Hairdressing innovations: roo pouches
Directors Ashley Howard and Kevin Nicholls are the brains behind Roo Salon Limited, a fast-growing brand that specialises in tools of the hairdressing trade, including belt pouches and professional scissors.
Ashley explains how the business began.
What did you do before launching Roo?I was a hairdresser - the fifth generation in my family. I worked my way up from an apprentice to salon manager and later joined Redken as a technician, covering much of the UK. After gaining professional teaching qualifications, I became a sales manager for a products distributor.
How did you and your business partner join forces?
Kevin and I met in 2005 when our sons were at school together. Kevin was a former IT consultant for some major global companies, and was running a high-end online male grooming business. We did some research to find gaps in the market for hairdressing products and found that 90% of hairdressers drop and damage their scissors in the first 12 months of ownership. To capitalise on this we decided to make a funky, lifestyle brand offering a solution to protect scissors and other essential equipment, and we came up with Roo Pouches.
How did you launch the business?
We financed it ourselves and began to design products based on market research and requests from hairdressers. Our bestsellers have since come from responding to such requests - hairdressers told us they wanted pouches not only to carry their scissors, but to fit their mobile phones and credit cards too, so we created what they needed.
What has been your biggest business challenge to date?
Sourcing high-quality materials and a manufacturer based on our designs and specifications was a big challenge. We flew to the Far East and worked closely with various manufacturers, evaluating their products and tweaking them until we were happy with the results. We had to strike the perfect balance between products that were affordable and high quality.
How has the range developed?
Initially, we launched a vast range in a wide array of styles and colours, but since then we've fine-tuned the products to focus on the bestsellers and most popular colour choices. We've also launched a range of scissors - Funky Tough - which are affordable, robust and finished in an amazing selection of bright colours and designs.
What are some of your key achievements to date?
Building a brand from scratch, coming up with the concept, and designs, building our website www.roopouches.com and seeing our products become a reality are achievements we're very proud of. We're now stocked by Sally Salon Services in more than 300 stores across the UK and Ireland, plus outlets in Germany, and we're looking at the potential of the US market too.
What is your vision for the future?
We'd like to launch the brand into more countries across Europe and the US, and become the most sought-after lifestyle brand in the hairdressing industry. I'd love people to recognise Roo and get really excited about the brand.
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