Those who know her, know that she’s a powerhouse—passionate, energetic, unstoppable—with her (well-manicured) finger forever on the pulse of the beauty biz. Always looking ahead on how to best meet consumer needs, Dee DeLuca-Mattos, Vice President, DePasquale Inc., shares her thoughts on staying relevant in the ever-changing landscape of beauty and wellness.
“All of our companies are woven into the beauty industry,” says Dee, “Our renowned salon and spa, DePasquale the Spa, our distributorship DePasquale Salon Systems, and our manufacturing arm, ECRU New York, that sells and markets our haircare collection around the world—and we can’t forget Little Green, our children’s collection. Lastly is our cosmetology school, Artistic Academy.”
Your modus operandi is “Be responsive, not reactive.” Can you share a bit more about that?
We know at the core of our business, our success has always been about building relationships with salons, spas, distributors, and of course, the consumer. Our goal is to always service the customer, creating experiences, and being relevant to the ever-changing landscape of beauty and wellness. We took an approach from the first day we went into quarantine that we were not going to be reactive, we were going to be responsive to the needs of our customers. Hence, the creation of our Rescue Kits for root and hairline, nailcare, skincare, curbside pickups, Facetime, and lots of Zoom meetings that give our distributors around the world the opportunity to share, listen, and respond.
We took an approach from the first day we went into quarantine that we were not going to be reactive, we were going to be responsive to the needs of our customers.
Here’s a perfect example of being responsive: We have this fabulous threader at our spa, and knowing that this service was going to be compromised, she went home and created a tool that would allow her to wear her mask, and the thread would weave through a piece that she made. That is being responsive to the customer’s fears.
How are you reinventing your business and still maintaining your standards?
We have always stayed to true to our DNA, we are a professional company that offers professional brands, with a foundation of education and business solutions for all spas and salons to continue to grow and flourish. It’s not as much about reinventing as it is staying relevant to the evolving consumer buying habits.
One way I know that you, personally, stay relevant is to “wake up in the morning and look at what’s trending on Google, Instagram, and Amazon.” Tell us more about that.
It’s really easy to embrace technology, and the access that it offers us at our fingertips is what helps us to continue to pivot. During Covid, everyday is truly different, so if we’re going to talk to consumers, we need to talk to them about what is important at that moment, and tie it into what we know best—beauty. Beauty from the inside out.
Go to Google, Instagram, one button, and you will know what is trending, search terms. I remember waking up one morning and keying in my search term and seeing how to remove gel manicures. I popped out of bed, and we put together Gel Remover Rescue Kits and had a video made by one of our manicurists (because you must bring them back to you), and had orders coming in.
Your Rescue Kits are a great idea, and I’m not surprised that they resonated with consumers.
The Rescue kits were simply our way of maintaining and creating revenue while we were closed. Retail is not something new to us, retail in our own salon, makes up anywhere from 12 to 17 percent of our overall business. We knew our customers, still needed their products, and now it was up to us to put kits and packages together that would help get them through quarantine.
Mary Bemis
Mary Bemis is Founder & Editorial Director of InsidersGuidetoSpas.com. She is a pioneering spa journalist, most recently honored as one of the "Top 30 Influential Voices Transforming Wellness." She is an inaugural recipient of Folio's Top Women in Media Award, and was honored by ISPA with its distinguished ISPA Dedicated Contributor Award. In 1997, she launched American Spa magazine, and in 2007, Mary co-founded Organic Spa magazine. A pioneer in the sustainable spa and beauty worlds, Mary is co-curator of Cosmoprof North America's Discover Green Pavilion. She is a Global Wellness Day Advisor, and a co-founder of the Washington Spa Alliance.
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