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The world of small wig companies is often misunderstood, so an interview with a human-sized company manager really belongs here. Thank you to Sabrina Guettaf for playing the question and answer game.
Sabrina is a young entrepreneur, who has developed Alma Wigs, where she uses her styling expertise to create beautiful wigs. Her wigs are produced from high quality natural hair, to which the hairdressers apply a personalised colouring, styling and cut to exceed her clients' expectations.
Sabrina is now looking to expand her business and has also started to explore all possible contact points to ensure that her offer reaches customers throughout France.
To do this, it needs to launch with 30 retailers, in 30 towns in France, with the aim of allowing its large clientele, everywhere in the country, to have a maximum of one hour's drive to get beautiful.
Discover our first interview with Sabrina, here.
In 2019, we check that all the processes are working, we put things in place, we check that everything corresponds to the needs of women who are experiencing partial or total hair loss, and we start to imagine the services. It was also at this time that I had just opened a "pilot" salon, the Alma boutique in the 17th arrondissement of Paris. The Alma concept offers the best possible experience to women who can no longer go to a salon to have their hair done, following the total or partial loss of their hair. We offer wigs and volumizers made of natural hair and 100% customizable in colour, cut and size. Our objective is that each woman can find herself and renew a link with her hair, despite a brutal loss.
I created Alma because I found wigs extremely expensive and they didn't look like me. This was an issue that was very close to my heart. I therefore set up the third-party payment system at Alma, which means that part of the cost is covered by the social security system and the mutual insurance company makes a supplement afterwards.
Today, my ambition is to offer Alma hair throughout Franceso that every woman can benefit from Alma's services in a hair salon near her home.
We accompany all our clients in their choice of wig or volumizer customisation. Our specialised boutique has a private area where we welcome all our clients in the greatest privacy for their first appointment. We offer our clients the opportunity to rediscover the pleasure of going to the hairdresser to be pampered. Our main objective is to give women the freedom so that they can express their tastes and assert their personality through our products. We also offer a free make-up course during the second appointment, to really give all the keys to our customers.
Approximately 80% of hair technicians in France sell synthetic fibre wigs. These have a predefined cut and colour. At Alma, we offer tailor-made natural hair wigs: the cut and colouring are created according to the client's wishes. The aim is to keep them true to themselves. This is why we offer all our clients a personalised service.
We personalise our hair to the image of each woman: whether it is the type of hair, the colouring or the cut. We offer 5 hair lengths: very short, short, medium-long, long and very long. Absolutely all techniques are possible with Alma hair: root effect, ombré hair, balayage, colouring, perm, etc. We do all shades, cold or warm: from white hair to brown, including polar blond, copper, gold or chestnut.
In order to guarantee comfort and optimal support, we measure the cup, then colour it to measure (based on the client's hair or photos) and finally give it a shape memory cut. All this is done with respect for each woman, her style, her lifestyle, her age and her face shape..
Having worn both, I can tell you that it's night and day! The main difference between natural hair and synthetic fibre is that natural hair moves, whereas synthetic hair remains fixed. The contact with the skin is also totally different: the archaic feeling you get when wearing a natural hair wig is incomparable to a synthetic fibre which has a more rigid texture.
It is also strongly advised against putting synthetic fibre in contact with a heat source. Synthetic is plastic, so it melts and you can't use a hair dryer, straightener or even open your oven with it! When you choose a wig made of synthetic fibre, you can't change your colouring, you can only adjust the haircut if necessary. Furthermore, the life span of a synthetic wig is much shorter (about 6 months) than that of natural hair (1 to 4 years depending on use).
Prices vary according to the quality of the hair. Generally speaking, a natural hair wig, without customisation, costs an average of €2500 in France and that's just WRONG! At Alma, our prices vary between 350 € (very short) and 1190 € (very long) excluding customisation. As we are approved by the French Social Security, women have an average of 200 € to pay, which is reasonable. Our goal is to make exceptional hair accessible to any woman. This is what led me to create Alma. I myself have been affected by alopecia since the age of 13 and it has clearly been an obstacle course to feel like a woman and to accept myself in the first instance, and to find a wig that respects my identity in the second instance.
