The untold story

Once upon a time there was Samuel Wehrli. In 1963, he started a company with a single product. He sold a hair clipper from Suhr in the canton of Aargau. The one-man business has since developed into the largest beauty company in Switzerland. Dobi unites the entire world of beauty under one roof and covers all areas of the beauty industry. Dobi only supplies and advises professional beauty experts and not end consumers. This is why the empire is still almost only known to insiders. Over 180 employees work at the headquarters in Suhr. The largest specialist wholesale center in Europe is now located there on 1500 square meters. There are also branches in Zurich and Etoy.

Dobi has recently added another chapter to its 50-year history. After a long period of research and development, several new private label lines have been brought to market maturity. "When we consider that we now sell 12,000 products from 300 suppliers in more than 20 countries, we had to come up with the idea of launching a private label," explained Division Manager Fabio Iselin at the presentation of the new "beauty brand", as it is positioned somewhat more exclusively than conventional private labels. "We are not offering a cheaper version of our branded products, but have invested a lot of expertise in developing an independent and high-quality brand." For the new Dobi products, "the best Swiss expertise, the leading Swiss laboratories and the strongest features of existing top brands have been combined with our philosophy and quality to create the new Dobi beauty brand," promises Iselin. The "Made in Switzerland" label will therefore be an important marketing criterion. The almost 2000 products from the hair, nail, cosmetics and foot care sectors are available exclusively from Dobi or from specialist retailers in salons throughout Switzerland.

The Zurich agency Neutral won the literally beautiful job for the launch of the new beauty brand in a pitch. For Managing Partner Michelle Nicole, the budget is a perfect match for the agency's expertise. The agency's portfolio also includes brands such as Bally, Bucherer and Pringle of Scotland, where the creatives around Rudolph Schürmann also like to work with elements from the world of fashion, beauty and art. For Dobi, the agency has opted for a styled photo series with the Swiss top model Nadine Strittmatter. The Aargau native is also being used by Dobi as an ambassador for various roadshows. With over 1500 course days, Dobi's in-house Beauty Academy supports several thousand participants every year. These professionals from hairdressing salons and other beauty institutes receive advice and further training on the products on offer. They are supported by 50 experts, all of whom are specialists in their respective fields. These course instructors are naturally a very important multiplier for the launch of the new beauty brand, as they all continue to run their own salons.

In the head office store in Suhr and the Etoy branch, you will also find every conceivable piece of equipment that a beauty professional needs to be successful. This also includes interior fittings and a service team that advises, installs and repairs. The service package offered by Dobi also includes an e-shop and a logistics and call center for orders. More than 3500 items are dispatched from there every day. In addition, over 800 parcels are put together every day, as Fabio Iselin was able to demonstrate at the launch of the new division. There were more than just financial reasons for this. "We also wanted to have a unique selling point. We want to have something that sets us apart from others. Something that we can say is our own baby, our own thing." pan

The marketing concept

Fabio Iselin, Head of Own Brand and Services at Dobi Switzerland, on the advertising concept and the choice of Nadine Strittmatter as a testimonial for the new beauty brand.

How did Dobi go about advertising?
Fabio Iselin: We chose an approach that I find very exciting. We went through a pitch portal where you can put a job out to tender anonymously. We received various requests. In Switzerland, it's not that often that a company launches its own brand and puts it out to public tender. Neutral was then selected for the launch and the communication campaign in a competitive presentation.

But Dobi has been around as a private label for a long time?
We now have 2,000 own-brand products. In the areas of hair, nails, cosmetics and feet. Three years ago, however, we decided that we wanted to go one step further. To focus even more on private labels. We now call them beauty brands because "own brands" sounds like cheaper versions of the brands, such as Budget at Migros. We have relaunched this beauty brand with a new logo, the butterfly logo.

Is this still only sold in specialist stores?
We have only ever positioned ourselves for professional customers. It's a dangerous step if you suddenly go into retail. It becomes watered down. The customer no longer perceives us as a professional beauty provider. That's why we wanted to focus on remaining the beauty professional in specialist retail.

What spoke for Nadine Strittmatter as a testimonial?
Nadine is from Aargau and Dobi is also a family business from Aargau. Nadine has many likeable traits. Her father, for example, works in her management, another example of family affiliation. At the same time, Nadine is an internationally sought-after model who is well-known in Switzerland. There's not that much there. We were able to experience this at our roadshow. People talk to Nadine and find it cool that she has made it out of the small canton of Aargau into the big wide world.

A noticeable home advantage?
Yes, there are young women who went to the same school as Nadine Strittmatter and other acquaintances. She's not aloof, very down-to-earth. That's what we are as a family business and I think this relationship makes for quite a good combination.

How do these roadshows work?
We offer many courses. Our seminar leaders are all still working in the profession themselves. Many of them have therefore started to take up the brand in their own salons. When we started with the launch, we wanted to promote this a little more. We held a prize draw where you could win the new products, plus an event with Nadine Strittmatter where you could celebrate being one of the first salons to offer the new beauty brand. Photos were taken at these events and sent out via social media. In the meantime, the word is spreading. The customers in the salons receive little morsels, pass them on and are delighted. It's like a snowball that is now starting to roll.

How many roadshows are there?
There are seven in total with Nadine Strittmatter. In Lucerne, Zurich, Meilen, Solothurn and Aargau. We hope that the campaign will continue, later without Nadine. But the customers of our products in the salons should spread the word: these roadshows are a cool thing. The products are of high quality and convince me. Finally: Yes, I do want to include this brand. Interview: Andreas Panzeri