Case Study: Persona

Overview: The Beauty Industry

Even many years ago there were a large number of beauty salons in Bangladesh; most of them were run by Chinese expatriates. Over time these businesses were gradually taken over by local entrepreneurs and the industry started flourishing. The beauty care industry now is one of the fastest growing industries of our country. Lifestyles have changed; people are realizing the importance of good health and presentation and thus becoming more and more concerned about their health and beauty. As the disposable household income is increasing and people are getting more concerned about their beauty and health day by day, the contribution of their disposable income in the beauty care sector is also increased significantly. People have more access to information and media, which makes them more conscious about their well-being, leading to a change in perception. Thus beautification is not considered a luxury anymore; it has become a necessity. The industry is growing not only in terms of salons, but also in the huge number of jobs it generates. Industry experts estimate that currently there are around 100,000 people directly involved in the sector, of which 99 percent are women, mostly tribal women. It is not only a means of providing beauty care facilities to the women, but also an opportunity that women can take to work and be independent. The government has fixed a minimum wage of Tk 3300 monthly for the women working in the beauty parlors, which is twice the minimum wage in the readymade garment (RMG) industry. At the moment beauty parlors are mushrooming at a very high rate. Every street seems to have a beauty parlor and these are mainly the creations of self-employed women. However, the beauty industry has a number of dominants. At the top end of the market are salons such as Farzana Shakil and Persona. Then there are other popular brands too that are performing really well these days. They include, Labelle, Que Bella, Womens World, Hairobics, etc.

Organization Overview: Persona

Kaniz Almas Khan is the MD and founder of Persona; a renowned makeover artist, beauty specialist and successful woman entrepreneur in Bangladesh has discovered people's beauty in a new dimension which turned her into a successful woman entrepreneur in Bangladesh. Starting from Glamour along with 9 performers in only 1200 sqft, Kaniz Almas Khan has reached to the current Persona. Now Persona is not a beauty care center only, rather its an institution of beauty and lifestyle where people can gather knowledge necessary to practice the art of beauty in a competent and professional manner. In 2005, she introduced the largest beauty care facility in Asia with around 200 performers working in 11000 sq. ft. with Studio Persona at Dhanmondi Road No. 27, Dhaka. Persona is now spread out throughout Dhaka, having its branches in the major hubs, Dhanmondi, Mirpur, Gulshan, Banani, Uttara and recently also opened a branch in Chittagong by the pitch line Beauty Ashore. Alongside Persona, Kaniz Almas also established many other business ventures. One of them is a global standard fashion magazine named Canvas, which is a sister concern of Persona. She is the editor of this global standard fashion magazine. Persona has some other sister concerns. Some of them are: a very first-male beauty care center named Persona Adams, a Spa center named Persona Spring Spa and a Gym named Persona Health. Persona has launched Persona Institute of Beauty and Life Style, the first ever institute of its kind in Bangladesh. It is an approved center of Edexcel International UK to offer BTEC Diploma in Bangladesh. Unlike all other growing industries, there is a mushroom growth of small beauty care service providers all around the cities. But the number of high quality beauty care service providers is still not enough. Persona is a milestone in this regard.

