An EsteticaExport Interview: Andrea Rosa is International Private Label Specialist at Kirschner – the largest selling network of professional hair products in the world, with over US$300 Million in turnover.
Andrea Rosa’s specific role is one of consultancy to a large number of Kirschner associated distributors and brands. He advises on choosing the most suitable private label manufacturer suppliers in the Italian market for hair products, and assists the customer for the realization of the whole project.
Mr Rosa how did you become an expert in Private Labels?
“Coming from IT and TLC, I have worked in the private label cosmetic industry for over 12 years. Five years ago, I joined Kirschner and I brought my experience into the company where we developed a system to facilitate the relations between private label manufacturers and clients’ brands. So, my experience with the suppliers, together with Kirschner’s knowledge of the numerous brands and distributors that belong to the network, put me in an advantageous position to obtain the best deals for my clients. We understand their needs and the characteristics of the products they are looking for. In this way, we can guide our clients to the best possible deals and the most suitable manufacturers for each product they plan to sell, also coordinating projects that require multiple synchronized suppliers”.
What makes your service different?
“It is a personalized service! Dealing with a wide range of Private Label manufacturers we can choose and suggest to our distributors a roster of manufacturers, each specialized in some products so that clients can build a range getting the top quality and most competitive prices.
This system comes to the advantage of everyone: the manufacturer will work only with what he does better, and the distributor will get top quality and services for each product of the range. On top of that, I follow every project from the beginning to the delivery to guarantee both sides that the final goals are met”.
Where are the suppliers from?
“I take care of the Italian suppliers, especially for hair products. I deal with the best of Italian manufacturing, while my colleagues in Kirschner take care of other areas of the world”.
What are the advantage points with regards to Italian suppliers?
“Without doubt, Italy is considered a place of excellence in haircare product production. Italian Manufacturers offer top quality, especially for hair colouring and other technical products. In Italy some of the best hair and scalp treatments are also produced and the offer is now aligned with the requests of the market in terms of sustainability and natural ingredients”.
So ‘Made in Italy’ is still important…
“At a global level, we witness that ‘Made in Italy’ is an important added value for this kind of product. The final consumers, even the ones who ponder carefully on the prices, appreciate the Italian origin of a product. In certain areas, for example South America, consumers would choose an Italian brand even if the price is not the lowest”.
Did the pandemic bring any difficulties to your business?
“Not really, during the lockdowns, we kept working quite normally in preparing productions. We have more ‘troubles’ from the current situation where shipping and raw material costs are dramatically increasing and sometimes is even hard to find the raw materials required for production. Up to now, a part of extra costs have been absorbed by the manufacturer who kept the prices low by reducing their margins, but this cannot go on forever”.
How is business going now?
“Demand is growing – at least for products that guarantee high quality and performance. Our industry is enjoying a positive period; the only change brought about by the pandemic is an adjustment in sales from professional to retail”.
And e-Commerce is also growing?
“That is already a fact. Two years of the pandemic in the USA have forced American to divert their strong propensity to purchase across to e-Commerce. Therefore, those who were ready to supply products online have seen their sales suddenly peak. Other companies are now following the example”.
How do you see the future of the private label market?
“Compared to simple distribution, Private Label has always been and will always be the system that offers better guarantees to the distributor and owner of the brand – in terms of profit and loyalty of the clientele. This works even better when the brand offers high quality and reliable products like the ones we trade in”.
