Founder and permanent CEO companies ESTEL- highly qualified chemist Lev Okhotin. Before opening own enterprise Lev Okhotin worked in a group of managers for a large entrepreneur who invested in various projects and their development. One of these projects was a perfumery and cosmetics factory, which a year later, thanks to the efforts of Lev Okhotin and his colleagues, got out of the crisis. It was then that Lev Okhotin thought about the possibility of creating his own company for the development and production of cosmetic products.
The idea was simple: to develop and market a domestic product of high quality and at reasonable prices. In 2001, a series of hair dyes for home use was developed and began to be sold, consisting of 15 shades, called " ESTEL ».
The brand was quickly noticed not only by buyers, but also by professionals in the beauty industry. In May 2005, the company prepared and released the first professional line of ESSEX dyes, which consisted of 67 shades, shampoos and balms. By the end of the next year, the ESSEX palette had almost doubled in size. The novelty was a success with specialists and their clients, and in ESTEL it was decided to develop and offer salons the widest possible selection of domestic products for hairdressers, developing and releasing in record time a huge range of excellent domestic professional cosmetics for hair, and subsequently for the body. 
Production history ESTEL started with just 1000 sq. m leased. After a short time, the company needed something more reliable and large-scale. In 2004, production was launched, here the dreams of a significant increase in production from 1 million to 2 million pieces of products per month became a reality.
Today, the brand's dealer network includes more than 150 organizations in Russia, the Baltic States, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Armenia and other countries of the near abroad. In 2011, the official representative office of ESTEL-Ukraine, ESTEL-Europe in Germany was opened. The first sales started in Poland. The company plans to enter other markets of Central and Western Europe.
The strongest link of ESTEL is hair dyes: DE LUXE has 134 tones, ESSEX - 114, DE LUXE SENSE - 68. In the near future, it is planned to expand the palette, including in the direction of lighter tones. ESTEL closely cooperates with hairdressing salons and strictly monitors not only the quality of products, but also the correct use of them.
The company sees its mission in a significant development and increase in the profitability of the hairdressing industry as a whole.
What is the secret of the success of the young Russian professional brand? Main resource ESTEL These are people, their potential and belief in success. The work experience of many is equal to the age of the company itself, and this says a lot. After all, things were not always the way they are now. There were very difficult times of formation, entry into the market, but, nevertheless, these people remained true to the cause that they built together. And now, when ESTEL has become a reputable company with a name, with big plans, vast geography, people still remain the most important and expensive in it. Here all patriots in the full sense of the word. As Lev Okhotin himself says, “we are all infected with the same idea in ESTEL!”.
(author)Hundreds of thousands of professionals choose Estel products, as it is a guarantee of beauty and quality. The production of cosmetics under the Estel Professional brand is carried out by a successful Russian company Unicosmetics LLC. All cosmetics that are produced under the Estel brand have been developed and researched in our own laboratories, using the latest scientific developments.
Story
Lev Okhotin, a highly qualified chemist, is both the CEO and founder of Estel. Lev Okhotin began his career as a manager for a large entrepreneur who did not spare money for various projects and their development. Once, one of these projects was a perfumery and cosmetics factory on the verge of collapse. Thanks to the skills of Lev Okhotin, this factory was restored and brought to a qualitatively new level. And it was this that prompted Leo to think about the possibility of creating own business in the cosmetics and perfumery industry.
In his business plan, Lev Okhotin laid down only one, but extremely important idea - to develop a high-quality domestic product with a reasonable price policy. The CEO began his career with the launch of a series of hair dyes for home use called Estel, which consisted of fifteen shades.
Estel hair dye was immediately noticed and appreciated. Already in May 2005, the ESSEX line of professional dyes was created and put into production, consisting of 67 shades, shampoos and balms. And here the company also expected success. It was decided to expand the palette of ESSEX shades.
The product was moving quite successfully on the market, and Lev Okhotin put next target for his company: to develop and produce the widest possible range of high-quality domestic hair cosmetics with a focus on salons and masters, in record time.
Climbing the market
The development of production began with rented squares in the amount of 1000 square meters. m. With the development of production, the question arose of a more reliable and voluminous base for work. And this aspect was also translated into reality, which made it possible to double the production turnover, now about 2 million different types of ESTEL products were produced per month. Today, the brand network consists of more than 150 organizations in Russia, the Baltic States, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Armenia and other countries of the near abroad.
Officially, in 2011, the opening of a representative office of ESTEL-Europe in Germany, ESTEL-Ukraine in Ukraine.
It is very important for both salon masters and the average girl to have high-quality hair cosmetics that will not only not damage, but also improve the condition of the hair, and also allow professional care to be carried out at home.
Estel's goal
The Estel company sees a large-scale development and an increase in the profitability of the hairdressing industry as a whole; in creating a competitive domestic product at a reasonable price. The secret of the success of the young Russian professional brand is not a secret, the CEO boldly declares it. The main resource of ESTEL is people, their potential and belief in success. The period of work of many employees is equal to the age of the company itself, and this says a lot. After all, at first it was very difficult, and they went through this path of development together with Estel. After all, it is very important to have an employee who knows the history of the company from a to z, all the undercurrents, areas that require special attention who sincerely cares about professional growth companies.
