The new facility will likely make the company’s pro hair business more efficient in many ways. But, Henkel is emphasizing the benefits that the new headquarters will have in terms of technology transfer, ideas sharing, and cultural cohesiveness.
“We are excited to bring together under one roof the best professional hair care brands in the industry,” Stefan Mund, head of Henkel beauty care hair professional in North America, says in a media release about the new Los Angeles, California – area headquarters. “By bringing together operations, we will further strengthen our footprint in the US as well as our overall Henkel culture, which is the catalyst for cross-company knowledge sharing and collaboration,” he adds.
Brands
The company’s professional hair care brands, which cross over into the consumer space as well, include Alterna Haircare, Kenra Professional, #mydentity, PRAVANA, Schwarzkopf Professional, Sexy Hair, Joico, Zotos Professional, and more.
Henkel is a multinational company specializing in beauty care, home care, and laundry. Based in Germany, the company got its start in 1876. And, many of the hair care brands now operating under one roof, have come to the company by acquisition.
In 1995 Henkel bought the Schwarzkopf brands; in 2014 the company bought Sexy Hair, Kenra and Alterna from the investment firm TSG Consumer Partners. And prior to the Shiseido deal, in 2017 Henkel acquired PRAVANA from Nattura.
According to the company media release, “by Q2 2018, about 200 employees from across the brands will be working in this [Culver City] location. Warehouse operations will remain in Chatsworth and Indianapolis,” cities where some of the brands were previously based.
Plans
Professional brands offer training and support to salons and hairdressers as a service—one that encourages use and sale of that brand’s products.
By bringing its pro brand together, Henkel will be able to provide more coordinated support to these pros and more nuanced educational trainings on the strengths of each product line as well as on the differences and similarities among the company’s lines.
To that end, in the second quarter of this year, Henkel will open an Academy of Hair at the new headquarters. “This is one of several opportunities that allow for increased innovation across our beauty care hair professional brands by maximize employee knowledge and best practices while maintaining what makes each unique,” Mund tells the press.
“Even though these brands maintain distinct DNA, cultures, and rich histories, our employees are vigorous in their commitment to our professional hair care and salon customers,” he says. “They share our Henkel values and visions and our focus on innovation to continue market leadership in the beauty industry.”
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Deanna Utroske, CosmeticsDesign.com Editor, covers beauty business news in the Americas region and publishes the weekly Indie Beauty Profile column, showcasing the inspiring work of entrepreneurs and innovative brands.