Drybar

Drybar
Founded Brentwood, Los Angeles (2008)
Founders Alli Webb, Michael Landau, Cameron Webb
Number of locations
 92[1]
Website thedrybar.com

Drybar is a California-based chain of salons that solely provides a hair styling service, known as "blowouts." The company was founded in 2008 by Alli Webb.[2]

History

In 2008, Alli Webb began a side business called Straight At Home, which provided an in-home hair experience.[3] Webb quickly outgrew the one-woman operation and noticed a "huge hole" in her local market for just blowouts[4], a concept which had already gained traction in larger cities such as New York City with brands like Blo.[5] Along with her brother Michael Landau, former Vice President of Brand Marketing at Yahoo!, and her husband, Cameron Webb, former Creative Director at Secret Weapon Marketing, an ad agency,[6] Alli co-founded what would become Drybar with a salon in Brentwood, California in 2010. The following year, along with the help of friends, they were able to raise $2.5 million in order to expand the business.[7] Once the business expanded, Drybar looked to add investors as well as add to their board of trustees. They added Castanea Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm, to their list of investors in January 2012. Additionally, Paul Pressler, former CEO of GAP and President of Disney, became an investor and board member. Janet Gurwitch, the founder and former CEO of Laura Mercier Cosmetics, also became an investor and board member at Drybar.[8]

Drybar's motto is "No cuts. No color. Just blowouts."[6] which is a reference to their primary service offering.

Everything at Drybar is designed with the “bar vernacular” in mind. The cashiers are aptly called “bartenders” and hairstyles are named after cocktails such as the Cosmo, Mai Tai, or Manhattan.[7] The idea behind this came from Webb who believed that “women [should want] to come in and have fun” and "what's more fun than going to your local bar?"[6] Webb’s vision are present in the designs brought to life by architect, Josh Heitler.[9] Heitler, principal of a boutique architectural firm and now partner in the company,[7] came up with the design elements and look of Drybar.[2] Instead of the typical salon set up, clients at Drybar “sit facing a U-shaped or single-stretch bar, with their backs to the mirrors,” which brings to mind sitting at a bar rather than being at a salon.[2] Aesthetically, all Drybars look roughly the same, due mainly in part to Heitler.[7]

Locations

Drybar revenue grew from $1.5 million in 2010 to a revenue of $19 million in 2012 to $39 million in 2013.[10] As of January 2016, Drybar has 66[1] locations in 11 states, Washington DC and Vancouver, British Columbia.[4][11] As of November 2017, the number of locations has expanded to almost 90.[12] As of May 2018, Drybar has opened 100 stores.[13]

Products

Webb, a longtime professional stylist, spent several years developing a complete line of products. This came about “after trying nearly every existing product line." She just couldn't find what she was looking for to meet her very specific styling needs, so she “partnered with some of the best labs in the world to create exactly what [was] needed at Drybar."[10]

After being frustrated with the product and tool choices available, Webb (along with the help of Board member and investor Janet Gurwitch) developed a line specifically for Drybar and blowouts. In 2013, after testing the line in about 70 Sephora locations, Drybar then went ahead with 300+ Sephora shops and QVC to launch their line of products.[14] These products range from brushes to a blow dryer to hair accessories to various spritzes, sprays, and creams, and are encouraged for at-home use. Buttercup, the official blow dryer used at Drybar, is the Drybar mascot and is also sold for at-home use.

References

  1. 1 2 "About Us". thedrybar.com. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Meghan, Casserly (2012-11-11). "Drybar: How One Woman And A Hair Dryer Became A $20 Million Operation". Forbes.
  3. ↑ "About Us". Drybar.
  4. 1 2 Chan, Jennifer (2013-07-22). "Trendsetters at Work: Drybar Founder Alli Webb". E Online.
  5. ↑ Moratto, Anne. "Modern Exclusive: An Interview with the CEO of Blo Blow Dry Bar".
  6. 1 2 3 Petrecca, Laura (2012-08-13). "No Haircuts or color: Blowdry bars are a booming business". USA Today.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Bronner, Sasha (2013-06-19). "Drybar's Alli Webb Talks Borrowing Money and How to Make a Blowout Last: My LA". Huffington Post.
  8. ↑ "Drybar Announces New Investment- Appointment of Paul Pressler and Janet Gurwitch to Board". PR Newswire. 2012-01-20.
  9. ↑ "With Drybar, a Curly-Haired Girl Wages a Global War on Frizz". The New York Times. 2015-04-25. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  10. 1 2 Meany, Kelsey (2013-07-13). "Blow Dry Bars Are a Thriving Industry Disrupting the Salon Business". The Daily Beast: Business.
  11. ↑ "Find a Drybar Near You". Drybar.
  12. ↑ "Drybar Founder: Life is too short to work someplace lame". 2017-11-15.
  13. ↑ "How Alli Webb Turned Drybar Into A $100M Business". May 15, 2018. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  14. ↑ Staff (2013-01-03). "Drybar Launches Product Line, Names New CFO". New York Business Journal.
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