Anti-Diversion Investigative Video May 2009

[chattychar]

L'Oreal sucks.

[chattychar]

l'oreal is running a sham operation. look at the post from a former matrix employee.

at the website: hairbrained.me/forum/topics/di­version-3?commentId=2816969%3A­Comment%3A240969&xg_source=act­ivity

[hbplaylist]

The manufacturers are selling and supplying these mega retailers directly. Anyone who things you can get on the shelves of Target, Wal Mart, or Walgreens without posting a $10 million - $15 million product liability insurance policy AND a certificate of trademark ownership AND integrate into the retail company's electronic ordering system is completely naive. ONLY the product manufacturer can supply to the mega-retailers. SALON PROFESSIONALS SHOULD NOT BE FOOLED!

[ryoshi100]

.... Soo a news story is produced by a marketing firm??? yes BULLSHIT

[ryoshi100]

I think it's funny that these companies want to be salon only, but haven't sued walgreens or Target or walmart.

They want it both ways.

[redkenight]

And one last thing....Yes a consumer may purchase professional products from these stores...But beware they are not gaurenteed. THey do not get the accurate and professional adivse, as the sales peeps don't know squat about Redken and what they do and so on. What ever you buy from your stylist and salon, You get the BEST ADVISE and how to use it, if it doesn't work or you don't agree to the product, you can return it to the salon, YOU TAKE A BIG RISK ON WHAT'S IN THAT BOTTLE FROM THESE STORES.

[redkenight]

And for the comment just under the one I just posted. NOT BULL SHIT, as you may not know anything about this industry. If anything Redken is one of the only companies doing anything bout it, as I have new percentage stats on how much they have worked on de coding the line and just how hard it is for the brand to be sent to these drug stores. You will have to do your homework to say that LOREAL is actully selling it direct to these store....SO NO IT"S NOT BULLSHIT.

[redkenight]

I am sales consultant for a redken distributor. I sell to salons. I can certainly tell you that REDKEN DOES NOT SELL IT'S BRAND INTO THE DRUG STORES. I have known many salons go under because of being caught, and have taken the risk in being part of the diversion. In the last 2 years over 2500 salons have been shut down. If you were to go into these drug stores, you would see that Redken is the one product with maybe only 6 scues, all other brands are fully stocked, redken does do something.

[1960smokeyjoe]

This is total bullshit!

Loreal owns all the products listed and THEY are the ones selling US out to the CVS,and retail stores dont be fooled by this video

[chattychar]

@1960smokeyjoe yes and there is now lawsuit being filed against L'Oreal, Conair, Paul Mitchell, Sexy Hair, TIGI, P&G for pretending to have this "diversion" policy and bashing salons when they are the ones directly going to walmart, walgreens, target, Albertsons and putting it on their shelf. shame on L'Oreal. I will never buy any of their products EVER again. I will research every product now throughly.

[Teadas]

Then you have to hope the salon you buying from is not scheming too. lol

[imperfectspirits]

Although the name L'Oréal is instantly recognizable to most consumers on the strength of the popular cosmetics products marketed under the company's name, there are a number of other equally well-known brand names that are part of L'Oréal's product line. These include the cosmetic products of Biotherm, Laboratoires Garnier, Redken, Maybelline, Lancome, Helen Rubin-stein, and Vichy, as well as the designer perfume lines of Ralph Lauren and Giorgio Armani. ~obtained from a Loreal company profile~

[imperfectspirits]

the shelves at major retailers they would go public. It was also mentioned on here that Loreal owns most of the products shown. I noticed 2 brands that they are the parent company to....Redken and Matrix.

[imperfectspirits]

If a person holds a license they can purchase professional products from a wholesale supplier or manufacturer. Would that not be an ideal person to employ as a "buyer"?

There are several ways that diversion occurs. Warehouses and salons going out of business are notorious for this practice. Sometimes, it's just a side project to make some money. It was mentioned on here that the companies are the ones selling the products to the "superstores" and others. If they wanted their product on.....

[imperfectspirits]

Diversion is a very real thing, and your disbelief does not make it any less so.

30% over cost from salons.....They actually stated 10% - 30% over cost......30% is a pretty far reach. Since the stores are marking the products up 110% - 115% over original cost (what a professional would pay), it leaves them a little room to play. They are making money. There is no doubt they are making money.

Consider this.....One does not need to be a 'practicing stylist' to keep their license.

[harestylin]

For the three people under me, you're wrong. Unfortunately for you consumers you aren't educated enough on the background of these products to know what really goes on. I know for a fact that Rekden as a brand have representatives that go to Meijer, Kroger, CVS, Target etc and buy these products off of the shelves. If these products were safe why would a company invest their time and money into an employee to buy these products. Remember: Redken as a brand performs this..not individual salons.

