Sebastian Fights Diversion

Ever wonder how a can of hair spray or shampoo bottle falls into the wrong hands and becomes diverted to the mass market?
Wella • Sebastian’s director of anti-diversion Gene Stapleton explains what happens when bad things happen to good products.

1. CODED AND COUNTED.
Every day, cans of Sebastian Shaper hairspray and other popular Wella•Sebastian products are born in our manufacturing plants. Ultimately, they end up in salons around the world. However, before even one of these products leaves the warehouse, they are coded with a state-of-the-art system that enables us to trace any product anywhere along the product pipeline where it is ultimately sold for resell.

2. COLLECTOR COMES TO CALL.
From the warehouse, the product is shipped directly to the salon or, first, to a distributor, who follows the same scanning process as Wella•Sebastian before sending it to the salon. It is at this stage that a “collector” approaches the salon. Collectors are individuals who buy products for major diverters of beauty products. their goal is to purchase your products for the least amount of money possible. they may tell you that they own another salon in another territory and that they can’t keep their salon stocked in product. or, they may tell you who they really are and that they’ll help take extra product off your hands by paying as much as 15 percent over your manufacturer purchase price. He may even write you a check for all of the product you allow him to buy. However, you must ask yourself, “Is the extra money I make worth the damage it’s doing to the professional salon industry and my business?”

3. SOLD TO THE MASS MARKET.
Next, diverters solicit grocery stores, drug store chains and other unauthorized outlets. Surprisingly, this entire process usually takes more than one year from the time the product leaves the manufacturer’s warehouse to the time it reaches the unauthorized retail outlet where it’s sold. that’s why I get many calls from customers saying the product they purchased is discolored or the spray valve is inoperable. My first question is, “Where did you purchase the product?” When I hear mass market, I tell them that we only stand behind products purchased in a salon.

4. STORED AT THE WAREHOUSE.
Once the collector picks up the product, he typically takes it to a local warehouse where it is sorted and stored. the product is then shipped to the warehouse of a large diverting company, such as Quality King, aka Pro’s Choice. the product may be stored there for as long as a year before it’s sent out to an unauthorized retail outlet.

5. TRACKED BACK TO THE SALON.
It is at the mass market outlet where Wella•Sebastian’s “watchdog” network of national shoppers record the tracking codes and trace the unauthorized product back to the salon that first sold it to the collector. any salon found to have violated their professional salon contract by selling product to a diverter is engaged in a process that can ultimately result in termination of that account. and, yes, we engage in lawsuits of collectors and diverters on a regular basis.

Of course, most of our salons are comprised of good, honest people who uphold their professional promise. If a collector contacts you, help break the cycle of diversion by calling our hotline at 1-800-829-3788.

OUR PROMISE TO YOU.
As part of the Procter & Gamble Professional group of brands, Wella • Sebastian is clearly committed to administering the resources necessary to fight diversion and support the professional salon business.