The beauty of Sorbet
G-CS-21-12
February 2012
THE BEAUTY OF SORBET
As the cabin crew dimmed the lights of the plane after the evening meal had been cleared, Ian Fuhr, chief executive officer of the Sorbet Group, reflected on what he had achieved since the brand was launched in 2005. Fuhr was returning home to South Africa after having enjoyed watching several of the 2011 Rugby World Cup games held in New Zealand. The short term future of Sorbet seemed assured. Historically, the months of October and November delivered increased sales revenue from the chain of beauty salons due to the South African summer holidays. But Fuhr was wrestling with the challenge of how the Group could maintain their high levels of service and its strong Sorbet brand whilst both increasing their number of outlets and diversifying into other business opportunities.
By 2011 Sorbet consisted of 20 company-owned beauty salons and nail bars, mainly in the
Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria areas, and 17 Sorbet franchised salonsi. They had almost 400 therapists and other staff and their carefully managed loyalty database indicated they had
67,000 loyalty members (whom they referred to as ‘guests’).
A customer explained that she had noticed the distinctive branches of Sorbet in many shopping centres but had originally gone to a Sorbet outlet because of a gift card given to her as a birthday present. She was immediately struck by the professionalism of all their staff; the cleanliness and bright atmosphere of the salon appealed to her, particularly the bright ‘ice-cream‘ colours of the distinctive bubble murals. Everything ran on time, the staff were immaculately turned out in neat uniforms and chatted to customers with great charm; she felt that “the happy feel the branch and staff always had was genuine and not forced”. She felt that the staff were better trained and delivered a better experience and outcome than the hotel spas she had frequented. Furthermore, hotel spas’ prices appeared to be double that
February 2012
THE BEAUTY OF SORBET
As the cabin crew dimmed the lights of the plane after the evening meal had been cleared, Ian Fuhr, chief executive officer of the Sorbet Group, reflected on what he had achieved since the brand was launched in 2005. Fuhr was returning home to South Africa after having enjoyed watching several of the 2011 Rugby World Cup games held in New Zealand. The short term future of Sorbet seemed assured. Historically, the months of October and November delivered increased sales revenue from the chain of beauty salons due to the South African summer holidays. But Fuhr was wrestling with the challenge of how the Group could maintain their high levels of service and its strong Sorbet brand whilst both increasing their number of outlets and diversifying into other business opportunities.
By 2011 Sorbet consisted of 20 company-owned beauty salons and nail bars, mainly in the
Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria areas, and 17 Sorbet franchised salonsi. They had almost 400 therapists and other staff and their carefully managed loyalty database indicated they had
67,000 loyalty members (whom they referred to as ‘guests’).
A customer explained that she had noticed the distinctive branches of Sorbet in many shopping centres but had originally gone to a Sorbet outlet because of a gift card given to her as a birthday present. She was immediately struck by the professionalism of all their staff; the cleanliness and bright atmosphere of the salon appealed to her, particularly the bright ‘ice-cream‘ colours of the distinctive bubble murals. Everything ran on time, the staff were immaculately turned out in neat uniforms and chatted to customers with great charm; she felt that “the happy feel the branch and staff always had was genuine and not forced”. She felt that the staff were better trained and delivered a better experience and outcome than the hotel spas she had frequented. Furthermore, hotel spas’ prices appeared to be double that
References: i Sorbet website: http://www.sorbet.co.za/sorbet-story (accessed 24 January 2012) v Sorbet website: http://www.sorbet.co.za/sorbet-story (accessed 24 January 2012)