Estel School
To expand the Estel industry, train craftsmen and improve the skills of craftsmen, it was decided to open an Estel school. In 2005, the first Estel hairdressing school appeared in St. Petersburg. The organization of the process and teaching methods had to be completely independently formed. Colleagues from the Parisian Academy of Hairdressing Saint Louis came to the rescue in this matter (using the franchising system).
During the training of the hairdresser, only Estel products are used, and the equipment is custom-made by Welonda. The training program corresponds state standards and is constantly integrated in order to expand the practical and theoretical knowledge of students.
In 2007, the developed own teaching methods made it possible to open the Estel Academy. The academy conducts testing of new products, training in technologies for working with Estel brand cosmetics, advanced training of experienced professionals, and presentations of the company's new products.
The staff of the company was rapidly expanding, the prestige of the brand was growing, the demand for products was increasing every day. This led to the opening of the renovated Estel Hairdressing Academy, which included the School and the Author's Beauty Salon.
The professionalism of the Estel company is confirmed by numerous awards for such a short period on the market, the massive use of this cosmetics in salons, as well as the level of demand for Estel products.
Video:
In the context of a sharp jump in the cost of imported drugs and consumables, many beauty salon managers are looking for ways to reduce the cost of services while maintaining their high quality.
It would seem that here it is - a chance for domestic producers to oust foreign competitors from the market! However, Russian enterprises manufacturing professional cosmetic products can be counted on the fingers. Those of them who are actually capable of making serious competition Western companies, is an almost unique case.
The more interesting it is for us today to lift the veil of secrecy and reveal the "secrets" of production and commercial success Russian brand ESTEL, which for several years has been one of the leaders in the market of professional hairdressing products: the volume of products produced by this company is the largest in Eastern Europe!
Frames are everything
And not just personnel, but SCIENTIFIC STAFF. In the situation with ESTEL - Russian chemists. It is the foundation and heart of the company. A team of 30 scientists is led by a pharmaceutical chemist Olga Chistyakova. All of them, as if by choice, are graduates of the best Russian specialized universities. Five are candidates of chemical sciences. Many employees of the laboratory have been employed in it since the very first years of the foundation of the brand.
Nevertheless, such a large-scale and dynamically developing production constantly needs to replenish its personnel young talented scientists. This circumstance is one of the reasons why students of domestic chemical universities regularly practice in the ESTEL laboratory. The best graduates who have shown themselves well during the practice are invited to work in the company. Also, the laboratory of the brand participates in institute grants: scientists working for ESTEL offer students their topics for graduation theses. This form of cooperation not only stimulates a thorough study of certain chemical processes, but also allows you to make new ones. scientific discoveries. Several times it was in the course of such studies that original innovative ESTEL products were created.
Scientific partnership
From the first days of the brand's existence, its leading scientific partner is the St. Petersburg State Institute of Technology, the alma mater not only of many employees of the brand's laboratory, but also of the owner of the company, Lev Okhotin, a professional chemist, a graduate of the Department of Chemical Technology of Organic Dyes and Phototropic Compounds. It is this partnership that gives ESTEL the opportunity to use the latest developments in fundamental science in the formulas of its products.
The quality of raw materials with a capital letter
ESTEL cooperates with large European companies - manufacturers of cosmetic raw materials, which have production capacity located all over the world and who guarantee the high quality of their products. These are the same factories that produce components for the products of all multinational cosmetics companies. When choosing a supplier company, attention is drawn to the fame of the company, its position in the market is checked, attention is drawn to the presence of new products from the company: if they are, then money is invested in the business.
Preference is given to firms with history, continuity, because they are very reverent and scrupulous about their business. For example, one of the companies supplying perfumes to ESTEL is more than 100 years old, it is a family business with established traditions. Cooperation with such firms is especially valuable in the production of exclusive series of ESTEL products.
The beauty industry has very strict requirements for cosmetic raw materials in general. Exists great amount various committees, commissions that check the quality of materials. When a company offers a package of documents, say, for a vitamin complex, in the form of a 60-page dossier, this inspires respect and trust. But ... this does not cancel the INTERNAL CONTROL in ESTEL of all incoming raw materials and materials.
Interesting fact: Representatives are very fond of visiting the ESTEL production commodity companies not only for the friendly welcome, but also for the fact that during communication with laboratory staff and production processes they open up new topics for their development. There are examples when, after such meetings and interest in a particular component, products entered the European market that were previously sold only in America or Japan, or even were in the portfolio of this company.
Thorough testing of products by the future buyer BEFORE the mass production stage
The development of new products is carried out in close cooperation and with the direct participation of practicing hairdressers.
At the development stage, when the scientific team, having reviewed various combinations of substances, is satisfied with its result, the stage of testing the product in the laboratory begins, where it is adapted. Volunteers work out a coloristic assessment, sensations on wet, dry hair, ease of application, rinsing quality, aroma and other components. And the important thing is that at this moment the developer can intervene quickly to improve certain parameters.
Upon receipt of positive results, the product is sent for mass testing to the ESTEL Hairdressing Academy, where the so-called “product dossier”, that is, customer reviews, is collected. And only after that the product is put into production.
