Canada's number one beauty superstore - Glamour Secrets

Canada’s number one
beauty superstore
The ultimate shopping experience, with ambient music, hundreds of exclusive
beauty brands, tester bars and full-service salon, is heading for new
international markets. Rachel Spaul discovers what Glamour Secrets has to
offer serious investors
9

Glamour Secrets has pioneered a chic,
yet affordable, beauty superstore that
sits comfortably alongside the
world’s top fashion players. With premium
beauty brands and services traditionally only
available to consumers through salons, it has
filled a market niche for leading
brands at reduced prices.
Established in Canada
as Trade Secrets in 1989,
the brand has grown to
become Canada’s
largest professional
retailer of its kind
with 66 stores, and
has expanded into the
USA and Kuwait.
“Glamour Secrets is
100 per cent
successful with no
store closures,” reports
Doug Warren, Director
of Franchising. “We have
11 multiple store owners,
which is a good
indication of our success,
and have ventured into diverse
locations including shopping
10
Advertorial, © 2006 Franchise International
‘We attract people who are
willing to spoil themselves
with better products. It’s a
high repeat business - once
a customer tries Sebastian
or Redken, they never go
back to the
supermarket for their
beauty products.
This is a very
underdeveloped
niche.’
centres, financial concourses and airports.
This is a versatile concept suited to almost as
many locations as fast food outlets.”
According to Warren, looking good is an
international industry and Glamour Secrets is
aiming to establish a presence in 25 countries
worldwide within 10 years. Among these
target markets are the UK, Ireland, France,
Italy, Eastern Europe and the US, where
Glamour Secrets is looking for Area
Franchisees, the professional beauty services
market is a US$62 billion industry (according
to Mintel), and beauty is widely recognised as
a recession-proof industry.
A CANDY STORE FOR WOMEN
Former salon owner Joe Belotti founded
Glamour Secrets having discovered that what
generated the greatest returns was not cutting
hair but selling associated beauty
products. The result is a
one-stop beauty

‘We are very choosy about
location and have stores
next to some of the best
retailers in the world. Our
store volumes are very
high and margins are very
good. The average
customer walks out with
between US$60 and US$70
worth of goods.’
superstore that combines a wide selection of
beauty products with the compliment of a
full-service salon. “We attract people who
are willing to spoil themselves with better
products,” Warren relates. “It’s a high repeat
business - once a customer tries Sebastian or
Redken, they never go back to the
supermarket for their beauty products. This
is a very underdeveloped niche. The beauty
industry is huge worldwide, but at the
moment these brands are mainly sold
through salons.”
The key to Glamour Secrets’ international
success is replicating the total shopping
experience in every market, from the stylish
shop frontage right through to the ambient
Latin music. Each store also features ‘try
before you buy’ tester bars, stock between
4,000 and 5,000 different items including
hair dryers and curling irons as well as
cosmetics, and are staffed by licensed
cosmetologists. Glamour Secrets carries
professional, high-end, internationally
known brands from companies such as
Redken, Rusk, Bedhead, OPI and Abba.
Many stores have small salons, where both
men and women can indulge in over 40
services including nails, aesthetics, skin care
and hairstyling.
An average store is between 1,000sqft and
1,200sqft situated in high-traffic, high-end
convenient locations. “We are very choosy
about location and have stores
next to some of the best
retailers in the world,”
explains Warren. “Our store
volumes are very high and
margins are very good. The
average customer walks out
with between US$60 and
US$70 worth of goods.”
MASTER FRANCHISE
OPPORTUNITY
Glamour Secrets has
identified Master Franchising
as the most suitable method for
entering new international markets, and is
looking for executive entrepreneurs or
organisations with significant business
experience. Candidates do not need specific
experience in the beauty industry, but should
have a good understanding of how retail
works in their country and will need to
establish at least one corporate store with a
view to sub-franchising.
11

INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION
“No other company is offering the same as
Glamour Secrets - a proven turnkey franchise
system that offers the opportunity to develop
your own chain of one-stop beauty stores,”
Warren remarks. “Franchisees will have the
advantage of years of proven success systems
such as site selection, design and
construction, merchandising,
customer service, accounting,
national
advertising,
ongoing
training
and
support,
and brand
recognition that grows daily. The total
investment required will vary
depending upon the market.
“Europe in particular is a good market
and we believe that like the US there is the
potential for between 600 and 800 stores.
We will train Master Franchisees for four
‘No other company is
offering the same as
Glamour Secrets - a proven
franchise system that offers
the opportunity to develop
your own chain of one-stop
beauty stores.’
12
Advertorial, © 2006 Franchise International

‘Europe in particular is
a good market and we
believe that like the US
there is the potential
for between 600 and
800 stores. We will
provide ongoing
support and products
from North America.’
weeks in Toronto on all aspects of the role,
from selling franchises, to support
compliance, store construction, inventory
and warehouse management, and will
provide ongoing support and products from
North America.”
Warren describes the Glamour Secrets
Master Franchise as a “Starbucks-type”
opportunity in that it offers the chance to get
in on the ground floor with a speciality niche
brand. He continues: “We’re offering the
opportunity for franchisees to take full
advantage of over 15 years of pioneering a
success story in the beauty product retail
industry, and turn it into a lucrative business
of their own.”
Summary
The Concept: Premium beauty product
and integrated salon superstores
Number of outlets: 66
Countries established: USA, Canada
and Kuwait
Overseas expansion plans: Worldwide
Type of licence available:
National Master and Area Development
Franchises
For more information about Glamour
Secrets call Doug Warren on
+1 905 264 2799 ext 222
email doug@glamoursecrets.com
or visit
www.glamoursecrets.com
www.tradesecrets.ca
13