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Adam Wild
You're a professional web creator who needs a platform that works as hard as you do. Wix Studio is built for you whether you're a designer, developer or marketer ready to amplify your impact. Build intuitively with advanced design features and AI powered tools. Manage your clients and projects efficiently from one workspace scale with dynamic systems and fully managed infrastructure. Create exceptional websites with hyper efficiency on WIX Studio.
Jack
Acast powers the world's best podcasts. Here's a show that we recommend.
Adam Wild
Hey we're the Adam Wild and Jack Show. You can find us wherever you get your podcasts every Wednesday and Jax, we talk about what?
Rachel Tippograph
Well we're just two best pals talking about pop culture dating and also exposing.
Jack
Each other's deepest darkest secrets.
Adam Wild
And if you've ever been ghosted, we have a little segment called Left on Red where we call the person who ghosted you and say hey, why'd you do that? And usually it leads to some pretty embarrassing and explosive things.
Jack
Yeah, yeah.
Adam Wild
So check out the Adam Wild and Jack show available every Wednesday. Wherever you get your podcasts, Acast helps creators launch, grow and monetize their podcasts everywhere.
Jack
Acast.com.
Sarah Hofstetter
We know brand growth equals business growth, but do your stakeholders Tracksuit is an affordable always on brand tracking dashboard dashboard that helps marketers and agencies prove the impact of their work on brand metrics over time. Benchmarked against competitors. Built from best in class methodology, the Tracksuit dashboard is accessible and easy to understand for everyone from CSOs and CMOs to CFOs and founders. Research shows that brand investment in good economic times and bad is essential to driving sustainable growth. The bottom line, turning off the brand tap will cost you in the long run. Tracksuit gives marketers and agencies a common language to measure and communicate brands impact without the $100,000 price tag, their in house research experts will have your survey live and your full marketing funnel and brand perceptions visible in just 30 days. Check tracksuit out@gotracksuit.com.
Jack
Well it's great because it's actually the perfect like combo of a bunch of people because you have P and G people, you have Cody people and then actually now there's quite a few l' Oreal people and then you know within the digital ecosystem of E commerce like we have a little bit more of a startup type of people as well. So I actually think it's a really nice balance. Somebody actually said this to me recently like you want an employee that you have to pull back versus an employee you have to Push forward. And I think that what l' Oreal does and they suss out in their way of recruitment is that they find the people that you don't have to push forward. And that's really hard to pick up on a test.
Bianca Bellori
Welcome to today's episode of Creative Commerce.
Rachel Tippograph
I'm Rachel Tippograph, the founder and CEO of Micmac.
Bianca Bellori
And I'm Sarah Hofstetter, chairwoman of Profitero Plus.
Rachel Tippograph
And this is a show that talks about what's relevant in commerce for the world's biggest brand. Sarah, when you joined Profitero, at what point in your journey did you start evaluating, like, hiring and onboarding?
Bianca Bellori
That was one of the first things I did. It was almost like reverse engineering. Like, how did these people end up here? So when I met all of my new employees again, this was five and a half years ago, the first thing was like, hey, why did you choose to work here? Why do you stay working here? A couple other questions, like, you know, what's one thing you would change?
Jack
Blah, blah, blah.
Bianca Bellori
But when I heard about, like, why did you come here? There's usually a question of, are you running from something or are you running to something? I mean, you guys are always growing, so you're always hiring. What about you?
Rachel Tippograph
Well, we've gone through different evolutions. Like, I once was very involved, but now I really am only involved in senior leadership team hiring. And based on the leaders that you bring on, I think it changes some of the approach. I think one of the things that I've experienced though, is, is the need for more consistency in the hiring approaches. You can't have like one hiring culture for engineering and a different hiring culture for commercial. But you also have to balance the needs of each function because they're different. But I think what's interesting is that you can tell a lot about a company through the interview process.
