MJ

The question has been asked in the Bigdog forum. So I will give you the opportunity to respond here to all of us salon owners.
I know you are on Vacation now so.. I will be patient.. you know that is hard for me!!!
MJ

Formulated Solutions

MJ,

I want to thank you personally for taking this out of a private forum, where I may have never had a chance to respond, and allowing me to address this publicly in this more open venue.

I will be the first one to admit that complete elimination of the product diversion is no simple task, and this may come as a surprise from a competitor, but I applaud the efforts that JA and Cal Tan have made towards a reduction in the amount of their product which is being salon diverted.

Our Mission Statement is as follows; “Formulated Solutions exists to enhance consumer products through creativity and invention, delivering our customers unmatched formulations, innovative packaging and the highest quality products.” I believe to stay true to this mission that we have set forth, our company, must also control the image and distribution of our products, thus the we do not support the distribution of our tanning products through channels that are detrimental to salons and reduces our ability to control the quality of the product or the education that supports it sale.

When my two partners and myself purchased the Technique Labs brands in December of 2000, I am not sure I fully understood the full scope of the product diversion issue. Remember our core business has always been formulation consulting and contract manufacturing, our drift into having our own brand, is somewhat of an enjoyable learning experience. I generally liked the tanning industry, and felt that a company with our development skills could build a nice niche, since from what I observed the product attrition rate was very high, and newer more innovative products were always replacing current formulations. (Even within well-established brands)

A year before our purchase, I personally started spending a significant time in and around different tanning salons in my area (Fort Lauderdale at that time), to learn more about the industry and what was driving sales for those salon owners of tanning products. The obvious frustration at that time for most of those salon owners was the direct diversion of AG product at every food and drug store in our area. To make a long story short, perhaps I should have paid more attention in my “business due diligence” classes back in school, because after our purchase, it became quite clear that the diversion problem was much more severe, and was effecting many more salon owners, than I had originally expected. At the time of our purchase the previous company employed 19 telemarketers, and had a customer list that was representative of the “who’s who” in the Internet product diversion world. In fact, little did we know this, at the time of our purchase but 38% of the previous companies sales were through what we now consider diversionary channels.

That being said, my partners and I needed to make a decision about the future of our company in this industry. I think in order for us as a manufacturer to truly support the independent salon owner, who is attempting to make a profit by the sale of our products within their salon, and to show our support for the reputable distribution network that we were attempting to grow, drastic changes needed to be made within our newly acquired organization. I think in order for a company to make change, regardless of the change two things must happen; 1) A company wide policy or values system needs to be set, a roadmap if you will on how the business will be run. 2) Each policy or value needs a corresponding KPI or Key Performance Indicator, to monitor the progress and visually show you how you have done. And that is what we did, we made the decision to restructure how we would fit in this industry.

We now employee 5 well trained professional customer service representatives, which in Tampa is no easy tack, and I have over 65 W-2 to prove it, who work with our distributors and customers to provide education and fulfill orders. We have eliminated all direct sales to known diversionary suppliers and sources. We have worked with our distribution network, on an at will basis to eliminate secondary sources of product diversion, both at the sub-distributor and the salon level. We have, despite our network within the mass-market distribution network, made the conscious decision not to support self-serving or retail distribution venues of our tanning products. And are continuing work to grow our business in a way that we feel best represents the culture of our company.

Anyone that has been in business can understand that the prospect of starting your business off by eliminating nearly 40% of your total sales is not at all that appealing. I can assure you the decision to complete restructure a new business, within 4 months of the purchase is not without it obstacles. The good news, however, is that sales for our company are up this year, and the relationships that we are building are stronger, and the availability of our products on the internet, an other diversionary places is down an estimated 350% so I am convinced now more that ever that or decision and commitment to the salon owner and the reputable distribution network that supports them was the right decision, despite the few hurdles and scarifies along them way.

I hope that answers the question, probably way to much history and a little wordy, but I think in order to better understand where we are going, it is good to see where we started. We are committed to growing our tanning lotion business with salon owners, not against them.

MJ

Thank you Eric for your response. It was well said ..I wish you and your partners all the luck. Fighting diversion is no easy task.

I have linked this post to the original post in Bigdog forum. So that the concerned salon owners can just click on the link. Even if they do not wander in Skincare forum often.
MJ

Kimmee

Thank you Eric.

I was the one who orignally asked the question and I got the answer I wanted.

I would love to hear more about your product and what your company has to offer.

Is there a place that you could recommend for me to purchase a sample of it -- not sure which dist. have it.

Thanks!

Formulated Solutions

Kimmee,

Thank you for the post and the inquiry. I sent you an email to the address listed under your profile. Attached please find a pdf file listing of the distributors that are carrying our items for the 2002 season.

Please let me know if you are not familiar with any of the distributors on the list, and I will work with you to find a suitable source, for our products.

If you require any samples or a catalog please feel free to email me directly. Please also feel free to reference our website www.techniquelabs.com

Eric

fungirlz

I'm going to jump in here.. ...

I first became aquainted with Eric on tantalk under skincare forum when a question came up regarding one of his products Finale'( which is fantastic!!).. Eric responded and than someone downloaded a picture of his product and I thought..............WOW.........I should have been consulted regarding "advertising" to this degree in this forum.
I then wrote a post and requested Eric take out an ad if he wanted to advertise here on tantalk.. Masybe it was sassy..but I get sassy at times..

He replied and from there our relationship grew.. I visited Eric shortly after that in Clearwater and had the pleasure of meeting Amy his beautiful wife..and learned about this young couple who has a ton of knowledge and ideas to HELP our industry.
I became a client of Formulated Solutions after trying their products.
Not just for indoor tanning lotions which are FANTASTIC but for skin care in our professional treatment area.
I am a picky duck when it comes to what product has a home on our shelf...or what we offer to our guests in the treatment center, it must be the best..

The results of his products are worth the investment..
Formulated Solutions is not an inexpensive product I will tell you that...it is a high end lotion and treatment line..but remember evrything nice had a price.

I am very very proud to have Erice as my partner here in the Skin care forum on tan talk..and I am thrilled to call Amy and Eric my friends..

I encourage all of you to look into Erics line as it has become apart of our studio and everyone loves it...

BooBop

Very well stated Eric. And I like knowing the history of a company. So thanks for the information. I commend your efforts to turn a company around to support US!

fungirlz

Eric:
are any of your products out there in catalogues same packaging but a different name?