Charles Worthington Seeks Good Results From Hair Care Relaunch

Charles Worthington will focus on aggressively expanding distribution following the January relaunch of the Results mass market hair care brand, U.S. President and General Manager Stuart Straus said at an event in New York City Nov. 9 unveiling the collection's new products and packaging.

The firm initially will concentrate on drug stores, but also will seek to expand into other channels that make sense for the brand, the exec noted.

The relaunch will occur under new leadership, following the purchase of the brand by PZ Cussons in July and the subsequent appointment of Straus, announced Nov. 8.

Worthington said he is "excited" to grow his namesake line, noting the acquisition represents an opportunity to leverage a "next level of infrastructure" at PZ Cussons, a consumer products company which has broad international distribution capabilities, including in continental Europe, where the brand is not yet sold.

Charles Worthington currently is marketed in the U.S., UK, Ireland, Australia and a number of Scandinavian countries.

The brand also will benefit from Straus' experience in mass market hair care. In his previous position as VP of U.S. sales and general manager of the international division at Kao, he worked on the Andrew Jergens brands including another prominent celebrity stylist line, John Frieda . The exec's experience also includes positions at L'Oréal and Unilever.

Cussons will move Charles Worthington's corporate offices to Chicago, where the firm will be better positioned to take advantage of distribution opportunities in Walgreens and Ulta, which have a substantial presence in the Midwest, Straus said. The company currently is located in Worthington's SoHo, New York salon.

The firm also will consider introducing an advertising campaign in the second half of 2005 to support the collection, the company said.

The launch marks the second time the flagship Results line has been revamped since it was introduced in 1995. In 2001, products were redesigned in elliptical, color-coded bottles (¹ (Also see "Charles Worthington Offers Results With Revamped Hair Care Line" - HBW Insight, 21 May, 2001.), p. 6).

The line will retain that packaging concept, with products color-coded to represent five hair care categories - Moisture, Shine, Smooth, Balance and Curl - to help consumers distinguish which items are best suited to their hair type, Charles Worthington said.

New products have been added to the current lineup, including the range's first items for curly hair. Curl Perfection comprises shampoos, conditioner, styling cream and curl reviver spray.

In addition, Moisture Burst Blow-Dry Spray joins Moisture-Seal products, which include Glossing Shampoo, Superconditioner, Maximum Moisture Conditioning Treatment and Hair Healer Intensive Leave-In Conditioner.

The firm also will introduce Stay Smooth shampoo Smooth-All-Over conditioner. Other Stay Smooth products include Rewind and Unwind Blow-Dry Straightening Balm, Perfectly Straight Straightening-Iron Protection Spray and Frizz-Taming Serum.

Super-Light Dry-Ends Serum Spray joins Balancing Act products, which comprise Oil-Regulating Shampoo, Nourish As Needed Rebalancing Conditioner and Beautifully Clean Shampoo.

All products have been reformulated with Keraflex, a complex that triples the strength of hair, the company claims.

Stylers contain an additional innovation, Recall Style Memory, which features a flexible polymer to bind hair strands and help hair "remember" its shape. Results products will be line-priced at $6.

Charles Worthington was one of the earlier celebrity stylist hair care brands in the U.S. mass market, the company noted. Other stylist brands now on the market in addition to Worthington and John Frieda include collections by Ken Pavés and Umberto Giannini.

Worthington also markets Big Hair , Dream and Takeaways , travel-sized versions of Results and Big Hair products.