Lead times for product development and testing can vary. For example, in 1999, it took chemists a year to develop and test the very first line of ESTEL dye, during which 2000 recipes for 15 shades were prepared. It took the company three years to develop 101 shades of the HAUTE COUTURE ESTEL masterpiece dye (thousands (!) Models were painted before the mass production stage).
Adaptation of products for the Russian consumer and for Russian conditions of use, or NO ready-made foreign formulas!
All ESTEL recipes are unique developments of our own scientific laboratory. The proposals of producers of raw materials to purchase "ready-made formulas" (and they are not uncommon) are treated critically in the company. This is due to the fact that the latter are often absolutely not adapted to the Russian market, to our region, they are not adapted, for example, to water.
Thorough observance of technological production processes and quality control department (technical control department)
It is very important for the success of the brand that all processes, from the development of the formulation, its implementation in production, the packaging of the finished product to its storage in the warehouse and shipment to the consumer, guarantee the high quality of drugs. Therefore, the company has developed procedures for each stage of the research and production and even the implementation process, which spell out step by step who and what should do at a certain moment, what to control. All divisions and specialists of different categories are involved in these processes (from a candidate of chemical sciences to a packer). Everything happens according to a clear scheme, all processes are verified and subordinated international standard ISO quality.
Particular attention is paid to strict adherence to the percentage input of components in the production of drugs. Thus, ESTEL guarantees that the client will receive the effect from the properties declared on the packaging and in the product description.
The technical control department (OTC) monitors the production. And not only at the stage of supply of raw materials and the actual production. ESTEL guarantees the quality of their products on the basis that they subject them to total control for three years from the date of release, that is, the entire shelf life! First, three months after release, and then every year, all released batches are tested for physical and chemical parameters, for color evaluation. By the way, in two years the company will start its own microbiological laboratory, but for now these tests are carried out on a contractual basis by other accredited laboratories in Moscow and St. Petersburg. ESTEL rightly considers research on clinical and toxicological standards to be very important, because the number of people prone to allergic diseases has recently increased.
Constant expansion and modernization of production facilities and equipment
ESTEL production since 2010 is no longer one, but two plants in St. Petersburg: on Piskarevsky Prospekt and new production facilities in Kolpino with an area of 30 thousand square meters. m (where not only workshops are located, but also a warehouse for finished products). Both plants are well equipped and use high-quality domestic (for example, reactors) and imported (packing) equipment.
Most of the production is automated, and only in some cases the assistance of personnel is required. For example, cooking machines involve automated supply of raw materials and the subsequent supply of the finished product, but they need to be controlled by technologists. Assistance is also required in the preparation of raw materials. Packing involves automation, but at the final stages (for example, packing tubes of paint into boxes) manual work is used.
It was the expansion of production facilities and capacities and their maximum automation that allowed ESTEL to increase production to 10,000,000 units per month and take the position of one of largest productions professional hair dyes in Europe.
There are people who are professionally able to give interviews. Question and answer, everything is accurate, not a single superfluous interjection. Estel Professional CEO Lev Okhotin not only answers openly, but also asks himself, with prejudice. What to do, gambling interlocutor, and he has something to say. One day of communication with him - and the horizons expand suspiciously, and facts and analytical calculations from the areas of economics, marketing, management, general history, football, professional hairdressing and chemistry fit into a coherent system in a surprising way. In short, Lev Okhotin does not know how to give interviews, and I hope he never will.
Tour of the Estel factory and business in general with Lev Okhotin, General Director of Estel Professional
I know that in the Estel office for contacting the general director of "Lev Evgenievich" - a fine of 1000 rubles. I will not run up, I turn to “you” and by name, especially since we have known each other for a long time))). So, Leo, the most interesting thing is the plant. What is happening in the hairdressing world is more or less visible even to the naked eye: salons, collections, trends, the entire fashion history. And production is a completely different song, right?
I will try to explain everything not from the point of view of glamour, but from the point of view of production processes. So, all hair cosmetics are divided into 3 main components: dye, care and styling. Obviously, the most complex product is the dye. The manufacturer that succeeds in the field of professional dye production will succeed in everything else, because the dye is a locomotive. The more powerful the locomotive, the more trailers you can attach to it. The success of a manufacturer is measured not in money, but in hecalitres, running meters, in our case - in tubes. And in order to understand how many products, in principle, it is necessary to produce, it is necessary to correctly assess the capacity of the market, the competitive environment and compare all this with your own capabilities.
Yes, it's not easy to figure it out.
Nothing complicated. Consider conditionally 100 women who dye their hair: someone buys paint in the supermarket and dyes it at home, and someone goes to the salon. Question: how do you think, in what proportion does this happen?
I think 30 to 70%, in favor of home coloring.
Close to that. Alas, the average response of the Russian, Ukrainian, Kazakh audience is 50/50. This is bullshit! The salon business is not a product business, but a service business.
