Last week Graham Professional Beauty Products (grahambeauty.com, 800.438.8594), a leading manufacturer of disposable sundry products for hair and nail salons, barbershops and spas, announced that it acquired Famis Manufacturing, a supplier of single-use beauty and barber items. Both companies are based in Green Bay, WI.

      “The acquisition of Famis is an excellent fit within the existing core business of Graham Beauty,” says Dave Albers, Graham Beauty’s national sales manager. “The Famis line of styling strips—Wrap-It and Wrap-It Jr.—will complement Graham’s many well-known brands in the industry. This allows us to enhance our product and service offerings to key customers.”
Graham is a division of Little Rapids Corp. (littlerapids.com) that was created in the 1990s when Little Rapids acquired Kimberly-Clark Corp.’s barber and beauty business—along with nationally recognized brands such as Sanek and CelluCotton—and Marcal’s professional towel line. Graham’s other brands include HandsDown, PST and Wubbies towels, Barbee gloves and Spa Essentials spa products.

      Famis (pronounced “famous”) is an acronym for Finest At Manufacturing, Innovation and Service. Jim Schmitt, the current, two-term mayor of Green Bay, founded it in 1994. In June 2003, he became a minor shareholder in Famis, and Famis was then owned and operated by Ralph and Beth Aschenbrenner. “We’re proud of our products and their growth,” says Ralph Aschenbrenner. “However, we’re at a point where we need additional expertise and capital to take it to the next step. Little Rapids will provide that.”

      This deal allows Graham to become an even greater one-stop sundries supplier in the pro beauty biz by purchasing a company with a superb reputation in the marketplace and some strong brands. And it gives the division some great pickups in the Wrap-It and Wrap-It Jr. lines. Originally, they were available in white, then later in black. Both are already big sellers in the professional multicultural beauty sector. Beauty product distributors and redistributors should be extremely pleased with this transaction for a variety of reasons.

      As for manufacturer reps, Graham’s existing firms are now handling the former Famis lines that the division is selling, which includes end papers: CFN Beauty Representation (cfnsales.com, 800.338.0473) in the Northeast; Southeast Rep Services (srstom@comporium.net, 803.285.8689, 803.285.8690); Jay Stone Sales (jaystonesales.com, 800.333.1201) in the Southwest; Van Nest Coleman & Associates in the Midwest (tharrison@vannestcoleman.com, 800.888.7377); and GM & Associates in the West (gmassociates.net, 800.533.8535).

      And at Cosmoprof North America (cosmoprofnorthamerica.com; 800.557.3356; outside the United States, 916.774.8682), Graham will promote the recently acquired lines along with its own products in booth D11190. Graham’s newest offerings there will include: disposable, disinfecting Sanek Hard Surface Wipes; Sanek Hand Wipes; a fabulous spa table paper heart-charity promotion; and Spa Essentials Cotton Rounds in two sizes along with Oval Cotton Eye Pads/Covers.

See you next Wednesday,
Marc

The first of July is often a time when I learn about manufacturers changing their rep firms. Martin Bachman, sales and marketing manager at Toledo, OH-based Tolco Corp. (tolcocorp.com, 800.537.4786), supplier of spray bottles, utility sprayers, applicator bottles and small jars, told me last week that starting on July 1 his company’s manufacturer rep firm in the West will be Jay Halaby & Associates (jay@jayhalaby.net, 800.651.2106).
      So if you’re a beauty store owner, manager or beauty product distributor in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, western Texas or Wyoming, Jay Halaby, his wife Alex Halaby, Richard Smith, Jack Jackson, Roger Heap, Sid Kaplan, Bryan Cantrell and Karen Rector can now help supply you with Tolco Corp.’s large selection.
      That includes new items that will debut at Tolco’s booth, D14083, at Cosmoprof North America (cosmoprofnorthamerica.com). The manufacturer is now packing its popular 3-ounce, travel-sized bottles in a TSA-required, 1-quart, clear plastic zip-top bag. This Travel Companion includes three bottles with assorted, colored disk caps as well as one bottle with a fingertip mist pump. Tolco is also offering new 12-ounce Fashion Sprayers for hairstylists. They have a slanted bottle design, are available in a variety of colors and come 72 pieces to a case.
      Jay Halaby & Associates has been representing Tolco in the professional beauty industry throughout the Midwest since March 2007. In December 2007, Tolco appointed Jay Stone Sales (jaystonesales.com) as its manufacturer rep firm in the Southwest. Tolco is also repped by BTB Sales in the Northeast and BTB Southeast.
      This is the first rep change in the pro beauty biz that I know of this season. There will be more at other suppliers, for sure.