[kina1967]

Why would a diverter pay 30% more for a product to strip a batch number & contaminate & resell to a mass retailer? This seems like a lot of extra work and no money to be made...lets be serious, its an obvious marketing scheme to sell the product to mass retailers & tell the salons that it is an unauthorized practice.

[ChelInNY]

@kina1967 That's the thing - the distributor may have product that has been sitting in a semi truck for months, it goes bad. They can't sell it to the beauty supply store, so they go to other outlets. There are also 'companies' out there that try to reproduce bottles/cans/product for very cheap, & they do an 'ok' job - or they empty the actual product into other bottles, water products down, etc. Why do you think these lines are constantly revamping their image?

[4manzy]

I've been researching this problem for years. If it were illegal for these stores to carry these products, they would not be carrying them in the first place. Google the facts. Simply do not carry the products that are selling in these outlets. Carry your own line. I've been doing this for 15 yrs. Paul Mitchell? Never!

[ChelInNY]

@4manzy Do you know how many lawsuits have been filed against said stores by major hair care companies? THOUSANDS. Unfortunately, the court system takes forever to deal with issues like this that should be simple. It is definitely illegal for these stores to carry these products, but they still do.

[ctshummer]

In our salon in Gresham, Oregon, we ONLY carry Professional Products that CANNOT be purchased at mass retailers. We monitor on a regular basis what so called "Professional Products" are being sold outside the salon in these chain/discount stores. We guarantee all we sell and warn our clients that what they buy elsewhere could be a fake, outdated etc. But the buying public needs to be informed and taught.

[ChelInNY]

@ctshummer We tried that also but unfortunately they still get there. I worked at a salon where there was a product that could ONLY be purchased thru the company itself... I went into a grocery store and saw said product line there. I've seen it more and more in other stores. It's sick that people are making money off of fake/diverted products.

[mrs62chamberlain]

The diverted ones don't. Some of the Sexy Hair Concepts products words are flipped on the side of the cans. A lot of the products also smell different and the packaging is way different colors or a completely different bottle shape. STOP DIVERSION TODAY!!!

[mrs62chamberlain]

Every time I watch any diversion videos I get pissed and the rest of my day goes bad. What these stores do is a bunch of BS. I still can't figure out how they can get away with this. And I also don't understand how people can buy this stuff. Every bottle regardless what you get says something along the lines 'GUARANTEED ONLY WHEN SOLD IN A PROFESSIONAL SALON" etc. TIGI is a big one thats extremely fake. On the backs of the Bed Head it says "You must have a sense of humor to use this product" and

[BlueStoneFormulation]

What a great ad for these products,

now thats marketing

[PisceanBeautyy]

I don't understand why companies themselves don't want to make these products available to the public via retail stores, especially shampoos and conditioners. They would make a shit load more money.

[willbscene360]

@PisceanBeautyy I've talked to many people from different brands, the idea is that professional brands want to support salons. Also, people at Target or Rite aid can't give you the advise needed to buy products and companies want to make sure you get the products that are right for you. But I personally think its all about marketing. Professional brands pretty much sell by word of mouth versus Tressime for example who spends millions on advertising.

[rickardo004]

THIS IS BULLSHIT!

Most, if not all, mentioned brands are from L'Oreal, who wish to keep the 'professional' line uniquely to salons!

[PisceanBeautyy]

@rickardo004 This isn't just a problem for L'Oreal. Most professional lines have a "Diversion" statement on their website.

[samstephen8]

Damn you hair product terrorists!

whata load of crap!!!!!!!!

[4manzy]

This is such crap! Salons need to quit selling these lines. Redken is old. Matrix is old too! We need new product companies. There is no diversion.

[4manzy]

Products are in the stores, they have been for years. This is nothing new. The products are placed in the stores like Wal-Mart and CVS because the product distributors are the ones selling it to them. PERIOD! I've done my homework on this matter, and I'm here to tell you, the product companies want the best of both worlds. Don't be fooled! If you were Loreal and Wal Mart wanted to sell your entire line in all their stores, what would you do? Business owners think about it!

Would you say no???

[ssent1]

LOL - what a joke. Those were very well scripted "average consumers." Why isn't this propaganda video still on PureOlogy's website? I had to go find it here on YouTube.

[PisceanBeautyy]

@ssent1 Do you negate the fact that there is definitely a risk of purchasing items from retailers that are not of quality. While I don't agree with professional brands policies, there is definitely a risk of obtaining expired and dangerous products when buying "diverted" products.

[ssent1]

@PisceanBeautyy My company markets professional hair products. I'm not here to promote, so I won't name brands. We feel strongly about consumer protection. There is a big difference between diverted and counterfeit products. We ensure that consumers can identify counterfeit products to protect themselves and their families. It also protects our brands. Our salon partners hate diversion, as do we. Complying with competition laws in the countries in which we operate limits our legal options.