And money is spent on services when everything is good with prosperity. Something tells me that the average income of a Russian is less than the average income of a Western European. So for reference: in the vast majority of countries of prosperous Western Europe, the advantage in sales is with ... retail. And only in Germany and France the ratio is about 50/50. However, the point here is not only the solvency of citizens, but also the professionalism of hairdressers. Our company conducted a small opinion poll among women in St. Petersburg. And it turned out that most of them are subconsciously afraid to go to the hairdresser: they are afraid that their hair will be ruined, because they had a negative experience before. Young people, of course, are much bolder: they have not yet had time to burn themselves. Somehow, I came across a study by a large marketing company on the topic “The market for hair dyes in the Russian Federation in the first half of 2010”. According to their calculations, the situation is as follows: in Moscow, 24% dye their hair in the salon and 76% at home, and in St. Petersburg - 21% by 79%. And on average in Russia this ratio is about 15% to 85%.
And what do these numbers give us?
So far, these numbers give us little. The main thing is to know the market capacity, that is, in our case, the number of colorings per year and the share that you occupy in the market. Statistics and simple arithmetic eventually give us a figure of about 250 million stains per year. Of these, 15% are professional paints. So, in terms of sales in the professional segment, Estel became the leader in the Russian market back in 2007.
And they say that the crisis helped Estel ...
Hmm... Of course it helped! Only now they forget to say that before the crisis, Estel was 2 times ahead of its closest competitor in terms of professional dyes, that is, in my favorite product units - tubes. There are about 40 brands on the Russian professional market. There are 6 main ones. They occupy 2/3 of the market. The rest are content with 1/3 of the market. The same story is in Germany: 80% of the market belongs to the largest manufacturers. The rest is shared by an insane amount of other brands.
In Russia, the crisis had a greater impact on small brands that do not have representative offices in Russia, but work through importers. And what happened in the first six? Sales of the top five brands fell by an average of 20%. And Estel in 2010 began to sell more than all of them put together, I mean again - in tubes of paint. Experts say that the crisis in the real sector of the economy began only in 2009, and continued in 2010-2011 and will reach the bottom only in 2012. But we keep growing. Therefore, I personally do not want to talk about the “crisis helped”. Estel began to gain momentum much earlier.
And now what - Estel won everyone in tubes and will rest on her laurels?
What can be laurels? If we believe the statements of our government, then by the cherished date of 2020, Russia's GDP should exceed all conceivable and unimaginable limits. In this case, the capacity of the professional cosmetics market should increase by 2-2.5 times! This means: the annual number of professional stains should approach 100 million. What options does Estel have? Today we occupy more than 33% of the market, that is, we sell almost 20 million tubes. Option one: we will retain our market share, and this is, conditionally, 33 million tubes. Option two: the brand will collapse with terrible force, as much as 2 times - and this turns out to be 16%, 16 million tubes. I don't like this option at all. Naturally, neither the first nor the second options are considered in the plans, but the third option is considered, which is also the Task Maximum - 65%. This is what we will strive for.
I wonder how? Other companies also do not stand still and are unlikely to want to give you their market share.
Agree! But the lion's share of the success of any professional brand is not the economy at all, but the awareness and professionalism of the craftsmen. And Estel is very tense in this regard. We have not yet created my dream - a total technological service, like in total football, the brainchild of the great USSR football coach Valery Lobanovsky, when every second of the match on every square meter of the field you take the soul out of the opponent, when all 11 players run like mad for 90 minutes. But we are moving towards it with confidence.
What does this mean for professional services?
Totally - it means MAC-SI-MAL-BUT in every sense of the word! It must be continuous, scrupulous, irreproachable, rhythmic training of masters. Figuratively speaking, the Estel technologist should not leave the salon at all. If you like, be his mistress. Understand how you want!
OK, back to the economic component. All these millions of tubes have to be produced somewhere. Until we got to the workshops, please tell us how it all began?
A brief historical note is tritely simple: I am a graduate of Tekhnolozhka - the Department of Chemical Technology of Organic Dyes and Phototropic Compounds of the St. Petersburg State Technological Institute. They taught us fine organic synthesis. And dyes are aerobatics in fine organic synthesis.
So, why did you get into cosmetics? You can make a lot more money in the pharmaceutical industry, no?
Every person is driven by a motive. I have had one motive since childhood: to prove something to someone - my mother, teacher, former employer. And the money... I came to my first job in March 1995 for a fantastic salary for me then - 150 US dollars. Another question is why after 2 months I got 300, after a year 1000, after one and a half - 1500, and at the end of 1996 the employer offers me to sign a contract for 3 years in the amount of 100 thousand dollars, that is, 3000 per month. I'm somewhat of a fan of Russia and, having calculated the scheme by which the money remained in offshore accounts in other countries, I decided that I was no longer involved in this. I left with a decent salary and with an unsigned contract for $ 3,000 - again for $ 300. And I ended up in a group of managers for one large entrepreneur who invested money by buying out a variety of enterprises - such an owner of factories, newspapers, steamships. And so, we are sitting at a meeting - and they announce to us: guys, there are 2 new acquisitions - a paint and varnish factory and a perfume and cosmetics factory. Both are in complete ruin, they need to be raised. Naturally, everyone wants to paint - tanks, wagons, what kind of perfumery against this background? Well, what to do, we throw a coin - which group will do what. I dreamed of a paint and varnish factory, but ended up in a perfumery.
That is, if the coin fell differently, would Lev Okhotin “Tikkurilu” win now? Would there be nothing left of Tikkurila?!
