Interview med Michaeline DeJoria
ENGLISH VERSION BELOW
VINDER AF ÅRETS SERIE 2023
Michaeline DeJoria: «Tak for prisen»
INTERVIEW MED MICHAELINE DEJORIA, CEO, JOHN PAUL MITCHELL SYSTEMS
Af Anne-Dorte Mathiesen
Danish Beauty Award fik en enestående mulighed for at mødes personligt med Michaeline DeJoria nyudnævnt CEO for det verdensomspændende hårplejebrand John Paul Mitchell Systems (JPMS), da hele firmaet og deres distributører i midten af juni mødtes i København.
Michaeline DeJoria er meget begejstret for at være i København. Byen og vejret viser sig da også fra sin allersmukkeste side, og desuden har firmaet har ikke haft mulighed for at samles siden før Covid: ”Det er bare ikke det samme på Zoom”, siger Michaeline DeJoria. Danish Beauty Award kunne dermed personligt ønske tillykke med prisen for Årets Serie – Tea Tree Hemp, hvor den danske distributør G&G Danmark på firmaets vegne modtog statuetten ved prisuddelingen i Tivoli Congress Center den 28. april 2023: ”Tak. Det er vidunderligt at vinde priser nye steder, fordi det betyder, at du taler til nye mennesker, og så ved vi, at budskabet og produkterne kommer endnu bredere ud. Det er en meget speciel ting at vinde, og vi er dybt taknemmelige”, siger Michaeline DeJoria.
Kærlighed og engagement
Michaeline er gift, mor til tre og John Paul DeJorias datter. John Paul DeJoria stiftede i 1980 firmaet sammen med Paul Mitchell for at levere luksushårpleje til saloner til overkommelige priser: ”Firmaet startede fire år før, jeg blev født”, fortæller Michaeline: ”Så vi er vokset op ved siden af hinanden. Hele mit liv har mit mål været en dag at blive administrerende direktør for JPMS. Ingen har nogensinde lagt pres på mig. Det var alt sammen bare mig. Jeg har lært så meget af John Paul. Han har været en god mentor. Kommende ændringer i firmaet vil blive på en måde, så vi bevarer sjælen i, hvem vi er, vores etik, vores engagement i industrien, kærlighed til planeten, vores medarbejdere og det, der får vores hjerte til at slå.” Der bliver helt sikkert heller ikke lagt noget som helst pres på Michaelines børn til en dag at skulle overtage firmaet: ”Uanset hvad de vil, så vil jeg bare have, at de er glade.”
Passion og inklusion
Det er passionen, der driver det hele, for selv om Michaeline har søskende, så er de helt naturligt gået forskellige veje: ”Min søster er racerkører, og det elsker hun. Hun er en af de hurtigste kvinder i verden, mens jeg er nervøs for bare at bakke i min bil. Men så elsker jeg business. Min bror er iværksætter, så han ville bare starte selv og gøre det anderledes. Vi har alle vores passion og har haft mulighed for at forfølge den. Og de har alle smukt hår”, siger Michaeline og smiler kærligt ved tanke på familien. Virksomheden og produkterne skal altså ikke med ny CEO ændres på en måde, der forandrer de grundlæggende værdier, men firmaet skal fortsat være innovativt og tilpasse sig nye målgrupper og nye markeder: ”Vi skal beholde vores eksisterende kerneforbruger, men også omfavne og tiltrække nye. Vi synes, det er rart at lave globale lanceringer i stedet for fx først USA og så Europa, for vi ønsker, at alle i vores JPMS-familie skal føle sig inkluderet.”
Brandopdatering
”Vi kommer til at skifte emballage i starten af året”, fortæller Michaeline DeJoria og fortsætter: ”Vi lancerer vores brandopdatering, og det er meget, meget spændende. Jeg kan give et lille hint om, at logolinjerne forsvinder – det er en lille ting, men en kæmpe forandring for medarbejderne. De troede, jeg var skør, da jeg sagde det. Nogle kategorier bliver kurateret, men vi udvider blandt andet clean beauty-linjen, lancerer flere tea tree-produkter og giver Neuro lidt af en makeover. Man vil fortsat se innovation og vækst inden for hvert af vores brands. Jeg er også begejstret for at gå ind i farvepleje – det bliver en rigtig sjov ting. Vi ønsker, at vores bæredygtigt-tænkende forbrugere skal have muligheden og være i stand til at have det sjovt og lege med farve og hårprodukter.”
