ImaginativePRO Blog

WHAT A CRACKED MIRROR TAUGHT DRYBAR EXECS ABOUT MANAGING METEORIC GROWTH

Drybar Upper East Side, (Opened in December 2012) at 209 East 76th Street, New York, NY 10021 (Click Image To Enlarge)

A BROKEN MIRROR AT ONE OF DRYBAR'S MANHATTAN LOCATIONS SENT FOUNDER ALLI WEBB OVER THE EDGE. BUT THE FALLOUT PROVIDED IMPORTANT LESSONS IN LETTING WORLD-CLASS TEAMS DO WHAT YOU HIRED THEM TO DO.

A few months ago, Alli Webb stepped into a Drybar on the Upper East Side of Manhattan--one of the few dozen blowout-only hair salons that Webb and her brother, Michael Landau, have rapidly built into a small empire. Webb had reason to be happy. Her business, which she’d begun on a lark in 2007, was raking in $22 million in annual sales; her private equity partners in the business were seeing so much growth that they were beginning to recommend that Webb and Landau be realistic about relinquishing some control in their organization, leaving more of the micromanaging to the various teams they had hired. But then, Webb saw the crack.

The brother and sister team of Michael Landau and Alli Webb, co-founders of Drybar. (Click Image To Enlarge)

At the rear of the Upper East Side Drybar, a crack ran through a large, customer-facing mirror. What was infinitely frustrating to Webb was that the last time she had been in this store, the same mirror had been cracked in the same place. How had months elapsed without the mirror being repaired? Was this the image .Drybar was projecting to Manhattan’s Upper East Side? Webb recalls. 

“I had a fit.  It just kind of goes to the perfectionist in me.  I walk in a shop, and I want everything to be perfect.”

She sent out a bunch of emails--to the assistant manager, to the manager, to anyone remotely related to operations at the Upper East Side store. And Webb being the boss, people sprung into action immediately. The maintenance department hastily replaced the mirror, at a cost of approximately $4,000.

Click Image To Enlarge

This might seem like a happy ending to the story. But soon Webb’s COO called her to explain something. The crack Webb had just seen in the mirror in fact wasn’t the same crack that she had seen months prior.  That original mirror had already been replaced--again, at the cost of thousands of dollars--but the second mirror cracked in the same place. Realizing that there must be some underlying structural reason for an identical crack to spring up a second time, people Webb had hired were already investigating what was going on. As the COO told Landau,

“I know Alli wants it fixed immediately, but we can’t keep spending $4,000 to fix a mirror.”

Instead, the COO said, he'd put a team of people on it to investigate the deeper cause.

What they discovered was a New York problem. A subway train ran directly underneath, sending vibrations up in such a way as to make the mirror particularly vulnerable. The current installation was insufficient--it would require different insulation or bracing to prevent the problem from happening again.

For Webb and Landau, it was a lesson in learning when to let go. Two people can’t possibly run a 2,000-person organization themselves.   Landau, almost apologetic for the lingering micromanagerial tendencies of himself and his sister, explains.   

“We never meant this to be the big business it is today.  One thing Alli and I have had to grapple with as we grow is, ‘How do you manage to scale an organization? How do Alli and I evolve now that we can’t touch every detail and get to know every employee, and have to delegate responsibility?’” (Landau himself recently stepped down as CEO, acknowledging that the company has grown so large that his own entrepreneurial skill set is less relevant.)

Click Image To Enlarge

Webb and Landau have had to slowly, painfully train both themselves and their employees on following the new chains of command that fit an increasingly massive business (Drybar opens its 35th location this week).  Landau says.  

“People still want to come to us [from various departments], and we still want to give advice.  But you realize that you’re such a bottleneck if everything has to go through you.”

And bottlenecks are the enemy of scaling.

“You want to give that input because you care so much, it’s your baby--but you have to force yourself to say, ‘Go talk to Dana...’”

Chimes in Webb.  