(Smiling). So, I get to a cosmetic factory, and there - Achtung! The people do not receive a salary for 3-4 months, the accounts receivable are such that it is almost impossible to return it, there is no raw material - well, a complete disaster! In a year, we have zero debts to the state, the enterprise is functioning, people are getting paid, workshops are being repaired, and so on. And at this point comes the "conflict of interest." I am 25 years old, I am young and bouncing, I dream of creating a global Russian brand, of making outright transnational enterprises. And the bosses are doing well: their appetites were limited solely to financial well-being. Of course, I became an irritant to their calmness. But everything was decided by itself. February 1999 We sit with friends in a bar and watch some kind of hockey match. And so, when we reached such a state in which the heroes of The Irony of Fate tried to remember who was still flying to Leningrad, they shook hands in a rush and firmly decided that we would start building our own factory. And when the moment of sobering up came - wow, where to start with something? We had nothing but unmeasured desire and professional knowledge. And you still need to have some start-up capital. With great difficulty, they scraped together 102 thousand 700 dollars, got into debt in full, but did not give up their dream. I left the $1,500 salary again, and while Unicosmetics was being created, throughout 1999 and 2000, I could not afford to pay more than $350 on my own. And then there was already a family and a child appeared. Thanks wife! She endured it: diapers were canceled, gauze was used. As you can see, the material motive for me was far from being in the first place.
What's on the first one?
Production of high-quality domestic hair dye. Naturally, we started with retail. The first series - only 15 shades. True, in order to bring them to mind, more than 2000 recipes were prepared. Each must be synthesized, welded. Titanic work. But one way or another, only 11 months passed from the idea to its actual implementation: we released the first product already in January 2000. And it was cool. There were 5 of us: Lidia Pavlovna Kovzhina, my teacher from the department and the greatest specialist in organic dyes in the USSR, Andrey Shiltsov, the future Chief Engineer Estel, Vadim Borisovich Panteleimonov, future Technical Director, Olga Chistyakova, the permanent head of our laboratory, a pharmaceutical chemist by education, and myself. I remember that they couldn’t even hire a cleaning lady, the cleaning schedule hung in the office. My day was Thursday. Of course, I did not even think about competition with transnational companies. "Rocolor" Moscow for us was then not just clouds, but in general the stratosphere, which is impossible to reach! What did we get away with? I don't know, maybe the energy is indefatigable. Then we worked and developed simply at a mega-tempo.
And how did you come to professional cosmetics?
To my deepest regret, the idea is not mine. May 2003, St. Petersburg exhibition Nice, I'm sitting at the booth, frankly bored, suddenly a person appears next to me and starts a long conversation with me on the topic of how Russia needs a domestic brand of professional cosmetics. I politely nod for an hour, nod for the second... at the fourth hour, only to let him fall behind, I promise that, they say, the Estel laboratory will certainly begin to conduct research and development. This "meticulous" person turned out to be Dmitry Ershov, president of the Nevsky Shore festival. He turned out to be another leech: a week later he reminded himself of himself, then another week later, then he introduced him to Nikolai Ivanovich Kharkovsky... Kharkov - it is impossible. It is impossible to express how grateful I am to him. It was Nikolai Ivanovich who opened the hairdressing world for me in all its forms.
Lev, explain how hairdressers can help production chemists?
In fact, we chemists can do whatever you want. You say the main thing - what?
And Nikolai Ivanovich in this regard is one of those hairdressers who could clearly set goals and test products very systematically, giving us clear and reasoned recommendations at the end, what is good, what is not, what needs to be changed. He considered the laboratory staff almost gods. If he entered my office, opening the door with his foot, then in the holy of holies - the laboratory, he delicately knocked and entered with the words: “Excuse me, but can I disturb you?”
Lev, why did you resist something when Ershov started talking about a professional?
Frankly believed that the domestic brand in the professional market is doomed to failure due to prejudice. I admit I was wrong - the numbers speak for themselves. But we developed the professional one for a long time and scrupulously and started with a tiny assortment: no styling, no care, only 67 shades of paint, a set of oxides and technical shampoos and balms ... That's it!
In my opinion, this is a lot.
What are you! Now how much? Essex has 112, DeLuxe has 134, DeLuxe Silver has 43, Sense has 68. Show me who in the world has 43 special shades for gray hair and 7 of them are at the 9th level of tone depth. Thanks for this to our laboratory, as well as to the St. Petersburg and Moscow studios. Special thanks to Kharkovsky for "pressing" us. Because the reality of hairdressing is this: the master needs to be comfortable, simple, varied. You still have to mix shades, but we are talking about professionals, and if you are a professional, then you learn to paint, damn it, to be different from retail and home dyeing, only then your clients will be happy. I give a standing ovation to the Wella chemists for their Inspire. This is a very complex product from a chemical point of view, requiring serious knowledge from the craftsmen and at the same time excluding the use by customers at home. Only 7 colored granules: mix and create! Endless possibilities for creativity.
And where is Inspire now? Obviously not in the holiday zone. Why? Yes, because in order to work with Inspire, you have to constantly think!
What is the Apple phenomenon? No need to think, slap-slap, you don’t even need to turn the picture over - it turns itself over.
OK, welding paint, as I understand it, is more difficult than looking at photos on an iPad.
