PARIS — Frédéric Fekkai is starting to globetrot, using France as the launchpad for his namesake clean salon hair care brand.
“I’m very excited because — obviously — I’m French,” he said.
The star stylist and beauty entrepreneur had not ever sold his Fekkai products there before. But here’s how it came about: He was talking to a friend in France, and that pal said to him: “‘We love your brand — so why can’t we have your brand here?’” Fekkai recounted. “And I said: ‘Oh, that’s a good question.’”
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He laughed while telling the tale.
Then Fekkai met with Bleu Libellule, a French bricks-and-mortar chain and e-shop that sells professional hair and beauty supplies to pros, as well as to consumers. It began stocking Fekkai products in early May. The exclusive with the 200-plus-door chain, which also has a small presence in the Benelux region and Italy, will last for one year.
“I think they’re expanding in Europe,” Fekkai added. “They’ve been very successful.”
He noted Bleu Libellule’s retail model — with separate prices for pros and consumers for each product — doesn’t exist in the U.S.
At the time of the interview, the executive was poised to start his personal tour de France, making stops in Paris, Metz, Marseille, Montpellier, Lyon and Strasbourg to address influencers and professional stylists.
“I’m going there because I want to really make sure that I get the brand awareness,” he said.
Fekkai products have also swooped into the travel-retail channel, where they are now sold at the likes of Dufry, Lagardère Travel Retail and DFS.
“Travel retail is doing quite well,” the executive said.
Then, about two months ago, the brand launched in Southeast Asia, with Sephora. Up next are openings in Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Central Europe, including Hungary. Altogether, Fekkai is expected to open in 300 doors in Europe.
Today in the U.S., it is carried in all of Ulta Beauty’s locations and some Bloomingdale’s doors, tallying some 1,300 locations there altogether.
Fekkai bought back his namesake company in early 2019, after partnering with Cornell Capital to acquire Fekkai Brands, the joint venture created by Designer Parfums and Luxe Brands, which bought the business in 2015.
At the time, Fekkai Brands consisted of the Fekkai brand sold in mass-market retailers and The One by Frédéric Fekkai sold at Ulta Beauty, as well as six salons in North America. It was estimated by market sources to have a wholesale volume of about $35 million.
“I took the opportunity to make what is relevant to me, personally, and also to the industry,” Fekkai said of his namesake brand. “So I wanted to make sure that the products and packaging were going to be sustainable, and formulas clean.
“Today, it’s a given — you have to do that,” he said, adding at the outset Fekkai was practically the only brand with a green bent. “We wanted to make sure that it was also a professional brand. It’s not just consumer goods.”