MARKING A MILESTONE
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RED DOOR
YEARS!
Stamford, Connecticut
T
he iconic beauty
brand Red Door
was born in 1910,
nine years before
the 19th Amendment was
ratified and women in the
United States gained the
right to vote. With such long
and rich history, Red Door’s
founder Elizabeth Arden was,
by all definitions, an entrepreneurial
visionary. An advocate for women’s rights,
it has been told that she once marched
along with 15,000 fellow suffragettes—all
wearing red lipstick as a symbol of
strength.
In a fitting manner, red eventually
became the beauty brand’s iconic color.
After she opened her first Red Door Salon
on New York City’s prestigious Fifth
Avenue, she decided to paint the salon’s
door red, which became symbolic for the
global beauty brand.
“As an industry pioneer, Elizabeth
Arden was forced to create everything
from scratch,” says Red Door Spas CEO
Todd Walter. In fact, in the early days,
Arden had to cook up the ideas and formulations of her first cosmetic line in the
comfort of her own kitchen. “A key to her
success was finding people as passionate
as she was in helping others look and feel
their best. Her staff was the best trained,
and over the course of her lifetime, she
opened every new location personally.
Today, the quality and consistency of Red
Clockwise: Guests at Red Door Spas stayed fit
using the hula hoops; the luxurious Red Door
Spas' interiors bear the brand's signature red
door; and Red Door Spas CEO Todd Walter.
“...One woman masterminded the American day
spa, destination spa and
cosmetic industries as we
know them today.”
Door’s people remains a competitive
advantage in the industry.”
Looking back, one of the company’s
most historical moments took place in
1934 when Arden opened a destination
LONGEVITY TIP: “First and foremost, start with your culture and people. Be disciplined
and fill the ranks with people who share your passion. We have found that when we get the
culture right, our people take better care of our guests and deliver better beauty and wellness results, which keep them coming back.”
spa called Maine Chance Spa. “With this
opening, one woman masterminded the
American day spa, destination spa and
cosmetic industries as we know them
today, and enabled Red Door to become
the beauty and wellness brand it is
today,” Walter said.
With the continued growth of the spa
industry, it became a natural direction for
the skin-care company to officially launch
Red Door Spas in October of 1992. This
allowed Red Door Spas to independently
focus on growth and expand beyond its
first spa locations in Washington, D.C.
and on Fifth Avenue in New York. Today,
Red Door Spas has grown in numbers—
21 day spas and eight hotel/resort
locations, with an estimated 600,000
services performed by staff on 330,000
guests annually.
“A common misconception is that Red
Door is a more mature brand,” Walter
says. “In fact, the average age of our customer is 38, and while our primary
customers are women, we are seeing an
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November 2015