Bianca Bellori
Absolutely. We are blessed to have a couple of fantastic people on our team that bring the company values to the interview process. And so before whether it's me or an entry level person is to is conducting an interview, they have already been presented with the values and the ethos of the company just through behaviors. Just through behaviors. And think about the people that we've had on the show and what their pedigrees are. In some cases, you don't even need to look at their LinkedIn to know, oh, this one came up through Pepsi. This one came up through P and G. This one came up through Craft. This one came up through l'. Oreal. This one's Ex Military, like, yeah, it's pervasive.
Rachel Tippograph
Well, we're about to bring Bianca onto the show, who's at the Wella Company. Wella is a spinoff from Cody, but if you go and look at Bianca's LinkedIn, you will see that she has a very deep L' Oreal discipline. But she's now working with people at Wella who come from Cody and P and G as well as l', Oreal and how all of that DNA is helping create the new culture at Wella.
Bianca Bellori
I think the alchemy is really evident in the way that she speaks, and it's even more so in the way that she leads. And so it's exciting to hear what it means to build your own culture by learning from the building blocks of what you've come from.
Rachel Tippograph
We are very excited to have Bianca Bellori, vice President of Global E Commerce at Wella Company onto the show.
Bianca Bellori
Hello.
Jack
Hi. I'm so excited to be here. Thank you so much for having me.
Rachel Tippograph
Very excited, especially because you are based in the west coast and you're in a global role, which we don't often come across. So definitely interested to hear how you manage your day to kick it off. Like, you and I go way back because we met when you were at l'. Oreal.
Jack
Yeah.
Rachel Tippograph
It's interesting. We've had a bunch of guests on this show that had either grown up at l' Oreal or Procter and Gamble. And so what do you think it is about l' Oreal that breeds so many leaders into the world?
Jack
That's such a great question. But I also want to start with saying it's funny because of the P and G and l' Oreal difference. I remember specifically when I was graduating, both offices come to your school. I was graduating at McGill Business, and they look to recruit. And P&G's first thing you have to do is a test. Like a literal sit down as a test. And it was. I literally walked in, not realizing it was going to be test, and I walked out and I refused to complete it because it was immediately kind of set the tone for culture that I think is wildly different. And I think that's kind of where I would start in terms of what l' Oreal is, is. L' Oreal doesn't give you a sandbox. Right. To work in. They leave things very open to interpretation. And so your ability to be able to step into a role and kind of curate it to either what your curiosity brings or to where you see growth is probably one of the most Interesting areas of the job. But I think one of the reason why l' Oreal has the ability to breed these great leaders is it's kind of like a pressure cooker in the best way. Like you're expected to think like a cmo, but execute like a GM and deliver like an operator. And so you have this really like true end to end business ownership and P and L ownership that you don't get necessarily in old companies versus, you know, roles that are a little bit more siloed. So it's like it's not really all about the brand marketing, but it kind of teaches you really early on to be super obsessed with the business and the consumer so that you have that marriage between the go to market and sort of how you look at the business overall. And one of the things I always say is that it teaches you a healthy level of paranoia. So one of the things I don't know, and if this is just maybe my interpretation of the culture, but because the bar is so high, you're constantly wondering if you've missed something. And that could be either in like a commercial strategy or in how you build a brand or your innovation plan. So you're kind of always on your toes in a weird way. So you're second guessing yourself in the most positive way to make sure that you're sort of adapting, adapting and learning. And also like the way they build the org chart, it's like it teaches you about adaptability because they constantly change the org and so you'll be in a role for sometimes no longer than a year and a half. And so that I think that skill kind of like sharpens your instincts a little bit. But it's only really when you leave that you realize truly how rare it is to be surrounded by people with such a high level of ambition and rigor. If you live in the l' Oreal world and you can be successful in it and you can appreciate for all it's worth. And when you leave, you know, it sets you up for success because of all the things I mentioned. But then you also, you miss things to a certain extent as well.
Rachel Tippograph
And you know, in environments like that, do you find that you're competitive with your colleagues?