Alt er gennemarbejdet
Ændringer tager lang tid, så det er ikke bare – hey, der kom Michaeline ind og ændrede alt. ”Nej, der er meget, som skal gøres for at skabe grundlaget for forandring, og det er jeg altid opmærksom på. Vi har forberedt os længe, så det er tilfredsstillende endelig at kunne vise det frem til folk. Jeg tror og håber, at kunderne vil elske det. Jeg har jo set på det siden den dag, jeg blev født, så måske føler jeg endnu mere, at det er tid til forandring end andre mennesker. Jeg har kigget på de samme flasker hver dag i alle 39 år af mit liv.”
Vi gør alt, hvad vi kan
”Folk har kopieret produkterne siden begyndelsen af JPMS. Vi – og andre i branchen – er nødt til konstant at forholde os til det. Og det er virkelig vigtigt for os, at vi håndterer det lidt aggressivt. Vi fortsætter med at opdatere vores processer og de systemer, som vi bruger til at kode produkter, men forbrugeren kender jo ikke altid forskellen. Og det er utrygt. Det er jo umuligt at oplyse enhver forbruger om, hvilken stregkode de skal kigge efter. Så jeg har gjort tingene lidt anderledes i firmaet ved fx at indgå partnerskab med Amazon. Og så deler vi kommissionen tilbage til vores netværk. Vi omdirigerer til de mennesker, der burde få det. Så partnerskaber og dannelsen af alliancer er en løsning, nu hvor verden og industrien har vænnet sig til tanken om, at der købes så mange ting på nettet uden for de fysiske saloner. Det er helt afgørende for branchen og for os som virksomhed at være meget aggressive og vide, at vi gør alt, hvad vi kan for at imødekomme denne udfordring. Ny emballage giver os mindst et par måneder, for det vil tage et stykke tid for kopisterne at lave formen og få blækfarven matchet. Det bliver virkelig interessant at se, hvad der sker i det tidsrum, hvor de ikke kan snyde os. Det giver os god viden. Og viden er magt.”
Som i et eventyr
Knowledge is power. Og ligesom viden om ingredienser og hår i mere end 40 år har fået JPMS på verdenskortet, så kommer København ikke til at forsvinde fra Michaelines opmærksomhed lige med det samme: ”København er hot. Jeg bliver ved med at tale om gåturen i går, der var som skrevet ind i en eventyrbog. Alle folk cykler, en mand spillede harmonika, og jeg kunne ikke lade være med at tænke, at det var som om, en ejendomsmægler havde iscenesat det hele til netop vores gåtur. Jeg synes, det her er det mest charmerende sted, jeg nogensinde har været i mit liv.” Jamen, så kan det da være, at vi ses igen i København til næste Danish Beauty Award i april 2024?
ENGLISH VERSION
Michaeline DeJoria: «Thank you for the award»
INTERVIEW WITH MICHAELINE DEJORIA, CEO, JOHN PAUL MITCHELL SYSTEMS
WINNER OF SERIES OF THE YEAR AT DANISH BEAUTY AWARD 2023
By Anne-Dorte Mathiesen, Danish Beauty Award
Danish Beauty Award had a unique opportunity to meet personally with Michaeline DeJoria, newly appointed CEO of the hair care brand John Paul Mitchell Systems (JPMS) as the entire company and their worldwide distributors met in Copenhagen in mid-June.
Michaeline DeJoria is very excited to be in Copenhagen. The city and the weather hit a beautiful day, and furthermore, the company has not had the opportunity to gather since before Covid: “It’s just not the same on Zoom”, says Michaeline DeJoria. Danish Beauty Award could therefore personally congratulate on the award for Series of the Year – Tea Tree Hemp, where the Danish distributor G&G Danmark received the statuette on behalf of the company at the award ceremony in Tivoli Congress Center on 28 April 2023: “Thank you. It’s wonderful to win awards in new places because it means you’re speaking to new people and then we know the message and the products will get out even wider. It is a very special thing to win, and we are deeply grateful”, says Michaeline DeJoria.