“That’s tough for me.  If somebody comes to me with a problem, if I say, ‘Just do this, this, and that,’ then they do it. But it messes up the whole system, so I have to learn to filter my feedback through regional managers to keep the chain of command. It’s a major learning adjustment for me.”

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And yet she’s adjusted--or is beginning to.   She says.  

“I’ve gotten better about sending out those emails.  I find out what’s going on before I get upset. Usually people are already on top of things, and it’s gratifying to know we’re building a small team.”

If confronted with a cracked mirror again, says Webb.

"I won’t send emails to 17 people in the company about it."

And what ever became of that Upper East Side mirror? Finally delegating to the proper chain of command led to an enduring fix--and should save the company money in the long run.  Webb says.

“It’s fixed now!  I was just there and it’s fixed--no more crack!"

[Images courtesy of Drybar]

COMMENTARY:   In a blog post dated November 11, 2012, I reviewed Drybar, an up and coming startup which at the time had 16 U.S. salons offering one primary service: washing and blow-drying hair into straight, wavy, "beachy" or other stylish hairdos. Its motto: "No cuts. No color. Just blowouts."   Drybar has more than doubled locations, and now has 35 salons throughout the U.S. with revenues of $22 million up from $20 million in 2012.  They also increased prices from $35 to $40 per blow dry.

 

Courtesy of an article dated December 17, 2013 appearing in Fast Company

HOW THE FOUNDERS OF HARRY'S WANT TO REPEAT THE SUCCESS OF ONLINE EYEWEAR RETAILER WARBY PARKER, BUT IN SHAVING RAZORS

Jeff Raider and Andrew Katz-Mayfield, the co-founders of a new startup called Harry’s (Click Image To Enlarge)

BY GOING ONLINE TO ELIMINATE THE MIDDLEMEN, WARBY PARKER CHANGED THE EYEWEAR INDUSTRY. NOW, ONE OF ITS CO-FOUNDERS HOPES TO DO THE SAME FOR RAZORS.

When Andrew Katz-Mayfield recently found himself spending 20 confusing minutes and $20 in the razor aisle at his local drugstore, he started thinking about how to remove the frustration (and the big spend) from the experience. Katz-Mayfield also happens to be a childhood friend of Jeff Raider, a co-founder of the online eyeglasses retailer Warby Parker who took a similar approach to simplifying the process of trying and buying glasses.

On the Harry’s website, customers can spend $15 for the Truman kit, which includes the Truman handle, three blades, and a tube of cream (Click Image To Enlarge)

Or, they can spend $25 for the Winston, a slightly more luxe version of the razor (Click Image To Enlarge)

And now, 18 months and a great wooly mammoth logo later, we have Harry’s, a startup hoping to add a dose of charity and value to the shave industry. The company worked with an 80-year-old razor manufacturer in Germany and a stateside industrial designer to develop a handle, which is inspired by antique pens and butter knives. Online, customers can spend $15 for the Truman kit, which includes the Truman handle, three blades, and a tube of cream developed with a local cosmetics studio, or $25 for the Winston, a slightly more luxe version of the razor. Replacement blades go for $2, and a single razor can be had for as little as $10.

Harry’s blades are made by a 90-year-old company in Germany (Click Image To Enlarge)

Their technique produces blades that are incredibly hard and sharp--and rare to come by, in the US (Click Image To Enlarge)

Similarly to Warby Parker, there’s a social responsibility angle, too--for every razor you buy, Harry’s will donate one to an organization that helps people “look good and feel good.” Right now, it’s a nonprofit that helps soldiers reintegrate to life outside of a warzone.

A worker at the plant in Germany (Click Image To Enlarge)

A stateside industrial designer developed the Harry’s handle, which is inspired by antique pens and butter knives (Click Image To Enlarge)

Will the online-only, high-value business model translate to a lower margin product, like razors? Warby’s approach was so successful because it broke a long-standing monopoly with an innovative service model--in other words, it was a pain in the ass (and wallet) to buy glasses, and Warby offered a way to sidestep both the inconvenience and the cost by selling direct to consumers.

