Beauty Store Business

SEP 2016

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60 September 2016 | beautystorebusiness.com EUREKA Duffy is a graduate of Britain's esteemed Oxford University and his professional background included stints in advertis- ing at Saatchi & Saatchi in New Zealand from 2000 to 2004 then at an innovation company called Fahrenheit 212 in New York City from 2004 to 2006. "Fahrenheit 212 was really fun. It was based in New York and we spent our time coming up with new product ideas for big companies," says Duffy. And it was during that time—as a result of the face-cream incident—that he and co-founder Rhodri Ferrier implemented a plan to fill the mar- ket void for men's skincare products. In 2006 the pair moved from New York back to the United Kingdom and co-founded Bulldog Skincare for Men, which launched nationwide in 2007. The line was met with great success and continues to harbor a loyal following from men worldwide. But what about a line for women? "We were in one of the leading Sunday newspapers that did a story on 'What to Steal From Your Fella' and our Original Face Scrub was the ulti- mate face scrub [named]. We do get ladies writing into our website that say they're using our products and that they love them," adds Duffy, though he and Ferrier stand strong in their conviction to keep the line—and the company—forever focused on men's skin care. He adds, "We set out in 2006 to be purpose-built for men and to create the most exciting skincare brand for men in the world using natural ingredients. That mission stays the same." And its mission has proven successful: The line started with six original products and now boasts more than 30 products that include those targeted toward sensitive skin, oily skin and aging skin. Bulldog's products bear the Leaping Bunny mark by Cruelty-Free International, certifying them as being "cruelty-free" under the Humane Cosmetics Standard. A NEW GROOMING STANDARD One of the long-standing misconcep- tions about men's skin care has been that shaving and showering should be enough and that anything over and above that is seen as bordering on being a metrosexual, overly fussy or just plain indulgent. Duffy has found that men are increasingly accepting of-and engaging in-skincare regimens as a normal part of their daily routines. He notes, "I think people are more engaged with the idea of taking care of their skin and it doesn't mean that they're vain or that they're too much of a dandy, it's just an everyday thing that regular people are doing much more of and it's as much a part of one's daily routine as brushing your teeth or having a shower." And to Duffy, it all started with beards. He explains that, 10 years ago, men generally shaved every day and that with the trend towards facial hair, it's become a lot more socially and profes- sionally acceptable to sport a beard and even stubble. "Facial hair for men will be in and out of fashion but I think just from [the per- spective of an] acceptable dress code in the office, you don't have to wear a suit anymore and having two or three days of stubble is no longer seen as a bad thing for men. Men haven't stopped shaving, they're just shaving far less frequently and I think that the follow-up from that is that skin care is [a natural byproduct]." He goes on to explain that the factors driving the huge growth of this niche include mens' changing attitudes about grooming and skincare and the ever-growing pres- ence of the younger generation. "It's a very visual generation now, with selfies and Instagram. People who are growing up surrounded by social media are much more engaged with taking care of their appearance and their skin." THE CHALLENGES OF SUCCESS Duffy is quick to point out that the road to that success was not always smooth. The company was a startup and didn't have the benefits that a mega-corporation would have in terms of marketing dollars or exist- ing retailer relationships. In the beginning, it was challenging to obtain financing and formulating the line was not simple—the caveat that it had to use natural ingredi- ents and still be effective was a hurdle. Duffy and Ferrier found frustration with the knowledge that mega-players in the industry marketed household-name lines of women's skin care and seem- ingly brushed off the men's market by releasing unisex or "labeled" products for men with very little formulaic dif- ferentiation. "If you look at conventional brands' ingredients, you'd see that they are basically the same product and the same formula. We set out to do things in a fundamentally different way." He credits the line's success with the fact that it's purpose-built specifically for men and that the use of effective, natural ingredients in products that per- form effectively quite simply attracts repeat customers all over the world. Simon Duffy, co-founder of London-based Bulldog Skincare for Men BULLDOG SKINCARE FOR MEN The entire line is made with natural ingredients and are scented with eight essential oils. There are no chemicals or irritants such as sodium laurel sulfate which, according to Duffy, "you find in toilet bleach!" and the line is also free of lanolin and beeswax. It's vegan/vegetarian-friendly and bears the Leaping Bunny certification for being cruelty-free. THE TOP 5 SELLERS IN THE U.S.A. 1. Original Moisturizer: It's packed with eight essential oils, green tea, green algae, konjac mannan and vitamin E to moisturize the skin. It absorbs quickly and won't leave a residue on your face or hands. Use morning and night by applying evenly over the face and neck after cleansing. Suggested retail price: $13.99 2. Original Shave Gel: It goes on clear for precision shaving and was formulated to deliver an incredibly smooth result. It's packed with eight essential oils, aloe vera, jojoba and konjac manna. Just wet your face with warm water, massage into your stubble and shave smooth. SRP: $9.99 3. Original Face Wash: It's formulated with eight essential and green tea to gently cleanse the face. Lather up on wet skin then rinse. SRP: $9.99 4. Original Face Scrub: It gently exfoliates the skin to remove dead and dried skin and promote cell renewal. It contains eight essential oils, oat kernel, shea butter and olive seed to gently exfoliate and cleanse the skin. Lather up on wet skin then rinse clean once or twice a week. SRP: $9.99 5. Original Aftershave Balm: It's packed with eight essential oils, aloe vera, chamomile cucumber and green tea extract to help calm and moisturize the skin after shaving. Apply to the face after shaving. SRP: $10.99 1 2 3 4 5

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