The Persona Scandal

Hidden camera in women's change room' scandal of makeover salon Persona, amid an apparent blackout of the country's mainstream media on the issue, went viral across the Bangladeshi internet users. As the shocking story hit the cyberspace, Bangladeshis throughout the social networks were looking for formal stories in the mainstream media backing the incident. Though it came through few mainstream news websites in the following hours, the commons finally had access to a broadcast coverage as newly opened TV station Maachranga aired a report on it. Commotions around the famed makeover brand Persona began after one of its female customers, a physician, reported to police of hidden recording of her unclothing inside the change room Persona at its Banani outlet on 30/09/2011 (Friday). The incident came as an absolute shock to thousands of Persona's female customers, who frequently learn in the media of its glossy attachment with many of the country's showbiz and public issues. Bewildered about why a security camera is needed in a room where female customers change, the woman approached the stationed Persona staffs and was not duly treated. The woman involved in this, after discovering the hidden camera in her changing room and accusing the management first, called in her husband as well as police from Banani police station. A thorough scan through the Persona office found her ordeal substantial as hidden cameras in change rooms and their specific ongoing storages in a personal computer was discovered. Though Mehedi, an officer from Banani Police station, vowed before the TV camera to act on removing all Persona cameras found serving ill purposes, the salon authority was reportedly engaging in a dialogue with the enraged customer to resolve the issue and not letting it be lodged as an official police complaint. The shocking story, though virally swept in the Bangladeshi cyberspace mostly comprising Facebook and vernacular blogs, suffered from an apparent media blackout. No TV stations except the mentioned was found reporting the stunner, neither was found the mainstream print media even within some fifty hour of the incident since it took place at Friday evening. Credibility of the Bangladeshi mainstream media was found heavily questioned and eventually lambasted by hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi internet users, who still wait for answers why such a gruesome incident is not being addressed. Persona authority was really quiet about this scandal for the first few days. When the situation was starting to become quiet, the authority published some testimonials stating their side of the story. One of those goes like this: Dear fans and valued clients, Recently, we have been getting reports implicating us in an incident involving Hidden Cameras in our premises. We want to assure you that all the cameras present at Persona Hair
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and Beauty Ltd. are CCTV cameras with proper signposting for each of them, and NOT hidden cameras. There are absolutely no cameras present in any changing room. The CCTV cameras are placed on customer requests to ensure security against thieves for customers materials/valuables. There have been incidents of theft earlier and under client pressure we monitor important public places of the Parlor with CCTV cameras to ensure safety of valuables our clients bring along. All the camera feeds are monitored by Female security experts. This is also being done in all other good parlors, restaurants, clothing stores and even in hospitals. We have always stood beside our clients and will continue to do so as long as we are here. We appreciate your support always. Thank you What had irritated the customers and general people about Personas approach to tackle this issue was a lack of approach to tackle this issue. Apart from issuing a letter to the public, what Persona did was put up print signage at various points inside the salon which said All CCTVs Have Been Taken off Due to Court Order. It gives the customers mixed messages that court had persuaded them to take down their CCTVs; had it not been for the court, they might have continued to keep them intact despite customers hesitation and queasiness. As for any other strategies to retain customers, bring back their trust or to promote sales, none had been implemented so far.

Effect on Consumer Perception

Survey findings Only one out of the 85 respondents surveyed was unaware of the hidden camera scandal of Persona. Out of the 84 who were aware of the scandal, 52 of them are regular customers of Persona. Regular customers were defined as people who have visited Persona at least once in the last twelve months. Out of the 52 regular customers, 37% of people have stopped visiting Persona after knowing of the scandal. The remaining 63% have continued to visit Persona despite the scandal. Quality of services and convenience of location are the two prominent reasons why current customers prefer to visit Persona despite the scandal. Even potential customers who are willing to go to Persona in the future cite these two as the main reasons behind their decisions. A significant number of people have also cited their indifference to the scandal as a reason. This can be due to the fact that hidden camera footages are causes for concern only in case of services like spa, massages and pedicures, not services like haircuts and threading. In addition, respondents have mentioned that they go to Persona to accumulate membership points. If a customer is a registered member of Persona, points are accumulated in her account each time she avails a service. These points are then converted into money which can be used by the member to avail other services at Persona. The survey findings show that there was not any significant increase or decrease of number of visits by customers after the scandal shook the media. The customers who visited Persona before the scandal mostly did so once every month, once every three months or once every year. Very few people frequented Persona once every week. This trend was somewhat maintained even after the scandal by the customers who were visiting Persona despite the scandal. The most popular services for which customers frequented Persona were haircuts, facial and threading services. Similar choices are shown by these respondents after the scandal. In fact, when asked to cite additional reasons for going to Persona, many respondents mentioned that they go for haircuts only. More than 65% of respondents agree that the scandal has tarnished the image of Persona. However, respondents as a whole were unsure whether lowering the price of services was a solution, the numbers were distributed evenly amongst the agreeability scale. More than 75% people believed that Persona should issue a formal apology for installing hidden cameras in the changing rooms. Respondents agreed that extensive marketing initiatives should be used to reinforce the brand image of Persona. However, respondents were not taken by the idea of using a celebrity as Personas brand ambassador. There were greater favorable responses to the provision of booking appointments online to reduce queuing time. Majority agreed that because of the scandal, customers will switch to other parlors.

