BBR7 Thought Leader Q&A: Adrienne Kramer – CEO & President of ProBeauty Partners

With the rising popularity of flash sales sites like Gilt Group and Groupon, companies in the beauty industry need to learn how to maximize it as the next retail channel.

Lucky for us, we were fortunate enough to have Adrienne Kramer, CEO/President of Pro Beauty Partners as one of our inspiring Thought Leaders during our recent Beauty Biz Roundtable BBR7.

ProBeauty Partners is a national direct-to-salon/spa sales force that provides top shelf products, exceptional education, unparalleled service and business planning to help salons and spas best utilize opportunities presented by manufacturers. Adrienne’s knowledge of distribution across various classes of trade led her to conclude there was a distinct area of opportunity for ‘boutique’ product lines in the Professional Beauty Industry to reach top-tier salons and spas on a direct basis. That is what ProBeauty Partners is all about.

• Flash sales are used to generate awareness and revenue of new products, existing lines, remaindered items and discontinued ones. 

• For users of flash sales, 73% are open to trying new Beauty brands,  70% of buyers are buying a brand for the first time , 89% are buying more expensive brands than they typically buy in stores , nearly 2/3 have purchased the brand again and, 77% have told a friend about the new brand

• A single sale of 1 -2 days can generate $15,000 to $300,000. 

2. Please tell us about your career path/progression. The road to… where you are now? How did you get started? 

I started my career as a chemical engineer working for Colgate-Palmolive.  It was the least “beauty” area to the start of a career in the beauty industry.  To work in the pilot plant, you dressed in fire retardant work clothes, steel-toed shoes and a hard hat and safety glasses.  But I did learn what every ingredient did, how it worked and what are the claims you can make about them.  So it gave me the foundation to be able to generate some of the best claims possible for my clients. 

3. Who is today’s beauty consumer? How are they changing? 

Today’s consumer continues to change at lightning speed.  The influencers come and go just as quickly and keeping up with them is critical to staying at the forefront of the category.  Because of all of the information that a consumer gets, she is now much more critical of her choices and whether the item delivers against the promise.  If not, the US consumer is very happy to return a product without any hesitation.  With so many choices and outlets from which to choose – all within her price budget, she has the ability to be extra picky. 

4. What kinds of qualities do you look for in an employee/when hiring a candidate/someone to join your team? 

The first thing I look for is passion.  Does this person really want the position?  The second thing I look for is how clever he or she is.  Most of the people we meet are already smart.  It’s a matter of how they make the most of his/her intellect.  And in today’s economy, how frugal can the person be?  Can he or she really split a dime and get two quarters?  Two nickels is no longer enough. 

5. Any other advice/words of wisdom? 

Never leave the house without mascara, lip and a couple of swipes of blush. 

For more details on ProBeauty Partners and their services, visit: http://probeautypartners.com/

Click here to view photos of  Adrienne and other Thought Leaders from BBR7

Hosted by Mazur Group, the Beauty Biz Roundtable (BBR) series brings together 100 Mid to Senior Level Beauty Executives in a roundtable format that fosters networking and idea sharing. This is NOT a lecture or panel discussion. BBR attendees have the opportunity to sit down in small group settings with industry peers. Past BBR attendees and Thought Leaders have come from every major beauty company here in the West including Stila, Dermalogica, John Paul Mitchell Systems, Neutrogena, Urban Decay, CND,  P&G, Josie Maran, Intelligent Beauty, Sexy Hair Concepts, boscia, OPI, Smashbox, beautylish.com, and more!

Stay tuned for BBR8 scheduled for Fall 2012!