South African Health and Beauty franchiser Placécol is setting new standards of health and skincare therapy. Exec Digital investigates
Written by Jessica Summers & Produced by Aaron Wells
Placécol is a South African-based beauty franchise which offers top quality treatments and products at reasonable prices. In 2005, the successful company decided to set higher standards of health and skincare therapy by opening its own internationally recognised Institute of training in South Africa.
“Placécol Institute is a training division of Placécol Holdings, where we offer advanced training in a variety of disciplines,” explains Tracy Chambers, who is the Principal at the Placécol Institute.
Placécol was incorporated as a private company on 10 October 2003 with the name Zelpy 2170 (Pty) Limited and was converted to a public company on 12 January 2007, on which date the company also changed its name to Placécol Holdings Limited.
The Placécol product range, currently manufactured, distributed and marketed by Placécol Cosmetics, was originally formulated by a pharmacist in Ermelo in 1980 and products were initially distributed through South African pharmacies and high-end retailers including 75 outlets of the Edgars Group.
Ten years ago, when Wessel de Wet and Charles Moolman acquired these product formulations, thus forming the modern Placécol, their main objective was to provide good quality effective skin care solutions to the market at affordable prices, which is still the company’s mission to this date. “Our pricing is very competitive, it’s good value for money and its quality – and for the price that you pay, the results that you achieve are exceptional,” adds Chambers.
“Placécol has a great range of products, which means that we are able to treat all skin types and conditions, from younger skin right through to the more mature skin types. Placécol really can compete quite actively with most product ranges and offer the client a competitive treatment and a very competitive price.”
In 2004, Placécol Cosmetics opened its first Placécol Beauty Centre (PBC) and has since expanded to open 41 PBC outlets, ten of which have been franchised.
Chambers, who has worked in the beauty industry for over 20 years, puts Placécol’s success down to three main attributes: “Firstly, I think the Placécol brand is a very credible brand in South Africa and people are very familiar with the ethos of the brand, they believe in the brand. Secondly, I think there is a very good infrastructure to be the support of the brand and, thirdly, the training of the therapists who work for Placécol is exceptionally good - staff are trained for two weeks in our brands and treatments and so you can be confident that you are getting really good quality therapists.
“I believe that credibility is key to success; we offer excellent quality for the price. The price is middle market, but the quality that you’re getting is most definitely top end.”
The Placécol Beauty Institute, a division of Placécol Cosmetics, was opened in 2005, with an enrolment capacity of more than 200 students.
“We train students for both national and international qualifications in health and skincare, hairdressing and nail technology,” says Chambers. “On average we have about 60 to 80 students in the two-year health and skincare diploma programme, ten students on the hairdressing course and approximately 150 in the nail technology programme, per year.”
Chambers knows that those students are provided with much more than just an education:
“From an Institute point of view, the students have a career opportunity within Placécol Holdings Group,” she says.
There are many job opportunities throughout the company, from becoming manager, to becoming part of the training division and even becoming a member of the millionaires club, which means being the owner of your own store.
“We offer people a career and not just a job because we have a career path within the company that is achievable; we’re not just training somebody and then sending them off to go and find their own job.”
The Institute itself has obtained notable success and continues to expand in size. “2008 was really good for the Institute; we had a record number of students entering the International examination with a very good pass rate - and in our national exams last year we had a 99 percent pass rate amongst the 78 entrants. To have that pass rate is very good for any school,” says Chambers.
Where does Placécol Institute’s future lie? With the Institute’s ‘price plans’ to ensure prospective students can access the relevant training and cutting edge technologies, Placécol is set apart from the competition.
Chambers believes that continuous development of training, workshops, seminars, and being really involved with the franchise scene is what ensures success.
“We have to be able to make quick decisions on how to react to the market; fortunately for Placécol we have the infrastructure to be able to do that. All of which benefits the clients in relation to product development and cutting edge technologies and treatment procedures.”
FACTS AT A GLANCE
COMPANY NAME: Placécol Holdings Ltd
PLACECOL INSTITUTE PRINCIPAL: Tracy Chambers
OPERATIONS: Developer of skincare products and treatments
ESTABLISHED: 1997
INSTITUTE CAPACITY: 200 students
HQ: Centurion
www.placecol.com