See you next Wednesday,
Marc

With Cosmoprof North America (cosmoprofnorthamerica.com) in Las Vegas now less than a month away, there are two Professional Beauty Association (probeauty.org) events that were recently scheduled that you should be aware of: PBA’s Distributor Forum on Best Practices and the PBA Member Mixer.
      The forum is a two-hour networking session where ideas will be shared on a variety of topics, including how to improve the retail experience in your professional-only beauty store. Some of the companies planning to participate include Beauty Craft Supply & Equipment, the Neill Corp. and The Raylon Corp. It’ll start at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, July 15, in the Pavilion D conference room (the Columbus conference area) at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino Convention Center. There’s a $20 registration fee for PBA members; $30 if you’re not a PBA member.
      The mixer is free and open to PBA members as well as anyone looking into the benefits of PBA membership. It’s scheduled from 2 p.m. until 3 p.m. on Monday, July 14, at the PBA booth in Pavilion D, D4175, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino Convention Center. There’s no registration required for it.

See you next Wednesday,
Marc

What will be the pro beauty industry’s top story this summer? I believe that it will be the attempt by Ivan Zoot, Andis Co.’s director of training and education, to break the world record for haircuts. Yes, you heard me right. An idea that I’ve been reading about on Zoot’s blogs at andis.com/USA/blog and at clipperguysays.blogspot.com is now set: On Friday, Aug. 22, at the Roosters Men’s Grooming Center in Austin, TX, Zoot will try to clip his way into a Guinness World Record (guinnessworldrecords.com) by performing more than 300 haircuts in 24 hours. He needs to average better than 12-1/2 haircuts per hour. The fun begins at 3 p.m.

      “While we attempt to break the record of 300 haircuts in 24 hours,” explains Zoot, “we’re going to go the extra mile and take a shot at two more records—the fastest haircut in the world and the greatest number of professional haircuts executed in one hour.” Wow.

      I’ve met Zoot, and I know that he can break all three records. In fact, he has previously broken three haircutting Guinness World Records, is currently planning and training hard for the event, and is totally focused. A licensed cosmetologist and barber, his vast background includes experience as a hairstylist, a salon manager and owner, a haircare product manufacturer, a chain salon technical trainer, a regional sales manager and a consultant. At Andis Co., he identifies, recruits, trains and manages the manufacturer’s team of professional beauty industry educators. He’s also often a featured presenter at standing-room-only industry shows and events, where he shares information, education and his enthusiasm for clipper cutting and for the industry.

      Zoot will be going after the records at the Roosters Men’s Grooming Center (roostersmgc.com) in the Anderson Arbors Center, 13343 U.S. Highway 183 North, one of the co-sponsors of the event with Andis Co. (andis.com). Joe Grondin, a master barber, founded Roosters Men’s Grooming Center nine years ago in Lapeer, MI. The chain has 10 barbershops in Texas. Another event co-sponsor is Woody’s Quality Grooming (woodysgrooming.com), American International Industries’ brand of haircare, shaving and bodycare products for men. Proceeds will benefit the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas (bbbscentraltx.org), and Children With Hairloss (childrenwithhairloss.us).

      By the way, Zoot is looking for male and female volunteers with all types of hair: long, curly, straight—you name it. Those interested in being a part of history should call Roosters, 866.642.2625. There’s plenty of room for supporters too to cheer Zoot on while enjoying free food and music. Funny, Austin, not New York City or Los Angeles, will likely soon be the venue for the best news the salon industry has seen in a long time. I can’t wait!

See you next Wednesday,
Marc

Forget that the 39th World Series of Poker has started or that the new season will be televised on ESPN beginning in July. Why? Because the fourth annual Hickey Poker Showdown, a charity poker tournament in Las Vegas during Cosmoprof North America (cosmoprofnorthamerica.com) that’s co-hosted by Emmett and Beth Hickey of EOH Industries (eohind.com), was officially scheduled last week.

      Will defending champion Gregg Emery of Beauty Alliance (beautyalliance.com) win it again? We’ll all find out on Sunday, July 13 beginning at 8 p.m. in the Palms Casino and Resort. This year’s event is limited to 40 players and requires a $500 buy-in, a portion of which will be donated to a local women’s shelter and the CUT IT OUT/Salons Against Domestic Abuse Fund of the National Cosmetology Association (ncacares.org, 866.871.0656). Spectators are invited to join in the fun with a contribution of $40, which is also good for a full buffet and two drink tickets.

      “Due to a change in the laws governing charitable games and nonprofits, we had to receive approval from the Nevada Gaming Board,” says Emmett Hickey. “We’re now set for a great event, and are expecting a record turnout. This tournament is always a great place for industry icons to gather, break bread, compete and raise money for a great cause.” Ever the promoter, he adds that company sponsorships are still available for $3,000.

See you next Wednesday,
Marc