November 13, 2014
Brows, Beauty, & Business with BBR11 Thought Leader – Chris Kolodziejski of Chella Brow Bar
November 13, 2014
Brows, Beauty, & Business with BBR11 Thought Leader – Chris Kolodziejski of Chella Brow Bar
According to the NPD, “2014 sales of eyebrow products have increased by double digits over the past 3 years, and now represent $122 million, and 11 percent of total U.S. prestige eye makeup sales.”
That’s why we were so excited about our BBR11 Thought Leader, Chris Kolodziejski, the CEO of Chella Brow Bar whose roundtable topic was “Capitalizing on the Brow Trend – 28% Growth in 2013 vs. 3% for Prestige Beauty.”
Chris Kolodziejski is the founder of Chella Skin Care, a line of efficacious Anti-Aging Skin Care Products and also the Chella Brow Bar, a concept which focuses on Brow Make-Overs and using the Chella Brow & Eye Collection products to complete fantastic Brow Make-Overs for its customers. His approach to building Chella is to empower his Retailers with proven sell through concepts that focus not on opening orders, but rather the drivers that ensure sell through so there are consistent re-orders.
Those drivers include: “The Keys to Retail Success,” The Seven Cardinal Rules of selling” and finally using the first two concepts to emphasize events and demonstrations with the goal of making each customer more beautiful by providing beauty services. This effort creates very positive branding and ensures fantastic product sell through to the customer. This gives Chella a competitive advantage through the retail channels it markets to and has positioned the Company and its products to clearly target the specified demographic.
Please share 3 key points from your BBR11 Roundtable presentation on “Capitalizing on the Brow Trend – 28% Growth in 2013 vs. 3% for Prestige Beauty.”
- There are four key drivers that support the world of prestige cosmetics and sales. Know and learn those four drivers and you will become a master of your own destiny and take market share from your competitors. The business is not given to anyone… it’s earned.
- The Seven Cardinal Rules of Selling! How to make anyone a great salesperson.
- Events and demonstrations are the keys to retail sell-through. Discover how these simple concepts will become reliable sources for growing topline sales.
Chris Kolodziejski (CEO, Chella Brow Bar) at his BBR11 roundtable: “Capitalizing on the Brow Trend – 28% Growth in 2013 vs. 3% for Prestige Beauty”
Please tell us about your career path/progression. How did you get started?
I came into the industry as a complete outsider. Prior to founding Chella, I had played professional football for the Pittsburgh Steelers, owned a Real Estate Construction and Development Company in Malibu, had a financial consulting company, and finally became an investment banker and advisor to help obtain over $600,000,000 funded into various businesses.
Why the beauty industry?
When I decided to leave the investment banking world, I wanted a business with built-in demand that I knew customers wanted and needed. I did not want to create demand; rather I wanted to just tap into a proven market. My research led me to the anti-aging and cosmetics market. From there I fell in love with the reality that ingredients & formulations could have a profound clinically proven anti-aging effect on Skin Care and Cosmetics. That research and discovery led me to found Chella in 2003 and launch with a small line of just 5 anti-aging skin care products. Today, we have grown our line of skin care and cosmetics into over 75 different SKUs.
Who and what are your biggest career influences?
There are two. Firstly, far and away the biggest single influence in the success of our company today was meeting John Lesniak. John is an icon in the Prestige Beauty world having worked at Max Factor as VP of Sales and also part of the original team as VP of Field Operations for Lancôme. His lessons and mentorship transcends the industry. He is a fountain of knowledge and dear friend, advisor and mentor.
Second, would be my time spent in football, since in that it mirrors life and business in so many insightful ways. To start, nothing ever goes as planned in business and in life, just like in football. In football, the game moves very fast and you get knocked down a lot. The game teaches you that in order to be successful, you have to get back up and you have to rely on and trust your teammates. These same lessons all hold true in business. Build a great team, trust and empower them, acknowledge their efforts and help them grow. Be willing to teach and coach, but also be present to listen and learn.
What do beauty professionals need to do to continue to connect with today’s beauty consumer?
Listen carefully and deliver what the customer wants and expects. In doing so, try to exceed their expectations.
What kinds of qualities do you look for in an employee when hiring a candidate to join your team?
The first thing I look for is passion. I am looking for people who have a desire to grow both professionally and personally. I am looking for people who are willing to own their mistakes and use them as lessons for growth, and for people who want to belong to a team and work hard to be the best person that they can be.
Any other advice/words of wisdom?
Change and growth as a person or in business rarely occurs when everything is going your way… it’s when things breakdown or fail that you are forced to really examine your beliefs and understand why things failed. In my experience, that is when I have learned the most. Own the mistake, learn from it and then move on realizing that if you stay positive and focused on what works, then that energy, passion and desire will help your reach your next goals.
Chris Kolodziejski has a BS in Finance from University of Wyoming, played professional football for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and his 30-year career in business includes focusing on executing very profitable transactions including real estate development, investment banking and corporate finance and finally, cosmetics. For more details about Chella, click here