Jack
Definitely, definitely. It's like the career Olympics, you know what I mean? Because first of all, like, if you don't want the job, there's a bunch of other people who do. And so that's like a healthy level of understanding that this is a corporation and you know, this isn't a charity. But then person next to you is just as ambitious as you are. And so that rigor, kind of like it promotes you. It's like going to the gym with somebody who really wants to work hard. You're going to lift heavy, you're going to run further, you're going to do better. But it's not, at least in my experience, I never really had the negative connotation that can sometimes come with competition, because first, we're all competitive against our literal competition in the market. My husband and I both worked at l', Oreal, and so we joke that, like, this is actually not really a joke. We used to go into people's houses, and if they had, like, Pantene, we would empty it and bring them l'. Oreal. So there's like a genuine competitive spirit. But first you win against your competition in the market, and then you win within l', Oreal, your brands versus the other brands. And so it's like this great motivator versus it being a negative. So, yeah, totally. Totally. It exists.
Bianca Bellori
It's fascinating because you talked about rigor and you also talked about being on your toes and being flexible. Like, that dynamic of, like, you've got one job today, a different job tomorrow, you've got a nice sandbox to play in, which also includes other people's sandboxes, as opposed to the entrance exam for P and G. I was just talking to a recent grad who got an interview at P and G, and she told me, 23, 24, something like that, and she said, I have to take a test. What kind of crap is that? I don't even need to take a test to get into college anymore. And again, we've had tremendous P and G alum on the podcast, and I think a lot of it is just like, do you have the right personality fit to work in either of these? They both have their strengths. But what is yours? And I think. I think. I don't know if it's. If it really unlocks, because we don't know each other very well yet. Yet being the operative word. The passion that comes from working at a l'. Oreal, because you can't just do it on the fundamentals alone, right? Like, you bring a high degree of velocity passion, just more than the stuff they taught you at McGill. Right?
Jack
That's right. Yeah, exactly. And somebody actually said this to me recently, like, you want an employee that you can. That you have to pull back versus an employee you have to push forward. And I think that what l' Oreal does, and they would. They suss out in their way of recruitment is that they find the people that you don't have to push forward and that's really hard to pick up on a test. So I think that like actually the marriage of like a PNG and a l' oreal person within an organization is really great because you do need a certain level of like process and rigor that comes with like expertise and ways of thinking and problem solving. Mix with somebody who has this sort of like passion and drive and I think the two combined are actually quite lethal in the business world.
Adam Wild
Omnisend automates all the busy work for you. It can capture customers who abandon their shopping carts, recommend other products based on their purchases, wish them a happy birthday with a personalized offer, or instantly notify them as soon as your best sellers are back in stock. Start free with Omnisend today and keep growing effortlessly sale after sale.
Sarah Hofstetter
We know brand growth equals business growth, but do your stakeholders Tracksuit is an affordable, always on brand tracking dashboard that helps marketers and agencies prove the impact of their work on brand metrics over time. Benchmarked against competitors. Built from best in class methodology, the Tracksuit dashboard is expensive, accessible and easy to understand for everyone from CSOs and CMOs to CFOs and founders. Research shows that brand investment in good economic times and bad is essential to driving sustainable growth. The bottom line? Turning off the brand tap will cost you in the long run. Tracksuit gives marketers and agencies a common language to measure and communicate brands impact. Without the $100,000 price tag, their in house research experts will have your survey live and your full marketing funnel and brand perceptions visible in just 30 days. Check tracksuit out@gotracksuit.com.
Bianca Bellori
Running a business can be exhausting. Building your website shouldn't be. With wix you can express your ideas, give direction, then leave the heavy lifting to AI from site creation to branded content and images. Have fun with the details, customize what you want the way you want and manage your whole business from a centralized dashboard with expert AI tools. Build, scale and enjoy the incredible results. You can do it all yourself on wix. So how do you do that at Wella? Because this is your playground, right?
