The acquisition of family-owned distributors Maly’s Midwest and Marshall’s Salon Services is part of the ongoing commitment made by L’Oreal USA to gain closer proximity to the salon community.
With combined sales of $130m (€90.4m), the two distributors represent a significant step in the expansion of L’Oreal USA’s professional products distribution network. Together, they supply over 40,000 salons and have a major presence in the Midwest, covering eight states including Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin.
The US salons supply network is composed of about 200,000 salons, according to L’Oreal, who said it now covers 80 percent of this network.
The company said that both Maly’s Midwest and Marshall Salon Services have solid reputations for meeting the needs of salon professionals through the products they provide and the education they offer as a result of a combined total of more that 130 years experience in the salon business.
Speaking of the acquisition, the President of Marshall Salon Services, Jim Marshall said in a statement that he believed it represented an opportunity to take Marshall Salon Services to a new level.
“By leveraging the resources and efficiencies that SalonCentric offers and combining it with our relationships in the industry and our deep knowledge of the territories we cover, we will be the best full-service distributor and consulting company a salon owner could have,” he said.
L’Oreal professional products division
Three years ago, L’Oreal announced its intention to take a greater interest in the US professional products distribution process with the aim of creating a national network providing service and education to the hairdressing channel.
According to L’Oreal, this commitment was made in order to create efficiencies that were beneficial to all stakeholders, and the company made a series of acquisitions including Beauty Alliance, Maly’s West, Columbia Beauty Supply and Idaho Beauty and Barber.
Following these acquisitions, SalonCentric was founded in 2008, and now boasts a network of approximately 1150 distributor sales consultants and 700 stores.
The organisation distributes a number of professional salon brands, including partner brands, such as L’Oreal Professional, Redken and Tigi.