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Issue link: http://beautystorebusiness.epubxp.com/i/188385
Beauty Store Business: Please tell us about your background and how you got started in the beauty industry. RASGON: When I was finishing business school, somebody who had a company in the cosmetics industry approached me because they wanted to sell their products to Japan; they were having a lot of success with selling products to Japanese tourists in Hawaii. I lived in Japan between high school and college and they asked if I would help them to export their products into Japan. I decided to give it a shot. I grabbed some samples and saw customer inquiries on the owner's desk from all over the world. I said, "Why just Japan; why not the entire world?" The owner said he didn't have time to answer the letters. So I mailed out 40 or 50 proposals the old-fashioned way— since the Internet was not an option at the time. Six weeks later, I got an order back in the mail, handwritten on a piece of paper. I formed a company and got more samples and started exporting this company's products all over the world. We broke into the Japanese market through a [convenience-store] chain called Lawson, which [is similar to] 7-Eleven. We were doing a ton of nail polish and lipstick; I built it up and had a partner in that business. Later, I sold it and started another company selling both domestically and internationally. That year we were cited as being one of the fastest-growing companies in California in Inc. magazine after being in business for only a year. There was a big thirst for Americanmade products in Japan in those days; there still is, but particularly then—very few companies were exporting color cosmetics into Japan because the standards were so high. But we did it and serviced the customers and built a really nice business; it was an exciting time. This was in 1987. Where did you go from there? The company I initially worked with asked me to do product development, merchandising and sales for them. They gave me the title of president, even though I was really a consultant. I flew all over the world and we started to build quite a business. The company sold its own nail enamel, so that was the main part of the business. I was working with every major retail chain, [including] Rite Aid, CVS and Eckerd. We were one of the major suppliers of nail enamel to Walgreens. I started to export all over the world—to Asia, South America, Canada, the Caribbean—and we were one of the first to move into the Middle East before the market was what it is today. I grew that business to a relatively large size. Then I had an opportunity in 1999 to buy a brand called Nina Ultra Pro, a nailenamel brand that's currently in Sally Beauty Supply. And over the years I started to buy underdeveloped brands with potential and expand them. Today, we do a lot of export, a lot of domestic business. We are a major supplier of private label for the larger retailers in every category—specialty stores, chain drugstores, high-end prestige brands and large professional suppliers. We do everything in color cosmetics with a focus on complete in-line programs and promotional programs. We also design and supply merchandising systems to maximize in-store presence, 40 November 2013 | beautystorebusiness.com Maurice Rasgon and Cosmetic Design Group staff members are pictured in the company's gorgeous Culver City, California, office. ease of shopping and sales efficiencies for the retailer. We're in every segment of the market from mass to prestige and everything in between. the opportunity came up to do export in the cosmetics industry, I started doing both. The cosmetics industry took off, and the fashion line didn't! How did your background prepare you for what youÕre doing now? How has your company grown in the past few years? I was an English literature major in college, and I think my college education—more so than when I got my MBA—prepared me by giving me a well-rounded, liberalarts education. I learned to look at things from all sides, to think differently, to see challenges as opportunities, to try to find creative ways to solve problems, to look at the world in a different way in terms of possibilities—incorporating literature and art into the products we developed, design-wise and creativity-wise. My education included science and art and history, and a lot of the promotions I came up with had artistic or musical themes, which were incorporated into the variety of shades and trends that were happening. I had a great background to draw on with my education. At what point did you become attracted to the beauty industry? When I started business school, I started a clothing company; a friend of mine was a fashion designer and she wanted to start her own line. So I actually went into business the first day I started business school. Business school was more theoretical; there weren't any entrepreneur programs back then. But I was interested in fashion and trends, and when We pride ourselves as having the broadest, highest-performing network of suppliers in the world. We purchase from Italy, Germany, France and Poland as well as China and Taiwan. When a customer needs the impossible to be done, we usually find a way to make it happen. The world is our R&D; resource so we are not limited to what any one factory can produce at any given moment. This is crucial to staying on-trend for our customers. We also invest significantly in inventory for our customers to ensure high in-stock levels. We've been vendor of the year twice at Sally Beauty. The first was in 2005 when we were a three-person company doing a lot of business; it was pretty impressive, and we were really honored and thrilled. The recognition was so appreciated. Right now I've got 13 employees, and we're growing all the time. How do you attract a top-notch staff? I want to spend some time talking about my staff [members] because they do a remarkable job. They all work individually; I don't micromanage anybody. They're empowered to be in charge of their own business. They're hard-working and aggressive. Most of my staff [members are] 30-years-old and under and they are passionate about cosmetics. I hire all types of people with All images courtesy of Cosmetic Design Group/Stýli-Style Though Rasgon usually remains tightlipped about his business to respect the confidentiality of his customers, this is his first magazine interview in more than 25 years in the beauty biz. Recently, he talked with Beauty Store Business about his company's meteoric rise, top industry trends and some of the secrets to his considerable success.