Jack
Yeah, well it's great because it's actually the perfect like combo of a bunch of people because you have P and G people, you have Cody people and then actually now there's quite a few l' oreal people and then you know, within the digital ecosystem of E commerce like we have a little bit more of the startup type of people as well. So I actually think it's a really nice balance in how we approach things when we have a lot of l' oreal people. I think you can see the pace starts to pick up a little bit more since I've started when I've, you know, been surrounded by more loyal people. The pace is we're definitely shifting from less of like, discussion into like decisiveness and keeping things moving. More of an appetite for failure, the fail fast type of vibe. But it's actually good to have both, especially within a market, like a pro market, because it's not. The pro business is not as dynamic as a consumer business. And so you actually need a little bit more of that, like tenure, if you will, that experience. Because it's so rooted in community and it's so rooted in education and it's rooted in relationships. And not that it's not dynamic. It is, it's just. It's not as dynamic as, you know, the fact that TikTok shop didn't exist a couple of years ago and now it's like the top three retailer in the US that doesn't happen in the pro business. So I think, you know, that balance is really important and it's good because we challenge norms on the pro side, but we also bring a lot of really great stability and strategic ways of thinking on the other side.
Rachel Tippograph
Bianca, just for our listeners, can you define pro?
Jack
Yeah, so pro is like as its construct is a B2B business. So who we serve. So serving the consumers, the people that. Well one, all of us are consumers. Probably most people who are listening to this will be consumers. So it's A self selection versus a pro is more of a B2B construct, meaning, you know, you are servicing the consumer. So the way we kind of think about it is like the consumer's using something on themselves versus the pro using something on a consumer. So you are a licensed professional, you work in a salon or you work in, you know, like a nail salon. You're sort of classically trained, you have a license and it's either from a hair color perspective or nail perspective.
Rachel Tippograph
Thank you for that.
Jack
Of course.
Rachel Tippograph
So you just mentioned TikTok shop now in the consumer world is essentially the number three retailer slash marketplace. When you and I met at l', Oreal, huge area of your focus was direct to consumer. Fast forward, it's the year 2025. The ecosystem has evolved. Is DTC dead?
Jack
Oh my gosh. This is so funny because people keep asking me this and I don't know, I Don't know when did this ever became a part of the conversation. No, I don't think D2C is dead by any means. I just think it's no longer the hero channel. Based on what we saw as explosive growth like 20, 16, 15 and onwards, especially like in indie beauty. I don't think it's dead. It's just not like the number one channel that we, that most brands think that they have to do. It's. I think it's evolved to like more of a brand building lab than it is like purely an E commerce channel. So it's like I look at it more of a loyalty engine versus an E comm storefront and the reason why I believe it's actually more important now, but just how you would measure it would be different is because now we have obviously the importance of first party data. It's also where you can test a lot of your innovation. And I think what we're seeing just with the emergence of social in general is that direct consumer feedback is something you'll just never get elsewhere. It's more that what I encourage everyone to do is to think of it just differently. So like while the economics are tough, but the insights and the speed to market that you get, even the brand storytelling you can have is just so invaluable. So when we look to build E commerce, like when we want to like define the channels, you don't look at your DTC as like the definition of your revenue builder. You know, if you start that way it can be. But I think more legacy brands still have a right to play within D2C but just really honing in on what the role is of that to your business is really important when you conflate it with thinking it's going to be your next best, you know, revenue driver. I think that's where things get a little bit confusing to your question of.
Rachel Tippograph
When did this narrative come to life. I think it was, you know, a handful of things but one just investors believing that it was the promised land and then not, not seeing the return in the last decade and then the Nike debacle that's true, I think led to this sort of new narrative. Is D2C dead?
Jack
Yeah, it's true and I, I see it myself too. I'm still an Advisor for some D2C first brands. I mean we saw this kind of with road right where they're D2C but they have this deal already struck with Sephora and I think that's where we're so much more sophisticated now. In our learnings of what D2C meant then versus what it means now. And I think it's a proof of concept. You can validate that there's a consumer out there that wants your product, and then you can validate that you have ability to retain them, entertain them, edutain them, and do all the things that keeps them in your sort of orbit. But then the real scale comes from leaving D2C. I think outside of maybe like a neutrophil of the world, the real big, big DTC players are few and far between. But you see that magic happen when they find a retail partner. And that's where the scale really hits. So that's why it's interesting. And I don't want the narrative to die because I believe so much in dtc.
