Los Angeles Blow-Out Chain Drybar Fuels Haute Hair-Drying Craze
Blowdry Haute Hair
Haute Hair
2011-03-17 04:00:01.11 GMT
By Neel Shah
March 17 (Bloomberg) — It was just past the ladies-who-
lunch hour at the Pacific Palisades outpost of Drybar, Los
Angeles’ first high-end blowout-only chain, and manager Melanee
Lindahl was surveying the coifferati.
Six women had come in and were paying $35 each to have a
trained professional wet and dry their hair.
“That’s Tricia,” Lindahl said, pointing to a blonde in
her mid-30s. “Last month she literally came in every day. Now
she’s down to about two or three times a week.” She pointed to
another blonde, also in her mid-30s, ultra-thin and attractive.
“She’s here a couple of times a week as well. Usually right
after yoga.”
Such devotion isn’t unusual, Lindahl said. Most of her
clients are happy to outsource their blow-drying needs at least
a few times per week.
In the old days, wealthy female Angelenos faced a daunting
choice, Bloomberg Businessweek reports in its March 21 issue.
They could wash, blow-dry and style their own hair at home, or
go to a fancy salon like Chris McMillan, where blowouts start at
$85. While that may seem like a steep price for a service that
basically amounts to having someone blast hot air through your
tresses while brushing it, discount operations such as Fantastic
Sams didn’t quite jibe with the BMW 7-Series crowd.
“There was a definite hole in the market here,” said Alli
Webb, a Drybar co-founder. “L.A. has a lot of people who are
very focused on their appearance, and they care about beauty.”
Webb realized the demand for the third-party blow-drying
service after her Los Angeles-based mobile blowout business,
Straight-at-Home, took off in 2008. She figured the blowout-only
concept could work in brick-and-mortar form and enlisted her
brother, marketing executive Michael Landau.
Blowout Model
At the time, the blowout-only model was still in its
infancy. In 2005, Blow opened in New York City and helped
champion the cheap blowout as an indispensable part of one’s
beauty regime. (It opened a second New York location in 2008.)
While a similar outfit, Blo, sprouted in Vancouver and Toronto,
Los Angeles remained an untapped market.
Last February, Webb and Landau established the first Drybar
in Brentwood — the epicenter of what they refer to as the
“yummy mummy” set, their base clientele.
The store opened with a simple concept: Customers could
choose from one of five styles (ranging from “messy and
beachy” Mai Tai to the “sleek and smooth” Manhattan), then
sip a glass of complimentary champagne while watching “How to
Lose a Guy in 10 Days” on a flat-screen TV, all for $35. After
30 minutes, customers would be audition-ready, or at least ready
to meet their friends at Fred Segal. Soon Drybar was doing 70 to
90 blowouts a day.
“At our price point, it becomes addictive,” Landau said.
“We make up in volume what we’re losing in margin.”
Yummy Mummies
After conquering the yummy mummies, Webb and Landau began
opening locations throughout Los Angeles during 2010, each
targeting a different demographic. The Pacific Palisades
boutique was intended to lure the “hot tennis mom” — a woman
“in her early 30s, definitely married, and wants to look better
than the other moms at awards dinners,” explains manager
Lindahl. The West Hollywood store was opened to attract the hip
and famous — Zooey Deschanel, Emma Roberts and Maria Shriver
have all recently popped by — and even includes a VIP room.
The Studio City outpost is geared toward those with day jobs who
want to look good for meetings.
“Before we expanded, I had this moment where I thought to
myself, ‘You know, maybe this is just a crazy Brentwood woman
thing,’” Landau said. “That hasn’t been the case.”
Good Hair Days
Instead, Drybar has ushered in the halcyon days of the
quickie blowout trade. Each boutique, averaging 10 chairs, does
between 2,000 and 2,500 blowouts a month, and the chain is on
target to have annualized revenue of around $5 million by the
end of 2011.
“I hate to say this, but it’s true. Your day is better
when your hair looks good,” said Diane Nelson, president of
Time Warner Inc.’s DC Entertainment, who averages one blowout
per week. “It’s an empowerment thing.”
Actress Rose McGowan agreed.
“When I’m done, I feel and look better,” said McGowan,
who liked Drybar so much she became an investor in the chain.
“It’s a lot cheaper than therapy, and a lot more fun.”
Drybar’s success has led to a veritable blowout war on the
streets of Los Angeles. Canada’s Blo just opened a salon in
Hollywood and is planning a second location in West Hollywood.
My Blow LA set up shop in Beverly Hills last summer and is
scouting for new locations. Bubble Blow Dry, which opened last
May in Brentwood, launched pop-up blow-dry shops in Beverly
Hills and West Hollywood to take advantage of the Oscar-season
surge.
Expansion Plans
For now, Webb and Landau are focusing on emerging markets.
In the last two months, the company has opened franchises in
Dallas and in Newport Beach, California. Next month the company
is unveiling a satellite location in Scottsdale, Arizona, with
New York, San Francisco, and Atlanta shops in the works.
“You’re going to see these be successful wherever you have
women who are focused on beauty maintenance,” says Blow co-
founder Julie Flakstad. “Certainly it helps to be in places
where the climate is conducive to maintaining a blowout.”
Sorry, women of Seattle. You’re on your own.
For Related News and Information:
Top media stories: TOP MED
Top retail stories: RTOP
Top consumer stories: RTOP
Box office: TNI INDSTAT FILM BN
–Editors: Jessica Flint, Anthony Palazzo
To contact the reporter on this story:
Neel Shah at +1-212-617-3925 or
jflint2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Jessica Flint at +1-212-617-3925 or
jflint2@bloomberg.net