The product design aims to hit a sweet spot between great design and affordability (Click Image To Enlarge)

The head is replaceable, while the handle is designed to last (Click Image To Enlarge)

Harry’s faces more of a hurdle when it comes to the market for shaving tools, of which there are plenty of affordable options at every drugstore in town. They’re also not the first to take razors online--you may have heard of Dollar Shave Club, a site that made a viral splash last year. says Katz-Mayfield says.

“They had a really funny video and it struck a chord.  But they’re a retailer, and we actually design and manufacture our own products.”

The razors are nicer than the drug store brand, but not hugely expensive (Click Image To Enlarge)

Replacement blades go for $2, and a single razor can be had for as little as $10 (Click Image To Enlarge)

The profit margins on razorblades certainly aren’t as high as eyeglasses, but Raider and Katz believe there’s room for innovation, mainly in terms of the brand experience. Gillette might be as cheap, and Dollar Shave Club might be as convenient, but neither boast the design quality or social responsibility angle. And eventually Harry’s may take the brand offline and into barber shops and pharmacies. Katz-Mayfield says. 

“We’re not trying to build a website.  We’re trying to build a brand that will be distributed in lots of different ways over time.”

Harry’s also developed its own cream, with help from a local cosmetics company (Click Image To Enlarge)

COMMENTARY:   I like Harry's business model very much because razor blades are replenishable items, and unlike Warby Parker, don't require eye exams and lens prescriptions, and this means a quicker sales cycle and lots of repeat sales. If Netflix can do it with movies-by-mail, RedBox with movie kiosks, and Warby Parker with eyewear, why not Harry's in replacement razor blades.  Gillette the global leader in replacement razor blades has a commanding 80% market share, so there is plenty of room for industry disruption, but I think they will need to provide overnight service to keep up with the demand for instant gratification that razor blades command.  This is never going to be a volume busines, but their uniqueness and quality German made razor blades provides just enough differentiation that some customers who want high quality at an affordable price are will to part with their money. 

Courtesy of an article dated March 20, 2013 appearing in Fast Company Design 

HOW DRYBAR, A SLICK 'BLOWOUT' SALON CHAIN, WILL MAKE $20 MILLION IN 2012 JUST BLOW DRYING HAIR AT $35 A POP

NEW YORK – At first glance, the chic Drybar hair salon in Midtown Manhattan seems to have everything a luxury-loving customer could crave.

The new salon, which opened at 4 West 16th Street at the beginning of September 2011 (and which will be followed by a second location, at Le Parker Meridien, later in the fall of 2011), is clean, chic, and elegantly girlie. Its 14 stations are equipped with iPhone chargers (brilliant!), as well as hooks for handbags (brilliant, times two!). Movies play on the televisions throughout the salon; during a recent visit, Bride Wars and Mean Girls rolled—and light munchies, such as candy and granola, are offered for the additional small price of $4.

Drybar salon opened in midtown Manhattan, New York City, on September 2011 (Click Image To Enlarge)

Interior of the Drybar salon located in midtown Manhattan, New York City (Click Image To Enlarge)

Champagne — check. A selection of cookies — check. Chilled water infused with pineapples and strawberries — check.

But if clients ask for a haircut, highlights, manicure or pedicure, they're out of luck.

Drybar's 16 U.S. salons offer one primary service: washing and blow-drying hair into straight, wavy, "beachy" or other stylish hairdos.Its motto: "No cuts. No color. Just blowouts."

 

The beautification options are limited, yet Drybar's customer base is swelling. The company, which started in February 2010, is on track to have 25 salons by the end of 2012, and 44 by the end of next year.

Drybar has about 800 stylists who collectively cater to thousands of clients daily. Celebrities such as Maria Shrver, Jenniver Love Hewitt and Cindy Crawford have had their hair done. Actress Rose McGowan — who first discovered Drybar as a customer — is an investor.

Patrons such as Manhattan resident Bess Freedman appreciate that the salon focuses on one specific service — so-called "blowouts" — and trains stylists to do that task quickly and skillfully.

