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MOLTON BROWN

Molton Brown was originally founded in 1973 as an avant garde hair studiowith a distinctive anti-artificial attitude. Their original shop was a one-offlocated at 58 South Molton Street in central London, from where the brandname sprung. This tiny corner of the now much evolved industry remains theirflagship Mayfair store.Founder Harvey Collis was concerned with keeping products natural, hand-made and non-harmful; a notion ridiculed in the 1970s. He could never haveknown the ups and downs that would eventually lead this unfashionable ethosinto the global spotlight 30 years on.

Molton Brown’s first lotions were crafted on site using natural aromatherapyand plant-based ingredients. They selected every component specifically toharness the potent effects of aromatherapy, plant and mineral extracts.Nothing could have been further away from the man-made obsessive mentalityof the seventies.When Dale Daxon Bowers joined the team in 1978, she brought with her notonly years of experience as a research chemist in the beauty industry, but alsoa range of natural cosmetics that she had developed at home. The ultimate inopposites had come knocking and the science/nature symbiotic brainwavebehind Molton Brown was born.Daxon Bowers’ years in the labs at Yardley and Mary Quant had opened hereyes to the cut-throat attitude of beauty product manufacturers of the era.Paramount to such major players was maximum profits at minimum outlay.Cheap synthetic ingredients were widespread as was animal testing. Most ofthe investment was allocated to advertising; idealised, unattainable images ofglamorous wonder women were the norm. Daxon Bowers broke away from this

IT WAS THE DECADE OF SYNTHETIC NYLON, THESPACE RACE AND TOMORROW’S WORLD. BUT THE1970S ALSO SPAWNED BACK TO BASICS COMEDY,

THE GOOD LIFE AND THE HIPPY CULTURE.WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU COMBINE THESE EXTREMES?

SALLY MORGAN TAKES A DIP IN A QUIRKYINSTITUTION AND FINDS OUT

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Flower powerplastic environment. She was passionate tocreate a range of elemental products thatconcentrated on inner well being as the key toouter beauty.Once at Molton Brown, she swiftly moulded intothe natural direction taken by the company andwas made Creative Director. In fact it is thisdynamic woman who is credited for pioneeringthe ‘Natural look’ of the seventies. Her directional

Nearly Nude lip colour proved the antithesis ofthe over-painted, over-processed 1960s hangoverand led fashion into a new era.Under Daxon Bowers, Molton Brown wasswimming against the tide. But they wereconfident in the integrity of their products andstuck to their guns.Looking back now on her long and successfulassociation with the company that she hasplayed a major role in building since 1978, shereasons, “popularity rests in its ability to movewith the times, whilst still remaining true to itsoriginal philosophy.”Daxon Bowers has good reason to feel secure inher beliefs. Molton Brown has recently beenbought buy expanding Japanese cosmetics

“OUR HERITAGE AND VALUES OF UNDERSTATEMENT,ELEMENTAL PRODUCT INTEGRITY, URBANSENSIBILITY, DISCOVERY AND INNER DIRECTEDBEAUTY, MAKES US DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT.EVERYTHING WE DO IS BUILT AROUND THEPRODUCT. EACH NEW ADDITION IS FORMULATED TODELIVER A PROMISE OF RENEWAL AND BALANCE.”