Love and commitment
Michaeline is married, mother of three and daughter of John Paul DeJoria. In 1980, John Paul DeJoria founded the company together with Paul Mitchell to provide luxury hair care to salons at affordable prices: “The company started four years before I was born,” says Michaeline: “So we grew up next to each other. All my life, my goal has been to one day become the CEO of JPMS. Nobody ever put pressure on me. It was all just me. I have learned so much from John Paul. He has been a good mentor. Future changes in the company will be in a way that we preserve the soul of who we are, our ethics, our commitment to the industry, love for the planet, our employees and what makes our hearts beat.” There is certainly no pressure put on Michaeline’s children to one day take over the company: “Regardless of what they want, I just want them to be happy.”
Passion and inclusion
It is passion driving it all, because even though Michaeline has siblings, they have quite naturally followed different paths: “My sister is a race driver, and she loves it. She is one of the fastest women in the world, while I am nervous just reversing my car. But then I love business. My brother is an entrepreneur, and he just wanted to start for himself and do it differently. We all have our passion and have had the opportunity to pursue it. And they all have beautiful hair”, says Michaeline and smiles lovingly at the thought of the family. The company and the products are not to be altered with the new CEO in a way that changes the fundamental values, but the company must continue to be innovative and adapt to new target groups and new markets: “We must retain our existing core consumers, but also embrace and attract new ones. We think it is nice to do global launches instead of, saying, first the US and then Europe, because we want everyone in our JPMS family to feel included.”
Brand update
“We are going to change the packaging at the beginning of the year”, says Michaeline DeJoria and continues: “We are launching our brand update, and it is very, very exciting. I can give a small hint that the logo lines will disappear – it is a small thing, but a huge change for the employees. They thought I was crazy when I said that. Some categories are curated, we are expanding the clean beauty line, launching more tea tree products, and giving Neuro a bit of a makeover, among other things. You will continue to see innovation and growth within each of our brands. I am also excited to get into color care – it is going to be really fun. We want our sustainably minded consumers to have the opportunity and be able to have fun and play with color and hair products.”
Everything is thoroughly worked out
Changes take a long time, so it is not just – hey, Michaeline came in and changed everything. “No, there is a lot that needs to be done to create the basis for change, and I am always aware of that. We have been preparing for a long time, so it is satisfying to finally be able to show it to people. I believe and hope that customers will love it. After all, I have been looking at it since the day I was born, so maybe I feel even more that it is time for a change than other people. I have looked at the same bottles every day for all 39 years of my life.”
We do everything that is possible
“People have been copying the products since the beginning of JPMS. We – and others in the industry – must constantly deal with it. And it is important to us that we handle it a little aggressively. We continue to update our processes and the systems we use to code products, but the consumer does not always know the difference. And it is unsafe. After all, it is impossible to inform every consumer which barcode they should look for. So, I have done things a little differently in the company by, for example, entering a partnership with Amazon. And then we share the commission back to our network. We redirect to the people who should get it. Partnerships and the formation of alliances is a solution now that the world and the industry have got used to the idea that so many things are bought online and outside the physical salons. It is absolutely critical for the industry and for us as a company to be very aggressive and know that we are doing everything we can to meet this challenge. New packaging gives us at least a few months because it will take a while for the copyists to make the mold and get the ink color matched. It will be interesting to see what happens during that time when they can’t cheat us. It gives us good knowledge. And knowledge is power.”
As in a fairytale
Knowledge is power. And just as knowledge of ingredients and hair for more than 40 years has put JPMS on the world map, Copenhagen is not going to disappear from Michaeline’s attention right away: “Copenhagen is hot. I keep talking about the walk yesterday, which was like written in book of fairy tales. All the people are riding bicycles, a man was playing the accordion, and I couldn’t help thinking that it was as if a real estate agent had staged it all just for our walk. I think this is the most charming place I have ever been in my life.” Well, could it be that we meet again in Copenhagen for the next Danish Beauty Award in April 2024?