Freedman, an executive at real estate firm Corcoran, who comes twice a week to have her curly tresses blown smooth says.

"Every person is good.  They do a great job."

Starting at home

The Drybar concept is the brainchild of hair stylist and former public relations practitioner Alli Webb, 37.

In 2008, Webb launched a small business named Straight-at-Home, in which she did blowouts at client homes in the Los Angeles area. As demand increased, she approached her brother about teaming up to open a bigger business.

Alli Webb and her brother Michael Landau are co-founders of Drybar and opened the first salon in Brentwood, a suburb of Los Angeles, California (Click Image To Enlarge)

Her brother, Michael Landau, who was previously a marketing executive for Yahoo and other firms says.

"When she came to me with this idea, I thought she was crazy.  I didn't understand why a woman would need a blowout and why she just couldn't do her hair herself."

Webb convinced him of the potential, and they opened a shop in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles.

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Storefront view of the Drybar salon in Brentwood, Los Angeles, CA (Click Image To Enlarge)

Interior of the Drybar salon located in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California (Click Image To Enlarge)

The first salon was funded by Webb, Landau and architect Josh Heitler, who was given a small stake in exchange for his investment and his design help.

Landau, 40, now Drybar CEO says.

"We were hoping to do 20 to 30 blowouts a day  And the thing took off beyond our imaginations."

Drybar salon founder Allie Webb waves fro the inside of her New York salon in midtown Manhattan, New York City (Click Image To Enlarge)

Landau and Webb rapidly capitalized on the potential, opening four more stores, then raising $2.5 million from early investors in November 2010 to keep the growth going.

Landau says.

"For us, it's been about mobilizing quickly when you realize you have lightning in a bottle." 

Drybar took advantage of two trends: the popularity of smooth-looking hair, rather than curly or frizzy locks, and the rising number of women who want a quick salon service rather than an extended beauty parlor visit.

Drybar salon seats and sinks for shampooing clients at the Brentwood, Los Angeles, California salon (Click Image To Enlarge)

Research group Mintel said in a June report on the salon industry.

"Express salons such as 'blowout bars' are poised to be a trend with ample opportunity for growth, post-recession." 

During the downturn, consumers were likely to cut back on salon services, says Mintel, but with the economy improving, "the salon industry seems to have a promising future."

Drybar salon sign prominently displays its services and prices through the salon window (Click Image To Enlarge)

As blowout demand increases, competition has heated up.

Rivals such as Blo Blow Dry Bar are expanding, while established full-service salons now aggressively promote their own blowout services.

Other entrepreneurs have capitalized on the trend.

In October 2010, Rosemary Camposano opened the first of her three Halo Blow Dry Bars in California. She says she'll have two more locations by the end of 2012 and hopes to have as many as 13 by the end of 2013.

Drybar salon interior decor includes lots of white and yellow, including these blow dryer lights (Click Image To Enlarge)

Camposano says.

"We'll be competing with (Drybar) neck and neck before you know it." 

For its part, the Drybar management team has been quick to build and promote its brand.

Landau says.

"We realized that we needed to move fast, because there are low barriers to entry."

To get the capital for expansion, he and Webb sold equity in the company and offered franchise rights. They now own just under 50% of the company, but are still the largest shareholders. They continue to actively manage the business and hold two of the five board seats.

They also brought on others to help with management and expansion. Last year, they hired operations executive Karen Kelley as president and chief operating officer. Kelley was a senior vice president of operations and people at frozen yogurt chain Pinkberry.

Under her bio on TheDryBar.com website, Karen Kelley says.

"Karen has spent the last 20 years helping companies like Boston Market, Jamba Juice, and most recently, Pinkberry, with major national roll-outs.  We could not be more excited (and relieved) to have Karen on the team."

Goal: A place to have fun

Even before they had the help of high-level executives and millions in private-equity money, Webb and Landau had figured out a successful salon formula. They not only offered quick, affordable blowouts, but did so in a hip, female-friendly setting that's replicated at each of its locations.

