Nicola Kilner, the CEO of Deciem, ‘The Abnormal Beauty Company’ founded by the late Brandon Truaxe six years ago, has revealed the company’s expansion plans for Australia.
Nicola was in Australia to discuss the company’s plans for all its seven brands (Hylamide, The Chemistry Brand,Abnomaly, Loopha, HIF, NIOD and The Ordinary) with media, retailers and salon owners.
During her busy schedule of meetings and events, Professional Beauty sat down with Nicola and asked a few questions to gain a little insight into the company’s rapid growth and its plans for the local market – with a particular focus on two of its most popular skincare brands, The Ordinary and NIOD.
How is Deciem currently performing in Australia?
“We are thrilled with the performance in Australia to date, especially the performance of The Ordinary. Tt has been received really well. We launched The Ordinary online in September 2016, and with our first retailer in January 2017. In FY19, Deciem shipped more than 2 million units of The Ordinary alone in Australia. At one point our production arm in Canada could not keep up with the demand and we weren’t able to expand our distribution networks in Australia. This has actually allowed our existing retailers, especially our brick & mortar retailers, to grow even stronger. The Ordinary is currently the #1 skincare brand by units with many of our major retailers.”
What are Deciem’s main plans in Australia for the next year or so?
“Our 2020 strategic focus is to continue bringing the Deciem brands and story to life through thoughtful activations and exceptional retail partnerships, which includes the opening of five new Deciem x Myer counters in the next few months, staffed by Deciem trained ambassadors. The sales performance of Deciem has continued to grow over the past few years with minimal marketing support, and next year, Deciem will be looking to focus on increasing brand awareness and introducing our brands to more new customers.”
Do any salons in Australia stock The Ordinary?
“We’ve had some clinics run by doctors reach out in regards to stocking The Ordinary, as well as incorporating some of our products into treatments. Each time a clinic reaches out to us, they always say how refreshing it is for them to be able to recommend these ingredients to their patients at such an honest price point which means their patients can sustain the longevity of the in-clinic treatments at home.”
Do any salons in Australia stock NIOD?
“Made by Self in Melbourne have stocked and incorporated NIOD into their treatments since 2016 (and their facials are incredible)!”
What is the difference between the two brands?
“While both brands are science-driven and backed, the philosophy behind each brand is very different. NIOD uses the most advanced ingredients and technology in its formulations. It has a commitment to constantly update the formulas to ensure customers always have access to the best formula available. NIOD is an investment into your skin’s health. It provides long-term and short-term benefits and boosts the overall health of your skin, acting as a preventative for many factors that affect your skin negatively as well as the integrity of the skin. The Ordinary is about providing customers clinical formulations at honest price points. Many skincare ingredients have been used for decades and are proven to deliver results but these ingredients come at a huge investment. The Ordinary focuses on educating customers about ingredients and allowing customers to purchase them at a fair price point. The Ordinary exists to communicate with integrity and bring to market effective, more familiar technologies at honourable prices, whilst remaining as a leader in ingredient discovery.”
Founded in Ontario in 2013 by Brandon Truaxe (who died in January this year) Deciem boasted an “innovative multi-brand strategy” propelled by a vertically integrated structure – with its own laboratory, manufacturing, e-commerce sites, retail stores and marketing infrastructure – that enabled it “to rapidly identify opportunities, create and incubate new brands, and deliver quality, much-sought-after products”.
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