The production of cosmetics is divided into 2 stages. The first - it is necessary to "cook", the second - to pack. The packaging process is faster than the "boiling" process. Roughly speaking, it takes from 10 to 14 hours to “weld” a paint reactor, and this reactor takes 8 hours to pack. Therefore, the "brewing" shop works 24 hours a day, and the packing shop - 16 hours. In total, there are 3 workshops, 27 conveyors.
How many people work in production?
If we talk about packing - 140 people, chemists-technologists - 20 people, plus 15 people in the research laboratory, of which 3 are candidates of science. And in total, Unicosmetics has more than 500 employees.
Leo, when did the production capacities appear?
When we started, everything was in rented space. For 1000 sq. m located and production, and a warehouse of raw materials, and a warehouse of finished products, and an office with a laboratory. Stay in rented space manufacturing plant These are, to put it mildly, big risks. A distributor or an editorial office, sorry, can change its place of deployment in a matter of days, and moving production is a task of a completely different order. We started looking, and in May 2003 the building where we are now was purchased. In Soviet times, there was a Research Institute of Quartz Glass here. The new production started in 2004. At that time, we were selling 1 million pieces of products per month. And I thought: “Lord, what happiness! On these areas, we will be able to expand production to 2 million units!” It seemed to me fantastic volumes ... Today we are producing 6 million pieces a month here. This has only become possible thanks to innovative production management. But all ideas sooner or later hit the ceiling. And now we are already at the limit of our production capabilities. Oh, I distinctly remember: 2009. One in the morning, I return home, I wait for the elevator and I persuade myself: “Lev, think, think, think, how to reduce demand!” Normal thoughts from the CEO?! Therefore, of course, I threw out a cry: we need new production facilities. Imagine, found in 2 weeks)))! The complex is ideal for all characteristics: area, gas, water, electricity, transport logistics. You won’t believe it, even the color of the buildings is our signature, Estelle! Now we are leading design work, I hope that we will start production in the IV quarter of 2012, we will finally master it by 2015. It will indeed be one of the largest production facilities for professional hair dyes in Europe, and even in the world.
And what is there now?
So far, only a warehouse of finished products. Recently, I organized a tour there for our colleagues from the Estel-Germany representative office. Thank God, I am free from prejudices and I have no great open secrets, I have nothing to hide. To be honest, then I don’t know who had a culture shock - theirs or mine. I was dumbfounded when I saw the scale of what was happening - I myself could not believe that all this was Estel. Because it's one thing to look at the reporting numbers, and another thing to see it with your own eyes. When you're actually standing in the middle of a city block, only the "streets" are rows of racks, and each rack is the height of a five-story building, and everything is filled with pallets of boxes. This is despite the fact that loading into trucks and sending do not stop at all.
And before the end of 2012, will you dream about how to reduce demand?
And don't dream! We have one more know-how in stock to optimize all production processes. We would, as they say, stand the night and hold out the day! But Estel has one more “problem”: Europe is “tearing” us apart. After much persuasion, we started sales in Germany through our official representative office Estel-Europe, which is designed to solve two problems: to work effectively with German salons and to function as a European logistics center. Sales have also begun in Poland, with Holland, Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom on the waiting list.
Why does everyone love Estel so much? For quality?
To talk about quality in professional cosmetics is to drive air in vain. If you work with professionals, then quality is a priori. After all, the hairdresser is responsible to the client with his wallet, and right today. professional market reacts instantly - after 48 hours from Kaliningrad to Nakhodka, everyone knows if suddenly something is wrong with the products. Quality is a necessary but not sufficient condition for success. The main thing in the promotion of professional cosmetics is the knowledge and skills of hairdressers, which are transferred through a professional service. Well, and marginality, that is, the profitability of all links in the product chain: manufacturer, distributor, salon. In this sense, Estel has something to be proud of.
Your economy is in perfect order, and Lev Okhotin remains a chemist?
Not anymore. The Estel laboratory "fired" me. The last time I synthesized something in a flask was in 2001, until 2003 I remained the chief colorist at OTK. And I was "fired" when the laboratory sent me 2 samples, between which I did not see the difference. No, in principle I see colors well, but not well enough for the Estel color laboratory.
Leo, who are the suppliers of the ingredients?
To my deep regret, there are no Russian raw materials for the production of any perfumery and cosmetic products. Estel from Russian raw materials has the most important component, the molecular formula of which is H2O. But the quality of drinking water does not meet Estel standards, so the water undergoes complex purification through mechanical, carbon and anion-cationic filters. The final stage of purification is called "reverse osmosis". After these procedures, the water quality is obtained as distilled. We use it to the fullest. But the "vodichka" turns out to be very expensive, because the efficiency of the purification system is about 30%, that is, from 100 tons of water, only 30 tons of chemically pure are obtained. Speaking of ingredients... Even something as simple as "Russian herbal extracts" miraculously comes from Austria and Holland.
And we don't supply hay there. We have learned how to make extracts, but there is such a thing as "convenience of introduction into the recipe." Europeans will throw a couple of ingredients into our extracts for ease of introduction, they will multiply the price by 3 - and please. Therefore, alas, there are no truly Russian components in our business. Although the main thing is not so much the ingredients as the unique recipes of brilliant Russian chemists. How to mix everything correctly so that it doesn’t turn out the way my French friend did, who wanted to cook good Russian cabbage soup, but it turned out to be an unsuccessful Italian minestrone.