Chick flicks such as Bridesmaids play on closed-captioned flat-screen TVs. Glasses of Champagne and light snacks are complimentary. Clients pick their preferred hair styles from a menu that features photos of fun, drink-themed looks. The Mai Tai, for instance, is "messy and beachy," while Southern Comfort is "big hair with volume."

Patrons sit next to each other at a long bar, similar to a saloon setting.

Webb says.

"We want women to come in and have fun.  What's more fun than going to your local bar?"

Drybar also offers consistency on pricing. While many salons base a blowout fee on a client's hair length, texture or thickness, Drybar charges a flat price at each salon. All current locations charge $35 except in Manhattan, where rent is higher. There, the price is $40.

The skills of the Drybar stylists, as well as the company's focus on customer service, keep patrons coming back, Landau says.

After two-and-a-half years in business, he says he's also now enlightened on another reason that clients return: They not only receive freshly coiffed locks, they also get a boost of self-assurance.

He says.

"A blowout is much more than just the hair.  It changes their attitude and confidence, and I see that time and time again."

COMMENTARY:    I love the Drybar unique blowout business concept very much, and now that Alli Webb and Michael Webb have developed a sustainable business model that can be replicated in selected markets, I see why they can't quicckly attain the $20 million in revenue goal for 2012 and 40 locations by the end of 2013.  

Althought Drybar will be faced with a lot of competition from other blowout salon copycats, I believe that being first in the blowout category, strong brand, loyal customers (many who are celebrities) and management team gives them an advantage as they expand nationally.  

I like the fact that they are franchising Drybar, instead of trying to open and manage the locations themselves.  That would take a lot more capital, and it's much better to expand through franchising in the salon business that to go it alone. 

Drybar is not just a blowout salon, but a social gathering hole for its clients, much in the same manner as Starbucks has done in premium coffee, and Pink Berry has done for premium frozen yogurt shops.  It also has a lot of pull and snobbish appeal with celebrities in New York, L.A. and Las Vegas.  Drybar doesn't have to do a lot of advertising, or run specials to get customers.  It's customers are the best form of advertising for this company, and the word about Drybar is spread virally.  

The management of Drybar are very much into social media.  They have a Drybar blog, and pages on Facebook, Twitter, tumblr and dozens of videos on YouTube.  

A job well done to Alli and Michael.

Courtesy of an article date August 13, 2012 appearing in USA Today 

HARRODS OFFERS HIGH-FASHION ABAYAS FOR MUSLIM WOMEN THAT RIVAL GUCCI SHOES AND HERMES SCARFS AND HANDBAGS

 

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates.  Fashion designer Hind Beljafla makes abayas to match the Gucci shoes and Hermes handbags of high-spending women in the Gulf.

 

Incorporating local tradition with influences from high-end fashion, Hind Beljafla and her sister Reem run successful fashion label Das. Based around the Abaya, Hind has continued to be avant-garde in everything from material application to her pursuit of inspirational locations around the world. While the influence from abroad is something they embrace, the Abaya in itself is a specialty piece looking to incorporate the sensibilities of high-fashion. 

Now these women can buy her elegant versions of the black Islamic robes, which obscure the contours of a woman’s body, when they head to London this summer to escape the Arabian Peninsula’s sweltering heat. Harrods started selling abayas by Beljafla’s DAS Collection in June, a month after Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund bought the landmark store.

Muslim women are like any women around the world: They love fashion and love shopping, Beljafla, 24, said in her store here.

Fashion houses in Milan and Paris are waking up to the commercial potential for Muslim women’s clothing that respects religious values and sets new standards for style.

Gas exporter Qatar ranks among the world’s wealthiest nations, with a gross domestic product per capita of $121,000, while Saudi Arabia sits on a fifth of the planet’s oil reserves.

Last year, John Galliano was among 21 designers who participated in a Paris show at Hotel George V, owned by Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal. The made-to-measure abayas displayed there were worth up to $10,000.