Bianca Bellori
I want to kind of combine two different parts of the conversation. Because you asked a question, Rachel asked a question about whether or not DTC is dead, and you started alluding to pro. Is there a D2P?
Jack
Yeah, absolutely.
Bianca Bellori
Because of the education that's necessary for the technicians or the people that work in the salons. What's the role of D2P there?
Jack
It's actually pretty big. I mean, at least in our business, and I know it to be true. So the acquisition vehicle is very different on a B2B side or like a, you know, direct to pro on a consumer side, you can likely it acquire a new customer with the right product message and content on the right channel. Right. And like that testing and learning takes time and then you get the magic land and then, you know, it's off to the races. On the pro side, you have to imagine that today, like if you're talking about getting pros that are stylists that are being trained out of schools and even then what they're already learning on a hair color within that school, you have to get someone to completely change everything that they're using every single day. So I don't know if you, if you guys color your hair, but walking to a salon and getting them to change their color is not like an acquisition that works off of just great content and a really nice ad set. It requires a human being usually giving you enough education and confidence that the change is going to be valuable to your business as a salon owner and to the people you serve from a result. So the acquisition vehicle is different, but the like retention and nourishing portion I think operates very similar to a D2C just like every consumer, Whether you're an independent stylist or you own A salon. You know, you look at your roster of appointments for the coming up weeks, you know, you need to get your hair color and the things that you need for those appointments. Obviously it's a little bit different in nail because it's a bit more dynamic. But in color you usually have routine people that have the same color. You want to get that as fast as possible and as easy as possible and as quick as possible. So within that world you have to have E Com. So we do, we have Wella has a B2B platform where we're independent stylists who find us, can buy Wella, all Wella brands off of there. And then also our, you know, our field sales organizations as we work to acquire new salons, they can place orders directly on a B2B platform. So it's in that experience you have the capability to book your education, you have the capability to do so much more. You know, get a menu, services menu, speak directly to agents. Same thing that in the traditional E Comm world we have CRM which gives you great long form blog content, really exciting offers edutainment and things like that. So it still exists the same way. It's just how you get them into the funnel that's super different.
Bianca Bellori
Do you find it all that they especially with maybe a smaller or newer salon or even a lot of people who ended up going freelance and working out of their basement doing color. Especially post Covid. Do you find that you have fluidity between the consumer business and the pro business now? Like do people actually do stylists, start on Amazon, test you out there and then become more of a pro customer? Does that ever happen?
Jack
Well, you can't buy any of our pro items as a consumer.
Bianca Bellori
Got it.
Jack
So we look at it as like a. We have to do two things at once as a company, which is we have to build the brands within our consumer. So from a mindset perspective, they're thinking about our brand and so maybe they're walking into the salon and saying like do you have this well of color? Or they're coming in with a look that they want. So there's like the demand push and then there's the generation of the salon itself carrying our items and then you know, especially using it from like a care perspective. Because color, most people go in pretty ignorantly. No, no one's asking specifically for that color. So I think there's a work to be done there. But then topically if you walk out with what you know, you walk out with which is great hair, if you can Find that at home, which you can, you have that push, pull. So it's not necessarily like the discoverability, I think, comes more from the community, comes more from the performance, comes from more who's setting the trends and who's really helping the salons build their business.
Rachel Tippograph
So here you are in this global role. You can see everything that's happening across professional businesses as well as consumer businesses. You also live in la, which at one point was considered like the promised.
Jack
Land of indie beauty, the Mecca.
Rachel Tippograph
And I know there's, you know, some debate whether that's true or not anymore. Yeah, we have found that beauty usually leads the trends. And so since you're on the front lines, what are some of the global consumer trends that you think are going to impact other categories over the next three years?