What about machines, conveyors, equipment?
The same story…. We launch satellites into space, but we don’t want to do something like an elementary reactor (in professional slang - “pan”). Although I am sure that Russia will close this segment as well.
So you say that the production of hair dye is top notch in cosmetics from a chemical point of view. And why? Is perfume, for example, easier to synthesize?
Any perfumery and cosmetic product - powder, soap, shampoo, perfume - is already the final finished product. No chemical reactions occur during its application. And paint is a “semi-finished product”, because the final product is the color on the hair. In the process of staining, there is a subtle organic synthesis of new substances that have color, and chemists must make sure that this synthesis goes in the right direction. The longer I studied chemistry, the better I understood that chemistry is not an exact science, but a very empirical one. There is such a “method of scientific poke”: they poked a finger into the sky - and they hit (or didn’t hit) a star. It's just about chemistry. Here, an insane number of experiments are first made, on the basis of which any result is obtained, and already on the basis of numerous data, scientists create a theoretical base. But not vice versa! The "chip" of our company is also that hairdressers can implement their ideas through the laboratory and production. How many ideas Nikolai Ivanovich Kharkovsky brought to life through the Estel laboratory! Or here's another vivid example - the Anti-Yellow Effect product first appeared as an idea of one of our partners (he is a hairdresser, and a distributor, and a manager training center, and a born marketer), then it was tested by 3 studios, as a result they agreed on one recipe.
Leo, how do you manage to pick up a team so as not to control and constantly be surprised in a good way?
The main thing is to infect people. And be competent in what you are doing in order to select these people rationally. At the enterprise I passed all specialties. I worked in packaging, I worked in a laboratory, I worked in production, I worked as a loader, I worked as a cleaner, in the engineering service ... well, really, they quickly asked me from there with the wording “we don’t need a crippled director.”
It turns out, just not sheared.
But he painted! And I paint regularly. And I passed the qualification exams for technologists in the studio.
And I argued a lot with the teaching staff about the methodology of the educational process. I don't need a sign language interpreter: we speak the same language with the laboratory and production. It seems to me that I am a very democratic leader, I prefer not to include administrative resources. I can throw an idea, but in such a way that people themselves give it development.
Was it star disease?
It was like that. But, thank God, I began to realize in time that I was responsible to employees and their families, to distributors, to salons, hairdressers and their clients. The degree of responsibility constantly increased. It pressed with terrible force. Then I said to myself: you need to work better - and with responsibility everything will be fine, you will not set anyone up. Because any success or failure of Estel is an indicator of responsibility to people. And in order to work normally, the mood must be good and positive, thoughts materialize.
Leo, and at what stage did star disease appear?
In 2004. We had a very successful year in the field of retail, and then it really hit. I did not turn to friends, comrades and psychologists, but it took me 2-3 months of auto-training. So this is already a milestone. Another issue is continuity. Of course, we are trying to rejuvenate the company. We started when we were, on average, 27 years old. Let's add 12 years... And what will happen in another 10? And progress, as you know, is made by the young. I have been thinking about a successor for 3-4 years.
You don't mean heir now?
No way. Children have their own way. The youngest does not yet know what he wants, but he is still 6 years old.
And the elder wants to be an architect - and thank God! He draws well, everything is in order with mathematics, let him dare. In business, I do not need an heir, but a successor of ideas. Just don't think that I'm already going to retire)))! Don't wait!..
And what is your main idea? IDfix?
About 2-3 years ago I had a dream: I was walking along the Nevsky, everything was like in reality. Gostiny Dvor - Estel Salon, Passage - Estel Salon, Alexandria Academic Theater - Estel Salon, Anichkov Bridge - Estel Salon, Yusupov Palace - Estel Salon, Nevsky Palace - Estel Salon, Vosstaniya Square, Moscow Station - stop, what does Salon L do here " Oreal ??? Then I began to compare the facts. France, a strong national manufacturer - L "Oreal, 70% of the national market. Germany - Wella, USA - Matrix. Question: Russia, a strong national producer... Should we continue further? The next rhetorical question: “Oh, Estel has achieved such success, is it probably about to be sold to transnationals?” I hope I was convincing that no.
How it all began...
The founder and permanent CEO of ESTEL Lev Okhotin is a highly qualified chemist, a graduate of the Department of Chemical Technology of Organic Dyes and Phototropic Compounds of the St. Petersburg State Technological Institute. The scope of his scientific interests is the basis of fine organic synthesis, that is, exactly on the basis of which dyes are produced. Before opening his own enterprise, Lev Okhotin worked in a group of managers from one large entrepreneur who invested in various projects and their development. One of these projects was a perfumery and cosmetics factory, which a year later, thanks to the efforts of Lev Okhotin and his colleagues, got out of the crisis. It was then that Lev Okhotin thought about the possibility of creating his own company for the development and production of cosmetic products. There was no question of what to produce, because, as a scientist, the future head of ESTEL was best versed in dyes.
