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Testimonials

Testimonial by Natalie Dos Santos, Mary Cohr affiliate since 2003

Nathalie Dos Santos manages the first Mary Cohr franchise salon in France. She just opened her second affiliated salon. She explains her reasons for opening another salon 12 years later.

"I trust my employees 100%. That’s why we were able to achieve a 20% increase in November 2015 compared to November 2014 in Grenoble."

You were the first person to believe in the Mary Cohr franchise concept. Could you tell us a bit more about your background? After a secondary school diploma in management, I decided to study cosmetology with the aim of quickly opening a salon. I obtained my CAP diploma and an international Brevet [vocational diploma] so that I could work in any country. I opened my first salon in 1988 in Uriage-les-Bains in Isère, where I carried the Guinot and Mary Cohr brands. During a training session in Paris, I met the Beauty Therapist who was managing the Mary Cohr pilot salon on Rue du Commerce in the 15th arrondissement in Paris. She showed me around her salon and I was interested in the idea right away. When the Mary Cohr franchise agreement was created, I was the first to sign up. In 2003, I opened my Mary Cohr franchise salon in Grenoble. In order to focus on its growth, I sold the Uriage-Les-Bains salon in 2004. This represented a new challenge for me, which I was able to meet because the brand and I were a perfect match in terms of treatment techniques and aromatherapy-inspired products of pharmaceutical grade quality.

What led you to decide to open a second Mary Cohr affiliated salon 12 years later? My franchise salon had grown nicely and I saw how the concept had changed over 12 years. I like this model because we always have more tools, partnerships and guidance at our disposal: a website updated directly by the marketing department, marketing materials made available to us every six weeks, visits from coordinators to help us crunch salon numbers, visits from trainers to improve our performance, and soon a Mary Cohr smartphone application - exclusively for salons in the network - to attract and maintain new customers.
By 2015, the idea had taken root, and I wanted to apply my experience as an entrepreneur and as a Beauty Therapist. In November 2015, I opened a salon in Uriage-Les-Bains at my old salon location because I still owned the property. This new salon is in a catchment area with significant potential in terms of buying power. A month after opening, our average shopping basket was already 120 euros. I can see that the concept and innovation appeal to customers, which is fantastic! 
 

Today, you manage two salons. How do you handle managing two teams? I spend a lot of time at both salons.
I have 2 Beauty Therapists, one full-time and one part-time, in Uriage-les-Bains and 4 Beauty Therapists in Grenoble. I promoted two Beauty Therapists, one in each salon, to a managerial position. I trust my employees 100%. That’s why we were able to achieve a 20% increase in November 2015 compared to November 2014 in Grenoble. I can also manage the two salons remotely using the Ikosoft manager software, which taught me about numbers, scheduling, the till and receipts.

How do you see the future with this partnership?
I’m very optimistic, as we reached our target turnover during the first month of business. I’m going to hire an employee with a CAP diploma in September 2016 in Uriage and a BP diploma in Grenoble. As a Mary Cohr partner, I’m confident 2016 will be an exciting and successful year!

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