Robert Schaeffler, the former chief executive officer of hair care brand Vegamour will succeed Derrick Porter as chief executive of the Beauty Industry Group (BIG), effective Aug. 28.
Originally founded in 2004, BIG was acquired by private equity firm L Catterton in 2021. It owns several hair extensions and hair care brands such as Halocouture, Bellami and Beauty Works, which are distributed in more than 1,300 stores throughout the US, and supply over 30,000 salons across 165 countries.
Porter will transition to the company’s board of directors after 18 years in his post.
Schaeffler told The Business of Beauty his top priorities are to increase penetration, awareness and uptake of the category. “Hair extensions are not well understood,” he said, adding that as penetration is currently only at 3 percent, he sees huge growth potential.
The hair industry has been buoyed by innovation from mega brands such as Olaplex and K18, while scores of premium hair tools like the Dyson and Shark styling wands have further increased spend and stickiness. However, those tailwinds are yet to lead to meaningful growth in the extensions category, which Schaeffler sees as an area for development.
“The more people visit their stylist, the more likely they are to look at a service like this,” he said, adding that he’s been working in the hair industry for almost 20 years and that the “first thing anyone wants is thicker, fuller hair” and “extensions always provide that.”
The instant gratification that hair extensions provide has also made them the perfect TikTok bait, with stylist creators racking up millions of views on their client transformation videos.
Strengthening those professional relationships will be key, as stylists play a pivotal role in the business’s credibility and distribution. “[I want to] really build that brand and marketing muscle, and work with stylists as a centre of our universe to bring the category to the next level,” he said.
In a statement, Avik Pramanik, a partner at L Catterton, said the category has already shown growth as awareness has built, and consumers seek out more functional hair solutions.
He said the company is exploring new opportunities both within the hair extensions category and adjacent ones, and is building out its supply chain as it pursues a “massive whitespace”.
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