This year marks Scruples’s 30th year in the professional beauty industry. Since 1983, the company has remained true to the vision of founders Frank Liguori and Jack Storey that’s based on service, professionalism and integrity. American Salon Editor in Chief Kelley Donahue recently caught up with sisters Tracy Liguori (TL) and Mia Liguori McHugh (MLM)—who along with brother Frank became second-generation owners of the business in 2009—to hear their exciting plans to help stylists become more successful.
Q: How did you get your start in the professional beauty business?
MLM: Not only were we born into a family of hairdressers, but our father co-founded Scruples, so Tracy and I grew up in the industry, which gave us an opportunity to learn it from the ground up. Once Tracy earned her degree in marketing, she held various roles, including as a product manager early on, and later as a director of marketing. For my part, I graduated from college, then obtained my cosmetology license before becoming a product manager, platform artist and director of product development. Today, we both serve as Scruples’s co-presidents along with our brother, Frank.
Q: What are your roles in the company?
MLM: Tracy oversees all the marketing while I oversee the creative.
Q: Tell us a little about Scruples and how you’re bringing the company into the 21st century.
TL: Although we’re a 30-year-old company with new management—we added COO Michael Riley and CFO Phil Paquette as co-owners—it was important for us to honor and maintain the existing foundation and heritage while adapting and adjusting to the ever-changing landscape of the professional beauty industry. After rebranding the company, beginning with our successful color brands, we kicked off 2013 with the launch of Indie Hair, our newest styling line with a youthful slant. As we push forward, our goal is to empower salon stylists with smart solutions that exceed their customers’ expectations. To that end, our product development and marketing teams have been hard at work, creating new products and devising innovative ideas that we plan to unveil in 2014.
Q: Tell us a bit about Scruples products and their technology.
TL: From high-profit, low-inventory and customized-haircolor options to quality, salon-exclusive haircare and styling products, Scruples’s portfolio has been designed to help salon professionals save time, make more money and stretch their artistic freedom.
MLM: The Scruples haircolor, haircare and styling ranges contain our exclusive Protective Barrier Complex (PBX). This patented technology, comprised of four essential ingredients—mucopolysaccharides, UV absorbers, hydrolyzed cationic protein and silicone conditioner—helps replenish moisture and add protein to the hair while maintaining elasticity, improving inner strength, and leaving it manageable, healthy and beautiful.
Q: What product launches do you have in the pipeline?
TL: The next phase of our reimaging journey involves our core haircare and styling line, Pearlscriptives. We’re refreshing the packaging so it aligns with our 2014 imagery and marketing campaign, but leaving the formulas intact.
Q: Are you implementing any new salon programs?
TL: Our Integrity Salon Program, which supports and rewards stylists who share our passion for and commitment to the industry, continues to grow and evolve. The program—which encompasses signage, cooperative advertising, merchandising items, back-bar and styling-station products, clothing, electronics, accessories, and education—can be customized to every beauty professional.
Q: What’s happening with respect to salon education?
MLM: Whether at our academy or in the field, Scruples provides stylists with the latest techniques designed to expand their expertise. Our education portfolio menu, which can be accessed at scrupleshaircare.com, includes courses such as Training for Tomorrow and Cutting and Color by Design. We’ve also recently debuted a business course to help beauty pros attain success.
Q: What are your long-term goals for the company?
TL: Now that we’ve proven we can adapt and grow with the ever-changing marketplace, we’re looking forward to bringing more innovative products and education opportunities to market that help hairdressers elevate their craft and enhance their business skill-set.
MLM: We’re also excited about educating existing and emerging hairdressers about the importance of aligning with a non-diverted brand like Scruples. We believe that by making them aware of what the future of their businesses could look like if they would only recommend products that are truly salon exclusive, we will not only help improve their business but the industry as a whole.
Q: What’s the one thing you’d like beauty pros to remember when they think of Scruples?
TL: At Scruples, we continue to pride ourselves on our integrity and being diversion-free. Despite the changing marketplace, beauty pros won’t find our products on the shelves of any mass retail outlets. In addition to positively affecting the bottom line, salon exclusivity is a boon for increasing client retention, retail sales and overall salon revenue. Simply put, when you use and retail Scruples products, you get to own and keep the business you’ve worked hard to build.