Current Condition of Persona

When asked to name the leading beauty care salon in the country, majority will name Persona. It has been a milestone in regard of high quality service provider. This is probably their most important strength, which they built on in the beginning years and now can leverage on. Its brand image also comes from its association with Kaniz Almas Khan who is a visionary in herself being a renowned makeover artist, beauty specialist and successful woman entrepreneur. The existence of such a large and loyal customer base can be attributed to two reasons. The first of the reasons is of course its inception period; since it is one of the beginners, it captured a large segment of the target market. The second reason is its ability to maintain high quality services consistently from its inception till date. From a consumer survey, it was clear that Persona is preferred due to its services in terms of both quality and variety. As mentioned previously, its quality services give rise to its other strengths as well. Additionally, it also provides a customer with a range of services suitable to fulfill almost everyones varying needs. But the customer survey clearly revealed that the popular service in terms of its quality was definitely the haircut. Up-to-date instruments and tools are used in Persona; also good quality make up and other hygiene materials. In a service industry, the environment in which the services are being provided is highly important since the customers comfort level and preference depends on it as well. Persona has done a marvelous job in terms of its interior, which they update on special occasions as well such as Mothers Day and Pahela Baishakh to fit the occasion. But, the wind is flowing in other way round. As is obvious from the issue of scandal discussed above, and Personas inadequate response to the scandal has made customers develop a negative perception about Persona itself. This is harmful in the long run since it alienates potential customers. Persona is in a state of nonchalance where they are under the assumption that what they have right now, the image and the brand and the quality will carry them through the days. It is important for Persona to understand that if a business is to grow in the long run, it needs to be market oriented and respond to the changing needs of the customers and their demands. Overall management is to be questioned especially after the way they handled and reacted to the scandal. But most important weakness in terms of management probably lies in the security and privacy area. Considering the kind of service Persona provides, it is essential that privacy is maintained and also a certain level of security since a premium service is being offered. Persona has clearly failed in these aspects. However, the beauty industry is growing at an alarmingly fast rate and it wont be too long that first-movers advantage and brand image will be rendered useless in the fight for market share. Persona needs to step off its high platform and realize it is not invincible and that there are imminent threats of competition in the near future.
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The scandal has created a major negative impression (as revealed by the survey-more than 65% feel negatively) in the minds of customers. If the scandal is not addressed properly, the negative feeling that has been generated will remain and possibly grow in the minds of the customers. This will affect not only current but also potential customers. If Persona addresses the scandal and can come out of it in a positive light, not only will it revitalize the brand image, but will also create a positive top-of-the-mind awareness. The monotonous and predictable trend of advertising will be broken and customers will think about Persona more and in a fresh new light. The scandal is an opportunity in disguise to come into the limelight in a fresh manner again, only if used and addressed properly. The number of people conscious about health and beauty are increasing day-by-day, thanks to the advent of internet and TV which now constantly focus on healthy living and the importance of beauty. There has been a recent trend amongst 40-year olds (females) to grow an affinity towards beauty care services. Persona can tap into this potential market and capture market share by using its strengths and tackling its weaknesses.

Questions:
1. 2. 3. 4. Discuss Personas position in the current industry of Bangladesh. Discuss the Media Blackout regarding Persona Scandal. What was Personas reaction in response to the scandal? What were the strategies undertaken by Persona after the scandal? What else could have been done in this regard? 5. Give a SWOT analysis of the industry giant Persona.