Jack
Oh my gosh, what a question. I mean, I think every time I see one category growing, you just know that the next one's going to come. I mean, I think we saw that a little bit with when makeup was just so big for so long that skincare was the fastest, what goes on must come off eventually type of thing. And so I think we're seeing that now transition into all of beauty. And so that's why I think hair is having such a moment now. But one of the things across everything that I'm noticing is that there's this like pro grade at home that is seemingly like emerging more and more. So there's like consumers want that salon level. And again, I don't just mean like hair. I also mean what happens with the nail salons and scalp and tools and everything like that. So it's like you're wanting a little bit more salon performance, but in your bathroom, I guess. Which is why I think indie skin care is going to be more challenge, but you're going to see more pro grade skincare becoming something in the forefront. And I think that's going to translate to the scalp. Just like how everything goes across the body as well. I don't know. I think also like this is maybe less of a specific trend, but I think like time is compressing, so I feel like what used to be quarterly trends are becoming now much faster. And so I'm interested to see how that plays into beauty and what that does to like the speed to innovation and the speed to adaptability for the brands. I also think that social is having such an impact on brands that I think education is going to become more of a vehicle for consumers because it's a bit of both. Right. Like with AI emergence, people Becoming smarter. And they're looking to AI to help figure out what products they should buy. So as a result, their lens of how they evaluate now is no longer just like, oh, do I see an influencer posting it? It's everywhere. But it's also like they have the ability to analyze whether what you're offering is really good. So I think that education is going to be a huge portion of it and I guess it's kind of linked. But I'm also thinking that performance is going to be super important. So cool packaging was a thing at one point. I also think there was a point where, and it still is, like clean is still important, but now performance people want to see results. They're going to do the analysis like I said beforehand. So it's like results first, but then they actually expect both at the same time, you know, versus just the beginning was just clean.
Rachel Tippograph
I love that articulation. I thought where you were going with time being compressed with longevity, but I think that goes along with the theme of performance.
Jack
Yeah, exactly. I mean, coming from past three years in supplements, I think longevity is definitely a part of everybody's dialogue from like, why strength training has become so big, you know, especially among women to like the boom in supplements. And I think scalp care is probably the closest thing I think beauty is in a touch on for longevity just given how porous our scalp is and how important it is to like maintain a healthy, you know, mitochondria inside and outside. So I think actually it's probably the closest thing to longevity is going to be what we do to treat our scalp.
Rachel Tippograph
You're making me self conscious about my scalp.
Jack
Oh my God, me too.
Rachel Tippograph
I gotta go get it checked.
Jack
Don't worry. Me too. I feel that way even though I work in the industry.
Rachel Tippograph
Well, Bianca, we gotta ask you our famous last question, which is what's the bravest thing you've ever done?
Jack
You mean outside of having kids? I think the bravest thing I ever did was actually leave l'. Oreal. And I say that because, you know, it creates scrappiness but within a safety net. And then when you leave something like that to go to a startup, there is no safety net. And you're kind of forced to start something from a blank page and you don't really know what. You don't know when you leave a big company to go to a startup. And it's great when, you know, PE venture cap or founders take risks on people that come from these big companies, but you kind of have to fake it till you make it. I remember when I started in my first startup after I left l', Oreal, they were like hey we need you to give us like our E. Com daily forecast. And I didn't even know what Google Analytics was at the time and I was like yes, I'll figure this out, no worries. So I remember being like pretty, pretty nervous at the time, so sort of forced me to let go of perfection and sort of build in real time. So I probably think that was the bravest thing I've ever done, at least on the work front.
Rachel Tippograph
Love that as an answer. Great bookend to the episode. That was not planned.
Jack
No that was not planned. That's true.
Rachel Tippograph
And Bianca, you're a wealth of knowledge so everyone make sure you go follow her on LinkedIn. See what is happening at Wella because there are exciting changes ahead.
Jack
Amazing. Thank you both for having me. This was the highlight of my week. There's no question.
Rachel Tippograph
If you like what you heard and you want to hear from another great leader at the Wella company, go check out an episode we did with the Chief Digital Officer Chris Chesborough. And if you want to hear from other former l' Oreal execs, you can go check out an episode we did earlier this year with Natalie when she was the President of l' Oreal's Consumer Products and now she's at Helion. If you like what you heard, tell a friend. Share in LinkedIn. Thanks for listening.
