For Frédéric Fekkai, curiosity has been the key to success — curiosity and a passion for hair.
At WWD’s Global Fashion & Beauty Summit, Fekkai joined Beauty Inc editor in chief Jenny B. Fine to discuss his career, from launching his brand to selling it to buying it back and more. While his name is synonymous with hair, Fekkai didn’t actually start out in the industry.
“I didn’t know anything about hair or beauty when I grew up,” he said. “I was studying law. I was doing some modeling on the side to earn some money, and met an amazing talent who was an incredible makeup artist and hair stylist on a shoot. She invited me to work with her, and I did it as like an internship. I liked it very much, and I think the job liked me too.”
Related Articles
From there, Fekkai’s path in the industry was set and he went on to open his first salon in New York City, which was like a roadmap for eventually starting a brand.
“The salon was a lab,” Fekkai said. “That’s where you hear their needs, and it’s also where you experience how to use product and educate them, as well as being educated ourselves. It was a great exchange.”
This experience allowed Fekkai to identify areas of opportunity in the category.
“For everyone who is an entrepreneur, the key is not to do the 101 typical thing. It’s about finding the out-of-the-box idea that resonates,” he said. “When I entered the business of hair care, [it] was a commodity. The products were owned by the big five big groups. I wanted to deliver a different experience to the customer, and created the first luxury hair care brand based on skinification, based on the science and technology that skin care had.”
While Fekkai sold his brand, his passion and curiosity for the category as an entrepreneur ultimately drove him to buy it back in 2018.
“When the occasion came back to buy the brand, I said, ‘My god, this is a great opportunity,’ because I didn’t finish my chapter when I when sold it,” said Fekkai. “The science, the access of ingredients is greater today because of AI, because of all this, I said, ‘My god, this is the moment to go and really be relevant again with innovation.’”
Fekkai went on to point out key areas of innovation that have been driving the prestige hair care category, such as bonding treatments, peptides, scalp treatments and hair loss solutions. He emphasized that interest in these sorts of multistep regiments became especially popular during the pandemic and have continued to be mainstays in consumers’ routines.
“It has done an incredible effect on brands to actually innovate and create new product,” Fekkai said.
He also emphasized the importance of luxury and sensorial experiences, something he has prioritized in his fragrance brand Bastide.
Aside from innovation and quality products, there are other ways Fekkai has found that are crucial to win the market, including an authentic digital strategy and global expansion driven by market analysis.
“You need to really study every region. If you go in the Middle East, for instance, it’s maybe partnering with somebody who has [studied] the market, who knows the market and that you can focus not only your marketing but your product innovation, your assortment of product for the clientele in that region,” he said. “You need almost a new product in every region.”
While Fekkai has these strategies in place, his curiosity has always been his guiding light.
“I love the idea of of creating. I love the idea of being innovative. I love the idea of discovering,” he said. “I’m a curious guy, so I love that curiosity has helped me all along the journey.”
Fekkai closed his conversation by providing the audience with a few more pieces of wisdom.
“First is to have a great idea and to be authentic, to be genuine, but also to surround yourself with incredible talent that are aligned with your vision,” he said. “The third one, which is the most difficult one, is to be financed very well, and that means finding the right financial partner that is aligned for your journey, if it’s long term or short term.”