Founded more than 70 years ago as a professional beauty institute in Paris, Sothys has earned a worldwide reputation as one of the leading skincare brands. The company explains its strategy to success in Australia.
When and why was Sothys established? How long has it been available in Australia?
Sothys was first established in 1946 by a biomedical chemist who was supplying biological extracts in ampoules to dermatologists in Paris treating burns and skin injuries following World War II. The range broadened and soon there were creams and emulsions created that were supplied to Parisian estheticians, and this was the beginning of Sothys evolution in the professional beauty industry in France.
In 1966, when the doctor wished to retire, he sold his company to a young Bernard Mas, who came from a family pharmaceutical company. Sothys then took on a very dynamic growth phase that took it from a small Parisian brand to the international brand it is today, with distribution to around 20,000 clinics and spas in 125 countries worldwide.
Sothys has always remained exclusive to the professional aesthetician, its creations are based on scientific research inspired by nature. Australian Sothys distribution started in March 1981 by Jeffrey Daley and has been a consistent and stable distribution for the past 37 years with representation in all states.
How has the business grown and changed since you have distributed in Australia?
In the early 1980s professional beauty was a very small niche market with a small population of professional estheticians and a handful of cosmetic brands in support.
It was a very intimate niche market then, and everyone knew everyone else. This was the generation of beauty schools and cosmetic suppliers that cemented the success of our industry that we know today. You can say Sothys is part of the foundation of our modern professional market in Australia.
What is the business’ key focus today?
Our core values in Australia have never changed, and Sothys has maintained its consistent core values as a creative company without straying beyond them. As a brand and as a company, one of our three pillars is loyalty to the professional aesthetician without compromise. The second pillar is the continual evolution of our science-based product and treatment creations to assist the estheticians in their craft. The third pillar is the signature of maintaining a ‘hands-on’ technique in all of our treatment procedures. These three pillars reflect our commitment to the client-therapist relationship that we feel is fundamental to the industry’s relevance and future.
How does Sothys and its family of products differ from other suppliers/ brands in the industry?
Sothys just gets on and does what it does best – it invests 10 percent of its entire income to its scientific research laboratories, which is quite unique to our specific professional industry. This covers the Original Research science team that works out of Sothys organic Beauty Garden in collaboration with the University of Limoges Green Science Unit, where new molecules form the basis of patented cosmetic actives. The team from Sothys Applied Science laboratory then utilises the new molecules in the creation of evolving formulations for Sothys. Sothys guarantees worldwide safety and security on its products as a result of knowing every facet of their creation. This is unique in our professional industry.
What have been the biggest changes you have seen in the industry since starting your business?
For many decades our industry was free of the influence of the internet. During this time the quality of the relationship between the therapist and client was one of lifetime nurturing. In our times of social media communications, this personal bond has been fractured through many different concepts of what beauty is today.
The advent of clinical skin care has been a game-changer. And with clinical skincare, the expectations of a quick fix has put more pressure on Sothys research and development to create high-performance treatments and homecare that deliver the results that are expected by a demanding clientele today. Sothys has created a range of clinical skin care that delivers the benchmark results of our times in line with dermo-aesthetic technology.
What do you think are the biggest opportunities in the industry in the next few years?
The opportunities are numerous. Opportunities are only seen by those who are adaptive to the times we live in. The advantage Sothys has is that we never stand still as a range. Sothys’ products are in continual evolution and we have the ability to adapt to any direction we feel is the right path.
What do you think are the biggest challenges facing the industry in the next few years?
Our industry can only function well when there are therapists who are prepared to dedicate themselves to the care that is essential to our game. The biggest challenge our industry has today is the engagement of younger generations of therapists who have a different approach to their work life and job rewards in what is fundamentally a service industry. Schools play an essential part in moulding the attitudes and behaviours of future therapists, but they can only do so much and the rest comes down to individual character.
To what do you attribute the brand’s longevity in a notoriously fickle consumer market?
Sothys profoundly works on the skin, offering results consistently. It is easy to sell a treatment or product once, but to create a growing business you must have a returning clientele. Results, coupled with client care, are the basis of our industry. Sothys has always placed clients’ safety and long-term skin viability first, even while utilising more clinical-style formulas recently, which is why it has such respect and high reputation in the marketplace. Sothys is the equivalent to the slow food movement philosophy in food, whereas more recently we see too many McDonald’s-style fast food skincare brands catering for short term results with potentially negative repercussions in the long term. Sothys is a brand for a lifetime of good skin health. The skin has a memory and will repay you for the kindness and care you invest into it. Conversely, with aggressive treatments, your skin will repay you with accelerated skin ageing in the future as it exhausts its vitality and becomes senescent. Sothys is a safe life-partner with a proven reputation with over 70 years of experience. We could say ‘70 years without a wrinkle’. n
For more information contact Sothys on 1800 816 599 or email info@sothys.com.au