Sacha Cosmetics' entry into the elite Beverly Hills market-America's "beauty capital"-represents a big breakthrough for a local manufacturer and its premium brand."After years of frustration trying to gain entry in countries in Latin America and fed up with non-tariff barriers and their mañana mentality, we took the decision to focus on positioning our brand in the US market. We decided to do so in California, the beauty capital of America," said Kama Maharaj, chief executive officer of the Freeport-based Sacha Cosmetics Ltd.
Maharaj was speaking on November 3 at the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (Cariri) two-day forum on Creating Globally Competitive Businesses for Developing Economies at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Port-of-Spain.Sacha Cosmetics, which was created 33 years ago, is distributed in 23 countries, among them Puerto Rico, Cuba, Senegal, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and the Dominican Republic. In North America, it is sold online and distributed through a distribution facilities in Florida.
The brand has been the official line of cosmetics used by Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Jamaica pageants.In 1998, T&T's Wendy Fitzwilliam, wore Sacha Cosmetics, and brought home the Miss Universe title.
Beverly Hills
Maharaj commissioned a study in Southern California in February 2010 asking beauty professionals to compare Sacha Cosmetics to MAC, the leading make-up brand in the US."At the end of the study, testers overwhelmingly reported that they found Sacha to be superior in various categories in terms of quality, colour and application," Maharaj said.However, there were recommendations that were made.
"While the quality of the products could not be faulted, testers recommended that we upgrade our packaging which we have done over the last year. Having done this, we recently launched the brand in Beverly Hills, California, with both product and packaging receiving rave reviews."Maharaj described this as "tremendous breakthrough" for his company.
"It is a testimony to our enormous potential to market Sacha as an ultra premium brand in one of the most sophisticated and quality conscious markets."He spoke of elite salons in upscale Beverly Hills that now use the Sacha line."A number of high-end salons, including the celebrity Louis Salon on the famous Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, have made Sacha their exclusive make-up brand. For the first time, they now carry one line, confident it will look equally beautiful on all their clients, regardless of skin colour."Maharaj's audience at the Cariri event included officials of the Ministry of Finance, the Employers Consultative Association and the Inter-American Development Bank.
Spurred on to grow
Not one to rest on his laurels, Maharaj has plans for expansion.In the new year, we will be expanding our distribution in Southern California, flying the country's flag high. As luck would have it, in California, exotic skin is now more the norm than the expectation. A growing number of Caucasian women want to look more exotic and are fascinated by what they have dubbed our 'sun-skinned' foundations."
Maharaj said a small country like T&T should not want to manufacture cheap products to sell cheaply."We are committed to building a quality brand rather than making and selling low-priced products. In our view, manufacturers locally and regionally, could never win the price war with China and we ought to accept that. We can build powerful niche brands that can successfully be marketed world wide."
Beyond Caricom
Maharaj hailed the Internet as one of the main tools that has promoted his business internationally."We launched our company's Web site 13 years ago and, today, it is one of the most respected and highly ranked cosmetics online, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors a year. To drive more visitors to our main site, we built additional Web sites such as, www.applymakeup.com, that ranks number one in every search engine for the important term, 'how to apply make-up'."Maharaj said that world wide, Sacha Cosmetics sells at prices four to five times what is retailed locally.
"Our operating margins are excellent since we sell from manufacturer to US retail at premium prices. If you want to enjoy high margins, then having a niche product that satisfies an unfulfilled market need is the way to go. Competition drives down prices but, in niches, there is so little competition, so you can command higher prices."Maharaj said having an innovative product is not a guarantee of success.
"Brands like Black Opal and Black Radiance target a specifics sector of the market and have very limited appeal. To ensure our products are embraced by all, we market Sacha to women with 'exotic skin' which is a tremendous crossover concept."For a small island state, Maharaj believes local manufacturers must look beyond Caricom.
"We have to accept the reality that that T&T is a small market, as is Caricom, and if you want to expand your market, you have to export extras regionally."He believes the positive conditions outweigh the negative."While there are challenges being a local manufacturer and, yes, we do get frustrated at times. We have instead focused on leveraging the advantages we do enjoy."
Maharaj listed a number of advantages which makes T&T an ideal location for manufacturing."We speak English-the universal language of the Internet-we are in close proximity to the US, the largest consumer market, we are in the same time zone with them, we have beautiful weather, we have political stability, the cost of fuel and utilities is low, and we have an educated and skilled population," he said.
Ode to mother
On the Web page Maharaj developed, www.rootsofcalypso.com, which is dedicated to Madame Maharaj's influence on her son, Maharaj wrote:"This page is dedicated to my mother, the late Madame Ramdoolarie Maharaj from Trinidad and Tobago. She had a great influence in my life and a supporter of my calypso research."On the page, Maharaj listed his mother's achievements in bullet points, chief among them she receiving the Humming Bird Medal (silver) in 2000), from then Prime Minister Basdeo Panday.
Other notables were:
• 1940-2000: Mom owned her own hairdressing school and salon in Trinidad. There she educated and graduated more than 5,000 students in the field of hair and skin culture.
• 1960: Bachelor's of Beauty degree in Las Vegas, US
• 1962: The title of "Madame" was bestowed in France
• 1996: Divali Nagar Award for beauty culture, training and education
• Associated and helped to develop Sacha Cosmetics (Trinidad)