SORBET
SORBET
Buoyant Sorbet
Sitting Pretty With Long4Life PRODUCTION: Manelesi Dumasi
South Africa’s leading beauty chain, Sorbet, is in the middle of a purple patch following its acquisition by Long4Life. The company has released a new make-up range, it is growing in the UK, and it is experiencing significant success with its sub-brands. This beautiful business is a shining example of what is possible when strong entrepreneurialism meets a gap in the market. 2 / www.enterprise-africa.net
IAN FUHR - SORBET CEO
INDUSTRY FOCUS: HEALTH
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When serial South African entrepreneur, Ian Fuhr, was getting a massage back in 2004, his masseuse complained of the non-existence of a national chain of beauty therapy outlets. This sparked an idea in the business mind of Fuhr, who had previously been successful with Super Mart among other ventures. He went about setting up a network of beauty outlets, delivering a first-class product and service range, from moisturisers and shampoos through to massages and waxing. The beautiful business idea was launched in 2005 and the company quickly grew, becoming a four store network. After a sustained period of growth, Sorbet became the outright industry leader in South Africa’s beautification industry, and Fuhr’s business rode the wave which saw big-name international product ranges spending big money on
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// SORBET MAN IS TAKING OFF VERY WELL. WE ALREADY HAVE 14 STORES IN SOUTH AFRICA AND THERE’S ANOTHER 10 COMING THIS YEAR // advertising to unlock growth in SA. Sorbet also profited from the rapid rise in the appearance conscious male. In 2017, Enterprise Africa spoke to Fuhr about the development of Sorbet and how the company had boomed. He spoke of ambitions beyond South Africa after opening four branches in London. And, one year on, he is just as positive about the company’s prospects following several recent developments. In July 2017, the Sorbet group of companies was acquired by Long4Life, a JSE-listed investment holding company owned by Brian Joffe. The deal was reportedly worth
around R116 million and will allow Fuhr and his management team to stay onboard, guiding Sorbet through its next growth phase. “We are now part of a new listed entity in South Africa called Long4Life,” he tells Enterprise Africa. “It’s a relatively new company and the person who started this company is the same man who started Bidvest in South Africa. He resigned as CEO around 18 months ago, and in April last year listed Long4Life with Sorbet its first acquisition. The acquisition was finalised in October last year.” Brian Joffe said of the acquisition: “It has been our stated intention to pursue investments predominantly
SORBET
with a lifestyle focus and Sorbet certainly fits neatly into our criteria. It is a company that has attractive growth prospects and has many of the characteristics we consider in our investment decision making.” Fuhr continued: “We are excited about joining Long4Life and the opportunity to work alongside and under the guidance and experience of industry giants, Brian Joffe and Kevin Hedderwick. We look forward to building Sorbet into a significant health and beauty conglomerate. With the financial backing of Long4Life we will now be able to make acquisitions of other
businesses in the sector, while also continuing to launch new formats of the Sorbet brand.” SORBET MAKE UP Further efforts to bolster Sorbet’s already far-reaching appeal came in March when the company announced that it was launching its own brand of make-up products. Sorbet already promotes a range of nail care and skincare products and make-up was the logical next step. The range includes face primer, undereye concealer, foundations, bronzer, pen eyeliner, mascara, lip colour, and many more.
// WE ARE STILL EXPERIENCING LOTS OF CHALLENGES, HAVING TO DEAL WITH LOTS OF CULTURE DIFFERENCES AND OTHER ISSUES, BUT WE ARE POSITIVE ABOUT THE FUTURE //
“After listening to our guests we realised that when it comes to makeup, there are some basic needs that get in the way of feeling good, like finding the right foundation shade, so we set about addressing these needs from the get go. “We decided that we should enlist the help of the women of South Africa, so together with Clicks we launched The Skin Tone Project. This nationwide project got us up close and personal with nearly 3000 women so that we could create a foundation range that would match to all skin tones. We found that 28 shades were needed to offer a match for all, giving Sorbet one of the most extensive ranges in South Africa,” the company states. The range is now available across selected Clicks stores and Sorbet Salons, and can be administered by Sorbet professionals in store, so that everyone gets the perfect product to
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INDUSTRY FOCUS: HEALTH
suit their needs. The launch of the make-up range came at the perfect time for Sorbet as major multinationals including Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Avon, Colgate-Palmolive and L’Oréal have
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all realised tough trading conditions on the back of South Africa’s weak economic performance of the past two years. This has put pressure on consumers wallets and has resulted in a switch towards local produced,
more affordable, but high-quality products. Clicks has already announced that it is investing heavily in its store network (R700 million) and will be adding new products (including 300 Sorbet lines) to increase volumes. Away from make-up, Sorbet has also seen major success with its sub-brands and this is where the company’s local growth will be found in the future. “There are ongoing developments on the product-side and ongoing developments with new formats,” says Fuhr. “We discussed Sorbet Man last year and that is taking off very well. We already have 14 stores in South Africa and there’s another 10 coming this year. We expect that to become a significant brand over the next five years. “Candi & Co, our ethnic hair brand, is looking very exciting; the
SORBET
Dry Bar concept, the express hair salon, is growing and there is a lot of activity at the moment,” he adds. SA TO LONDON Away from Sorbet’s home, the South African brand continues to grow in size and reputation in its first geographic expansion outside of Africa – London. Last year, Fuhr told Enterprise Africa of his surprise at the lack of a national beauty chain in the UK and quickly set about researching London as an opportunity. After opening up in the city’s northern suburbs, Sorbet now has five London locations and is a key focus area for Fuhr and his team. “We have five stores there now, all in north London,” he says. “We are still experiencing lots of challenges, having to deal with lots
of culture differences and other issues, but we are positive about the future – we see it as a long journey, it’s not something that will happen overnight; we hope to get more traction there over the course of this year.” The five stores in London bring Sorbet’s total network to 200 (195 in South Africa and five in the UK). Last year, Fuhr identified South Africa’s neighbouring countries as some with potential for further expansion. He also suggested Australia and Dubai as prospective markets, and maybe the USA in the longer-term. But for now, his attention lays in London. “We are going to focus on London for some time, getting that right, before we enter and more new markets,” he says. As for Sorbet in South Africa, now is an exciting time. With the rise
of Ramaphosa bringing optimism for many in business, there is an expectation that the next two years will be full of opportunity as meaningful economic development returns. The hope is that consumers will have more money to spend and confidence will flow in markets. Ian Fuhr is hopeful. “We are very optimistic,” he says. “Considering where we were, this is a major boost for confidence and everyone in the business environment is extremely positive about the changes.”
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May 2018
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