SUCCESS STORIES
Inspiring Tales of Startups, Growth
and Overcoming Hardships
SEAN HARRINGTON
In 1990, Sean Harrington joined
forces with Noella Gabriel and Oriele
Frank to launch a new British skin-care
line. Their partnership saw the birth of
Elemis, of which all three still serve as
co-directors. What began as three entrepreneurs selling products cross-country
out of the back of a van grew into the
international luxury brand that it is
today, with over 1,600 spas and retail
locations worldwide.
Beginings
From the very start, Harrington and his
co-founders’ goal was to create a product
that spoke for itself, of high quality that
consumers could see just by picking up
the package.
“We started with a blank sheet of
paper and attempted to live the dream,”
Harrington says. “We were naïve, which
meant lots of changes needed to be made
in the early days, but our aim was to
create the best product possible at an
affordable price in a plastic packaging with
a label stuck on it, to show that money
was only spent on the product, not the
packaging.”
Six months after the product launched,
it was mostly removed from shelves due
to low sales, primarily because it was
simply not attractive. The team reconvened and upgraded the Elemis image to
shift customer perceptions, without compromising product quality. “We learned
from ourselves and found ourselves com58 PULSE
n
March/April 2015
CELEB
RATIN
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model. Harrington
believes that the
company’s resilient
YEAR
S!
history, and its ability
to adapt to changes and
take on challenges, proved
particularly instrumental in the brand’s
successes during this period, and
peting on a consumer level, but struggled
enabled leadership to immediately make
on an industry level,” Harrington says.
necessary changes.
In 1996, the founders had the opportu“It was important to change the
nity to revamp the brand, from design,
culture of the business and the mindset
logo color and packaging to point-of-sale
of the staff during the recession,”
and distribution structure. The new Elemis Harrington says. “If you use this new
brand was solidified. Today, it is the topthinking in your team meetings, suddenly
selling brand on QVC UK and a British
the culture changes.”
Airways spa partner.
While other businesses began declining as they sought to face issues using
their tried-and-true business models,
Elemis, with its willingness to adapt and
rely on its leadership’s skill sets, was able
to continue growing its retail division.
“Noella took charge of the spa sales division, using her wisdom from the retail
Keys to Success
side,” he says.
The redesign was the first major challenge
As a result, Elemis marks its 25th
of many hurdles over the course of
anniversary this year, after achieving sales
Elemis’ 25 years in business. But as with
of US$75 million in 2014 alone.
any organization, the brand has
Alongside the anniversary, Elemis is
responded and endured, chiefly by focus- unveiling new concept stores, training
ing on its business on a consumer level,
academies, a new web site and a plethora
rather than industry-wide.
of product innovations in the midst of
“We focus on consumer trends, not
another brand refresh.
what the trade wants, and up the ante
“We learned as we progressed,”
with good education and strong investHarrington says. “We came in with a lot
ment,” Harrington says. “We start with
of vision, creativity, flair and energy, but
an idea, we create a vision, we believe in
we made some mistakes early on. I don’t
our vision and we make it happen.”
see it as a business failure but it did
During the recession that struck
require resilience and the ability to take on
hardest in 2008, Elemis, like many busivarious changes.” In the end, all the hardnesses, was forced to work hard to
earned lessons helped Elemis become the
reduce costs and adjust its business
success story that it is today. n
Managing Director
and Co-Founder of Elemis
London, United Kingdom
Marking a
Milestone
25