The first lockdown was a difficult and rewarding time. I recharged my batteries and took a step back: I realised that the "boutique" model is complicated and extremely fragile in these uncertain times. I therefore rethought the Alma concept in BtoB and I am happy today to be able to share my experience and transmit our know-how to hairdressers.
With the health crisis, we also had huge supply difficulties with factories closing for months and customs blocking parcels. But in a bad thing, there is always a good thing, it allowed us to rethink our production entirely and today we are proud to officially launch our MADE IN FRANCE production in our workshop.
The Alma shop in Paris is very small, given the population density. In addition, 35% of our customers come from all over France. I therefore rethought my organisation during the first lockdown. I think it is more sensible to use hairdressers who are already established in the regions. This approach aims to give women access to salons close to their homes and to be able to go to the hairdresser like everyone else!
For each sale, the distributor receives a commission of up to €242 excluding tax per sale and 100% of the turnover from the haircutting and styling services. They have zero advance stock and no administrative management (third party payment, invoices, etc...). In order to make fitting possible and to facilitate things for the distributor we have set up a starter kit with 15, 20 or 25 wigs as inspiration models as well as the material to enable him to do his job as a hairdresser on the wigs. As far as ordering is concerned, everything is done directly on our website.
We target a vulnerable audience, women who have lost their self-confidence, women who have lost their self-esteem or who are going through an extremely difficult period in their lives, such as cancer. We are looking for caring people who want to do something good for women and who want to help these women get through this ordeal gently. Of course, these hairdressers must be motivated to work on wigs and volumizers. But often our distributors are looking for meaning in the job they have been doing for many years. Physically, we are looking for hair salons that can/want to create a private space to preserve the privacy of these women.
Distributors' hairdressing salons should be modern in spirit and located in the city centre. Ideally in large cities, but also in small towns adjacent to large cities. Why do we do this? Because we give them the exclusivity of the city.
My goal is to have about 20 distributors by the end of the year. The aim is to allow women to have the least amount of driving time to get to their hair salon.
There will be an average of 2 people trained per salon. The manager of the company must be approved by the Social Security to be able to sell our wigs and volumizers, and to be entitled to third party payment. These distributors follow a three-day training course organised by our team and the Social Security. This will enable them to be approved and to master the techniques of cutting and styling, as well as welcoming and accompanying our customers. The aim is for each distributor to be able to immerse themselves in the Alma world, to be autonomous but also to have knowledge of illnesses, third-party payment and to be able to respond to the needs of each woman and answer their questions.
Our goal is that each distributor can transcribe the Alma experience in order to pass on a good experience to all women. ALMA's authorised salons will be there to assist our customers in the purchase of their personalised wigs and volumisers, as well as to offer styling services. In order to allow the customer to touch the hair and try out inspirational models, the distributor will have at her disposal CUSTOM models (cap, colouring, cut) of presentations.
Even if the client never tries on her final model because it is made for her and is unique, she still needs to see models. The hairdresser defines with her the personalization, the colouring, the tones, the technique, the cut. He then takes the measurements of the client's head.
The distributor has a private area on our website where he fills in all the customer's information. Payment is also made through our website. Once all this has been validated, our team of colourists, dressmakers and wigmakers take over the request and make the wig, then colour it and make the measurements. After two weeks, the hairdresser receives the wig and takes over the haircut in order to offer the same customer experience as at Alma.
This is important because our concept, which is unique in France, helps these women to accept their wig: a new hair style and a complete makeover. This moment allows her to feel beautiful and in harmony with herself. It is this feeling that we want to transmit to each woman.
Would you like to know more?
For more details, click here to discover the Alma concept and here to discover Alma's rates and commissions.
