program at skincare franchise Ella Baché is reaping dividends for franchisees with an average 21 per cent growth in service sales for those embracing the change.

Ella Baché CEO Pippa Hallas says a new services menu was the first change implemented as part of a larger four-year strategic development plan for the model.

“Over 30 per cent of franchisees have made the change to the new services menu and the results are very positive,” Hallas reveals.

“The business recorded an 8 per cent increase in total and service revenue, along with a 6 per cent jump in retail turnover across the franchise.”

The new services and treatments are more high value and more profitable, says Hallas, which is good news for franchisees focused on improving their bottom line.

For a heritage brand such as Ella Baché, the authenticity of both product and service is crucial. “We’ve always been really focused on enhancing individual skin on a cellular level, and what that means is not erasing your differences to look like everyone else. This is what social media has been pushing to, uniformity.

“We know a big portion of women don’t want invasive treatments, botox and fillers. And if you do, that’s fine but you still need healthy skin.”

Hallas says this need to create the right balance between new techniques while retaining the core values of customer service and skincare expertise was one of the big drivers for change.

“We have less time in our lives and time is really precious. I k now I won’t use a service, whether restaurant, airline, bank, hairdresser, unless I c an book it at 10 pm and online. You have to solve customers’ problems when they need to be solved.”

Ultimately customers want things that work, she says.

“You have to continue to excite and delight customers – whether that’s how you communicate, how you treat skin, or how you wrap up their solution.

“There is so much change in how we live our lives, in the digital world influenced by social media, and there are a lot of what I call fast food beauty pop-ups. In every shopping centre you can get a n ew pair of lips – t hat’s the reality of the unregulated marketplace,” says Hallas.

But it isn’t the way for Ella Baché, and that started the chain of innovation that’s now rolling out through the network.

While the focus is on profitability for the franchisees, for the consumer, the new approach at Ella Baché is to move away from a transactional relationship.

“Therapists are caring and beautiful people, and can be really frightened by asking people for money. The focus needs to be on education, simply recommending a service and solution, not closing a d eal,” reveals Hallas.