Saks Fifth Avenue, which hosted the event, then put designer abayas on sale for as much as $12,000 at its stores in the Saudi cities of Riyadh and Jeddah. The abayas are displayed alongside designer evening gowns on the women-only floor of a shopping mall in Riyadh’s glass skyscraper, the Kingdom Center, owned by Alwaleed.

Saudi Arabia, which follows a strict interpretation of Islam, forbids mixing in public between unrelated men and women.

Clients have asked DAS to make abayas to match the color of their designer bags and high heels by brands such as Christian Dior, Hermes, Channel, and Gucci, Beljafla said.

Four years ago, Christian Dior SA had one store in the Middle East, in Dubai. It has since opened 10 in the region, in locations including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, and Kuwait.

 

Paris-based Jean-Claude Jitrois has made abayas for several Saudi princesses as well as a collection of 40 for sale at Saks Fifth Avenue.

He said. 

"There is no contradiction between the modernity of European fashion and modernity of Middle Eastern women.  Every culture has its traditions, and you have to respect this while giving it a twist."

Abayas have proved popular at Harrods in London, where summertime visitors from the Gulf throng the streets of the upscale Knightsbridge district.

COMMENTARY:  

Those abayas are so beautiful and ornate.  They look almost royal.  

There are 600 million muslim females, and they definitely have a passion for designer jewelery, accessories and handbags.  Especially handbags.  I can clearly understand why so many designers are flocking to target and design abayas for them.   It's a no-brainer.   I wonder why this has taken so long. 

There are some very extraordinary abayas like the above.  Abayas spelled backwards is SayAba.  Could be a neat name for an Abayas designer line.  

Courtesy of an article dated July 14, 2010 appearing in The Boston Globe    

 

LADY GAGA GOES BALD FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF HER SONG 'HAIR', PLUS HER MOST MEMORABLE HAIRSTYLES

Lady Gaga went bald for an ironic performance of her song 'Hair' on the UK's 'Paul O'Grady Show.'

When it comes to hairstyles, Gaga has done every do from her now-iconic bow-tie and bangs, to soda-can hair rollers, to a wig molded into the shape of a telephone -- but Mother Monster hung up her wig (literally, it's sitting on a mannequin head atop her piano, right in front of her) for her performance of 'Hair' on the 'Paul O'Grady Show.'

Lady Gaga's Most Memorable Hairstyles

Lady Gaga may be one of pop music's top style stars, but her ever-changing image would be nothing without those tresses -- hair loss be damned! The once brunette Gaga (real name Stefani Germanotta) morphed into the powerful, peroxide-blond superstar we know today, who always keeps us guessing what her 'do will do next.

In honor of the release of her 'Born This Way' single 'Hair,' we've compiled a list of Gaga's most unforgettable hairstyles, from wild stage wigs to her most iconic cuts.

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Rather than wear a wig on her head, Gaga opted to wear it as her outfit. Check out the singer's hairy teal dress and cue-balled head in the video of the performance below!

It looks like Gaga slipped on a wig cap for the show, but maybe she really did shave off her locks ... What do you think?

Watch a bald Lady Gaga performing 'Hair' on the 'Paul O'Grady Show.'

 

COMMENTARY:   I love you Lady Gaga!!   I love you bald headed too. 

INFOGRAPHIC: 108 HAIRCUT STYLES OF SOME OF THE BEST MUSIC ARTISTS IN HISTORY

But, wait--no Bieber?!

What's pop music without crazy haircuts? Nothing, that's what -- and as iconic as the great pop stars are, you might be surprised at how iconic their hair is, all by itself.

Just check this new poster from Pop Chart Lab, which reproduces the haircuts of 108 inimitable pop stars. The truly uncanny thing is how many you can probably recognize without even looking at the name:

Weird, right? Of course, the poster has many, many omissions -- I mean seriously, no Bieber? C'MON. But if you tweet new suggestions to @popchartlab and they use it in the next version of the poster, they'll give you a $10 giftcard.

Buy the poster for $20 sy Pop Chart Lab.

COMMENTARY:  That's a pop culture poster.  I really dig that stuff.

Courtesy of Fast Company Design

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