STORES Convention Daily - 2018 Big Show Day 3 - 14

2018 TUESDAY

14

Three Disruption Secrets
Behind Hair Color Brand
Madison Reed's Success

T

hroughout her career, Amy Errett has seen the
power of disruption. As a general partner in a
venture capital firm, "I had started to be very
driven about areas that were massive, but were yet
to be disrupted by a product or a technology innovation," she says.
One sector she felt was ripe for disruption was

personal care. Through her research, she
identified very little innovation - from
the products offered to the ingredients
used to the delivery methods available to
consumers.
"That's when Madison Reed started,"
says Errett, the brand's founder and CEO.

Color Bar customers make an appointment online and
then come in for a fast and affordable color treatment.

Secret No. 1: The what

An estimated 95 million to 105 million women color their hair on an ongoing
basis, Errett says, with most averaging six
weeks between treatments. That repetitive exposure to chemicals and potential
irritants was one of the first issues that
struck Errett, and a core disruption point
that typifies Madison Reed's approach to
business.
"We went down a deep research path
and found we could take out six of the
harshest chemicals," she says. "We have
the lowest chemical profile in the market." Madison Reed didn't just pull the
chemicals out: "We added nutrients that
are very nourishing," Errett says. "They're
restorative and reparative."
The ingredients aren't the only thing
that separates Madison Reed hair color
from other brands. Errett's team recruited
dozens of women through Craigslist and
asked to observe them as they colored
their hair.
"It was a revelation," she says. "We
saw the same behaviors over and over
again. It allowed us to reinvent the box,
change what's in it and improve the user
experience."
Among the innovations was providing
an additional set of gloves, after Errett says
her team watched many women struggle
to wear, remove and re-wear the single set
normally offered by other manufacturers
as they went through multiple steps of the
coloring process.

Secret No. 2: The how

Few people understand trial and error
better than someone who has colored their
hair themselves. Simply selecting the right
shade can be a chore, as they try to compare
the color pictured on the box to the head
of hair in the mirror.
Errett says it's one of the biggest friction points consumers encounter. Color
consultants can help, though users still
wonder how an online or phone-based
expert can get their color right without
seeing them in person. Madison Reed has
bridged that divide.
First, users take a 12-question quiz
- Errett says an impressive 91 percent
of people finish it, and the results have
contributed to the more than 2.5 million
hair profiles available to Madison Reed
customers. A machine-learned algorithm
uses the quiz responses to get smarter over
See "Disruption" on page 22
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12/14/17 1:17 AM
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of STORES Convention Daily - 2018 Big Show Day 3