Sarah Hofstetter
We know brand growth equals business growth, but do your stakeholders Tracksuit is an affordable, always on brand tracking dashboard that helps marketers and agencies prove the impact of their work on brand metrics over time. Benchmarked against competitors. Built from best in class methodology, the Tracksuit dashboard is accessible and easy to understand for everyone from CSOs and CMOs to CFOs and founders. Research shows that brand investment in good economic times and bad is essential to driving sustainability sustainable growth. The bottom line. Turning off the brand tap will cost you in the long run. Tracksuit gives marketers and agencies a common language to measure and communicate brands impact without the hundred thousand dollar price tag. Their in house research experts will have your survey live and your full marketing funnel and brand perceptions visible in just 30 days. Check tracksuit out@gotracksuit.com.
Jack
Foreign.
Elise Hu
Hey, I'm Elise Hu, host of the podcast TED Talks Daily. For more than 20 years, Paylocity has been leading the way with cutting edge work solutions like on demand Payment which offers employees access to wages prior to payday, flexible time tracking features which enable staff to clock in and out through their mobile device and numerous other cutting edge solutions that simplify collaboration across hr, finance and it. Learn more about how Paylocity can help streamline work and enhance business outcomes for your organization@paylocity.com Simplified.
Jackie Cooper
Hi, I'm Jackie Cooper, Global Chief Brand Officer at Edelman and the host of Touch of Truth, a new podcast launching on the Adweek Podcast Network. My dad gave me this incredibly smart piece of advice. Meet everyone once. As a result, I've met some of the most fascinating and inspiring people on the planet. Now on Touch of Truth, we're coming centre stage and sharing the mic to experience stories of truth, insights and visions for the future that will challenge your way of thinking. Touch of Truth is available wherever you listen to podcasts. New episodes come out every Tuesday. I do hope to see you there.
BRAVE COMMERCE: Wella Company’s Bianca Bolouri on Building Global eCommerce Strategies
In this episode of Brave Commerce, hosted by Rachel Tipograph of MikMak and Sarah Hofstetter of Profitero, Bianca Bolouri, Vice President of Global eCommerce at Wella Company, shares her insights on building effective global eCommerce strategies. The conversation delves into corporate culture, the evolution of direct-to-consumer (D2C) models, and emerging trends in the beauty industry.
Bianca Bolouri begins by discussing her transition from L'Oréal to Wella Company, highlighting how her experience at a major beauty conglomerate has shaped her approach to leadership and eCommerce.
Bianca Bolouri [03:27]: "When I met all of my new employees five and a half years ago, the first thing I did was ask why they chose to work here and why they stay. This helped me understand their motivations and how to foster a cohesive company culture."
Rachel and Bianca explore the importance of a consistent hiring culture across different departments. Bianca emphasizes the significance of aligning new hires with company values through behaviors rather than traditional metrics like LinkedIn pedigrees.
Bianca Bolouri [05:13]: "We are blessed to have fantastic people on our team who bring the company values to the interview process. It's about behaviors and ethos, not just backgrounds."
Rachel Tipograph [05:39]: "Bianca has a deep L'Oréal discipline, but she's integrating diverse experiences from Cody, P&G, and startups to create a unique culture at Wella."
Jack shares his personal experiences with L'Oréal and P&G, highlighting the distinct cultural differences between the two companies. L'Oréal's open-ended roles foster creativity and business ownership, while P&G emphasizes process and rigor.
Jack [06:25]: "L'Oréal doesn't give you a sandbox to work in. They leave things open to interpretation, which allows you to curate your role based on curiosity and growth opportunities."
Bianca Bolouri [10:07]: "The marriage of P&G and L'Oréal personnel within an organization combines process-oriented rigor with passion and drive, creating a formidable team in the business world."
A significant portion of the discussion centers on the shifting landscape of D2C. Bianca argues that while D2C isn't dead, its role has evolved from being a primary revenue driver to a brand-building tool that fosters loyalty and gathers consumer insights.
