Beauty Store Business

JUL 2016

For beauty business news, beauty store owners turn to Beauty Store Business. Beauty business trends, beauty business profiles and more!

Issue link: http://beautystorebusiness.epubxp.com/i/687990

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 11 of 115

10 July 2016 | beautystorebusiness.com Images courtesy of Helen of Troy Mininberg succeeded former longtime Helen of Troy CEO and president Gerald J. "Jerry" Rubin. Bailey joined Helen of Troy just last year, in March 2015, in the newly created president of global beauty position, which oversees a combination of categories within the company's Beauty division, including internationally. Further changes have occurred within the com- pany's leadership; and, yet, some of its most exciting news involves the company's focus on global expansion, and its passion- ate approach to innovation and meeting consumer needs. With the bevy of recent developments occurring within this beauty industry power- house, Beauty Store Business was thrilled to chat with Helen of Troy's Bailey, along with vice president of marketing Terri Taricco-Cropp and vice president of sales Scott Hagstrom about the company's new- est developments and continued growth. BEAUTY STORE BUSINESS: Leah, please share with our readers the responsibilities of your position. Also, what has been your experience in this new position thus far? LEAH BAILEY: My position was created by combining the professional- appliance group, the retail-appliance group, brushes and accessories, and our personal-care products under one leader for the United States, as well as internationally. I am responsible for all of the strategic direction, development, marketing, sales and financial outcome of this newly created Beauty division of Helen of Troy. I report to Julien Mininberg, as the global president of one of the four divisions in the company. The oth- ers being: Health & Home, Housewares and Nutritional Supplements. I have very much enjoyed and been challenged by my experience so far. The team that I am a part of, reporting to Julien, as well as the team I manage, are talented, driven and cooperative. We are working together to build an even more amazing company. The history of the stock over the last two years is a great indication of this success. You joined Helen of Troy with quite a bit of experience in the beauty industry. Please share your background with our readers. Bailey: Prior to joining Helen of Troy, I spent 12 years at Paris Presents, first as COO and then as CEO. Paris Presents revolutionized the mass cosmetics accessory market with the launch of first EcoTools cosmetic brushes and then Real Techniques cosmetic brushes. I also spent more than 10 years at Alberto- Culver with exposure to both the retail and professional haircare businesses. My early background is marketing, then moving to general management. I earned my MBA from Harvard Business School. What are some things that our readers might find interesting about Leah Bailey? Bailey: I have two beautiful daughters— aka hair experts! Samantha, who is 19 and at the University of Michigan, and Ally, who is 17 and a junior at New Trier High School, north of Chicago. Fortu- nately, they both have great, long hair; so they keep me very current; and they love Hot Tools! They also have taught me a lot about social media! What did you tackle first / early on in your new position as president of global beauty? Bailey: My position was newly cre- ated as already discussed; so my first challenge was taking the considerable resources of all three of the groups we combined—professional, retail and personal care—and getting everyone working together. The teams responded amazingly well, and I am thrilled at the outcome, which shows that combining the resources into one Beauty division makes us even stronger and better. Looking back on your first year as president of global beauty for Helen of Troy, what most excites you? Bailey: Without a doubt, it is our potential. As a marketer, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to build Hot Tools. It is an amazing brand with a long, well- deserved and strong reputation. I look forward to working with our team to make it the No. 1 professional styling brand in the world! What are some of the most significant changes that have taken place within your first year as president of global beauty? Bailey: The new structure we have overall and in professional—where we have one team, vice president of sales Scott Hagstrom and vice president of marketing Terri Taricco-Cropp, leading our professional business: Hot Tools and Gold 'N Hot, for the multicultural market. This allows us to focus on the overall professional market in the most-efficient and effective manner. We also have significantly built our innovation capacity. We believe in con- sumer and stylist-centric innovation. We believe that if we listen to our users, they will tell us what their needs and wants are. We develop new products based on understanding the stylist through signifi- cant investment in consumer research: What do our consumers want and need that current products don't deliver? We identify this in research and ensure that our product meets and exceeds consumer expectations. We are bring- ing innovation to a higher level, using resources and learning from our other divisions; for example: OXO and its product-design expertise, and Health and Home, with its innovation history in Braun thermometers. We are directing our manufacturers on custom designs with patentable features, so that Helen of Troy products are unique in meeting and exceeding stylists' needs. Terri, you've enjoyed a recent promotion. Please share your new title and responsibilities with our readers. TERRI TARICCO-CROPP: While my title is still vice president of market- ing, professional salon, we are now part Hot Tools are The Gold Standard Of Styling Irons ® .

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Beauty Store Business - JUL 2016