The idea was simple: to develop and put on the market a domestic product of high quality and, of course, domestic prices. Friends were involved in its implementation: Lidia Pavlovna Kovzhina (teacher of the Department of Chemical Technology of Organic Dyes and Phototropic Compounds of the St. Petersburg State Technological Institute), Andrey Shiltsov (future chief engineer of ESTEL), Vadim Borisovich Panteleymonov (future technical director) and Olga Chistyakova (head laboratories, a pharmaceutical chemist by education). The year 2000 was in the yard, no investments were expected from outside. The initial start-up capital was raised from personal savings. A year later, a series of hair dyes for home use was developed and began to be sold, consisting of 15 shades, called "Estelle" (in the Russian-language spelling).
The brand was quickly noticed not only by buyers, but also by professionals in the beauty industry. In May 2003, Dmitry Ershov (President of the Nevskiye Berega Festival), having met Lev Okhotin, tried to infect him with the idea of creating a domestic brand of professional cosmetics. Lev Okhotin waved it off then, but a little later Dmitry Ershov introduced him to Nikolai Ivanovich Kharkovsky (world-class master in hairdressing, winner of the USSR, European and world championships, coach of the USSR national team in hairdressing), who became ESTEL's guide to the world of hairdressing.
As a result, the ESTEL laboratory began research and development of new professional products for itself and by 2005 was able to prepare the first professional line of ESSEX dyes from ESTEL Professional, which consisted of 67 shades, a set of oxygenators, technical shampoos and balms. By the end of the next year, the ESSEX palette had almost doubled in size. The novelty was a success with specialists and their clients, and ESTEL decided to develop and offer salons the widest possible selection of domestic products for hairdressers. What the company did, developing and releasing in record time a huge range of excellent domestic professional cosmetics for hair, and subsequently for the body.
Chronology of the release of professional products ESTEL Professional:
2006
- COLOR OFF emulsion is the first domestic highly effective product for removing persistent (oxidative) dyes from hair.
- The ESSEX color line has been supplemented with the ESSEX LUMEN CONTRAST color gel for contrast highlighting and toning.
- A range of products for permanent hair waving WAVEX.
- CUREX hair care series, including VERSUS WINTER winter hair care products with antistatic effect.
- Hair styling line AIREX.
- A new line of premium DE LUXE professional dyes with a unique chromoenergy complex, including chitosan, chestnut extract and a complex of vitamins.
- New agent for biopermanent waving NIAGARA.
- Professional series for men CUREX GENTLEMAN.
- Special solar line SUNFLOWER for hair protection from ultraviolet rays.
- Professional paint for eyebrows and eyelashes ENIGMA.
2009
- Children's cosmetic line MY ANGEL.
- FITNESS hair and body care series.
- Dye for gray hair DE LUXE SILVER.
- Semi-permanent paint SENSE DE LUXE and premium care line OTIUM, which includes 8 directions: from a series for the care of colored hair to special therapeutic series for restoring the hair structure.
2011
- Tanning products in the solarium ESTEL SUN Flower (6 types of cream, which is a four-level system for protecting and caring for the skin of the body when exposed to artificial UV rays).
- The ESTEL Element line, representing consumables for hairdressing: disposable towels, foil, collars…
- OTIUM line replenished new series OTIUM Aqua.
- Release of the OTIUM HOMME series.
Something happened that at first few people believed: products Russian enterprise quickly enough not only conquered a solid segment of professional hairdressing Russian market, but also significantly pressed the world manufacturers.
Production and distribution
The history of ESTEL production began at just 1000 sq. m leased. There was a warehouse of raw materials, and a warehouse of finished products, and an office, and a laboratory, and the production itself. After a short time, the company needed something more reliable and large-scale. So, in 2003, the building was purchased, which now houses ESTEL (earlier, these premises housed the Research Institute of Quartz Glass). In 2004, it was here that production was launched, and here dreams of a significant increase in production from 1 million to 2 million pieces of products per month became a reality. Frankly, at that time for a young ambitious brand it seemed just fantastic volumes. Although these plans were soon exceeded, and now ESTEL produces up to 6 million pieces of products per month. And this is practically the limit of production possibilities. The brewhouse generally operates in uninterrupted mode, 24 hours a day. That is why ESTEL recently decided to purchase an office, production and warehouse complex in Kolpino. At present, the transaction for the acquisition of the OPS complex has been completed, and the warehouse of the company's finished products has already been located in Kolpino, and design work is being carried out at an accelerated pace in the remaining areas, since the launch of the first lines is planned for the end of 2012. Thus, the ESTEL OPS complex not without reason claims to take the position of one of the largest production facilities for professional hair dyes in Europe.
Today, the brand's dealer network includes more than 150 organizations in Russia, the Baltic states, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Armenia and other neighboring countries. The official representative office of ESTEL-Ukraine has been operating for several years already, in 2011 the representative office of ESTEL-Europe was opened in Germany. The first sales started in Poland. The company plans to enter other markets of Central and Western Europe.
Scientific developments and technology for creating products
From day one, the company's own laboratory has been working in close contact with leading specialists from the St. Petersburg State Institute of Technology, thanks to which the latest scientific developments are used. The staff of the laboratory consists of 15 people, three of whom defended their Ph.D. dissertations. In addition to the development of drugs, the laboratory specialists, together with the engineers of the technical control department, take part in quality control of raw materials and finished products entering the production.
