全通翻譯/翻譯社

Paul Mitchell's Key to Success

Thirty years ago, a celebrated hairstylist and a struggling salesman had a vision of a company catering specifically to hair salons. They started their business with a loan of US$700. Today, the company, John Paul Mitchell Systems, Inc., is perhaps the most recognized name in the beauty industry, boasting 100 trademarks, and products in over 100,000 U.S. salons and 80 countries. Churning out US$900 million in revenues every year, John Paul Mitchell Systems has also set up more than 100 beauty schools around the world.

The success did not come easily, though. The founders, Paul Mitchell and John Paul DeJoria, encountered a setback at the onset when a friend unexpectedly pulled out US$500,000 of funding. The economic recession in the U.S. at that time put a double whammy on their plan. To get through these financial difficulties, cost reduction was the top priority. The partners went for simple black-and-white product packaging, which turned out to be the company's iconic look.

They also subcontracted production to local hair- and skin-care makers so they could concentrate valuable but limited resources on product development. Free demonstrations were conducted for salon owners and distributors, with the guarantee of a full refund for any unsold products. The strategy made John Paul Mitchell Systems one of the fastest growing companies in the United States.

全美最大獨立美髮沙龍品牌 Paul Mitchell 獨到崛起術

卅年前，一位著名美髮師與一名業績慘淡的業務有個共同的願景，希望成立一家專門滿足美髮沙龍所需的公司。他們借了七百美元就創立了自己的事業。今日，約翰‧保羅‧米契爾系統公司或許已是美容業界最廣為人知的名號，旗下擁有一百個商標，產品更是遍佈逾十萬家的美國美髮沙龍，且銷售遍及 80 國。年營收高達九億美元的約翰‧保羅‧米契爾系統公司也在世界各地成立了超過一百間的美容學校。

不過，成功得來不易。創辦人保羅‧米契爾與約翰‧保羅‧狄傑里爾當初一開始就遭遇到挫折──一位朋友無預警地抽回了五十萬美元的資金。當時美國的經濟衰退更為他們的創業計畫帶來雙重打擊。為了度過財務難關，削減成本就成了首要任務。這對合夥拍檔於是在產品包裝上採用簡單的黑白兩色搭配，結果這就此成就了該公司的經典樣貌。

他們還把產品製造的工作轉包給當地的護髮與護膚產品製造商，好將珍貴而有限的資源集中在產品研發上。他們為美髮沙龍業主與經銷商舉行免費產品示範，並保證對未售出的產品提供全額退費。這項策略使得約翰‧保羅‧米契爾系統公司成為美國成長速度最快的企業之一。

資料來源：biz 互動英語電子報