Bianca Bolouri [16:13]: "D2C is no longer the hero channel but rather a loyalty engine and a space for brand storytelling and innovation testing."
Jack [17:53]: "The narrative around D2C has changed due to factors like investor expectations and market dynamics. It's about validating consumer interest and building lasting relationships rather than solely driving revenue."
Bianca introduces the concept of Direct-to-Pro (D2P), emphasizing its importance in the beauty industry. Unlike D2C, D2P focuses on serving licensed professionals who require specialized products and education.
Bianca Bolouri [19:02]: "D2P involves educating technicians and salon professionals, which is a more complex acquisition process compared to D2C. It requires building trust and demonstrating product value through human interaction."
Jack [19:14]: "In our business, acquisition on the pro side isn't just about great content or ads. It involves ensuring salon owners see the tangible benefits of our products for their clients."
The conversation touches on the interplay between consumer and professional segments, especially in the post-COVID landscape where freelance stylists emerge from various backgrounds.
Bianca Bolouri [21:33]: "While consumers can't directly purchase our pro items, there's a strong demand driven by consumer experiences that influence salon professionals to adopt our products."
Bianca shares her perspective on upcoming trends in the beauty industry, particularly the rise of pro-grade products for at-home use and the accelerated pace of trend cycles influenced by social media and AI.
Bianca Bolouri [23:32]: "We're seeing a surge in pro-grade products for at-home use. Consumers now demand salon-level performance in their bathrooms, pushing brands to innovate rapidly."
Jack [25:46]: "Time is compressing, making trends evolve faster. This requires brands to adapt swiftly and maintain high performance standards to meet consumer expectations."
Bianca reflects on her bold decision to leave the stability of L'Oréal to join a startup environment at Wella, illustrating the challenges and growth opportunities that come with such a transition.
Bianca Bolouri [26:28]: "Leaving L'Oréal was the bravest thing I've ever done. It forced me to embrace scrappiness and build from the ground up without a safety net."
Jack [26:39]: "Starting at a startup meant letting go of perfection and building in real-time, which was both nerve-wracking and incredibly rewarding."
The episode wraps up with Bianca's final thoughts on leadership, adaptability, and the future of eCommerce in the beauty industry. Listeners are encouraged to follow her journey and stay updated on Wella Company's innovations.
Bianca Bolouri [27:52]: "There are exciting changes ahead at Wella. Stay connected to see how we're shaping the future of global eCommerce in the beauty sector."
Bianca Bolouri [03:27]: "When I met all of my new employees five and a half years ago, the first thing I did was ask why they chose to work here and why they stay."
Jack [06:25]: "L'Oréal doesn't give you a sandbox to work in. They leave things open to interpretation, which allows you to curate your role based on curiosity and growth opportunities."
Bianca Bolouri [16:13]: "D2C is no longer the hero channel but rather a loyalty engine and a space for brand storytelling and innovation testing."
Bianca Bolouri [23:32]: "We're seeing a surge in pro-grade products for at-home use. Consumers now demand salon-level performance in their bathrooms, pushing brands to innovate rapidly."
Bianca Bolouri [26:28]: "Leaving L'Oréal was the bravest thing I've ever done. It forced me to embrace scrappiness and build from the ground up without a safety net."
Key Takeaways:
Cultural Integration: Effective hiring practices that align with company values are essential for building a cohesive and motivated team.
Evolving D2C Role: Direct-to-Consumer models have shifted from being primary revenue drivers to tools for brand loyalty and consumer insights.
Importance of D2P: Direct-to-Pro strategies are crucial in the beauty industry, requiring specialized approaches to serve licensed professionals.
Adaptability and Innovation: The fast-paced evolution of consumer trends necessitates brands to be agile and innovative to stay competitive.
Leadership and Risk-Taking: Bold decisions, such as transitioning from a stable company to a startup, can lead to significant personal and professional growth.
For more insights from Bianca Bolouri and other leaders in the eCommerce landscape, subscribe to Brave Commerce on your favorite podcast platform.