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company Kao Prestige for £170 million. She continues, “drawing fromboth the natural and the scientific worlds for inspiration, Molton Browncreates products which really work. I have never once doubted thestrength of this approach - relevance and performance have alwaysbeen my ethos, the rest just follows naturally.”But it hasn’t all been plain sailing for Molton Brown. Current ChiefExecutive Charles Denton first became aware of the company when hewalked into the Mayfair boutique with his fiancée on a Saturday in1989. Struck by the warmth of the staff and integrity of the products,he was puzzled as to why this brand was not internationally known.Denton was particularly impressed with the quality of the ingredientsand that all products were formulated with a genuine respect for theenvironment. The following Monday, encouraged by his fiancée, hetelephoned Harvey Collis and asked to come on board to help withmarketing. A week later Denton was retained as a consultant on athree-month contract. He recalls, “I remember lying awake the nightbefore I was due to start, lying in a cold sweat thinking, ‘I’ve made aterrible mistake’. I’d given up a well paid job in the city for a short-term contract in cosmetics!”His worst nightmare became a stark reality when six months later, the80s recession caught up with the indebted company. Molton Brownwent into receivership. Fortunately, in 1990, successful businessmanMichael Warshaw acquired the assets before the reputation wasdamaged. With Warshaw as Managing Director, Daxon Bowers asCreative and Technical Director and Denton overseeing sales andmarketing, they branched into creating miniature bottles of theirMolton Brown products for use in luxury hotels.Today, the cornucopia of products of created by Molton Brown is vast.Full ranges of body care for men and women, cosmetics and spatreatments are blossoming further. Exclusive retreats Killarney PlazaHotel in Co Kerry, Ireland and Alva Park Resort & Spa in Girona, Spain areamong a growing number of luxury resorts to have dedicated Molton Brownspas. Of course, they still supply their luxury hotel clients with miniatureversions of products for the rooms and also now offer in-room treatments forguests staying at certain establishments with no specific spa facilities.JFK and Heathrow are the first two airports to offer complimentary MoltonBrown Travel Spa treatments exclusively to British Airways customers travellingFirst and Club World, and gold cardholders. Created uniquely for travellers, theTravel Spa™ offers a ground-breaking range of performance services fromsleep enhancers and nerve stabilizers to mind sharpeners: each designed tosend you on your journey in a wonderful state physically and mentally.When you reach your chosen destination, there may well be a Molton Brownstore waiting to greet you. From their dainty beginnings in Mayfair, thiscompany now has 37 understated stand-alone Molton Brown emporia world-wide including a recently opened flagship store in Madison Avenue, New York.There are also concessions in leading department stores including Selfridges

and Harrods in the UK, Neiman Marcusand Bloomingdales in the USA, andBarneys New York in Japan.Understatement is something that Dentonstill considers vital to the identity of thisbrand. Everything from product formulationto packaging, is gentle and quiet. Staff inall outlets are experienced lifestyleadvisers and professional make-up artistshappy to leisurely chat or try products withcustomers. The surroundings are alwaysrelaxed and adapted to encourage thecustomer to browse.It sounds, and is, extremely unusual for aglobally successful business as this totake such a softly softly approach to everyaspect of their brand. They’ve never evenso much as raised their voice throughadvertising, preferring to rely on Chinesewhispers to build their reputation.Dale Daxon Bowers explains, “rather thanspend money on advertising, we invest inpioneering innovative formulas andservices for our customers. We appear inplaces that they frequent. Combined withour on-line and by mail shopping serviceand a presence in many of the world’sfinest stores, our customers know thatwherever they are, Molton Brown therapiescan create a home from home experience.

There is somehow more value in building yourreputation through this type of word of mouthrecommendation.”Perhaps it’s not just unusual, but a first for acompany of this standing to have advertised solittle. But Molton Brown were the first company todo many things: they were the first in the UK tolist the ingredients on packaging; first to committo never test on animals; the first to recognisethe bathroom as a place of renewal in which topromote wellbeing; first to import Dead Sea salts;first to make soap using pure vegetable oils; thefirst to bring Chinese ingredients to themainstream, and the first to pioneer productswhich focus on inner balance rather than outerbeauty through natural therapeutic benefits.

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MOLTON BROWN

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Oh, and, remaining true to their belief of innerwell being creating outer beauty, they’ve neveronce used a supermodel on their plain andsimple packaging.So what next for this gentle leviathan? The latest project for Molton Brown in its newest incarnation as a part of Kao Prestige,is a range of luxury, artisan-inspired leathertravel goods. Branching out into the already busyluxury lifestyle market is something that CharlesDenton finds hugely exciting rather than in anyway daunting.He says, “Our heritage and values ofunderstatement, elemental product integrity,urban sensibility, discovery and inner directedbeauty, makes us distinctly different. Everythingwe do is built around the product. Each newaddition is formulated to deliver a promise ofrenewal and balance.”From it’s simple boutique origins, Molton Brownhas come to represent a flowing positive attitude,which translates into the millennium just as wellas it did during its seventies conception. Morethan just fashionable, the brand continues toevolve successfully thanks to simple formulationsthat deliver; blending traditional and the modern.There is a tangible sense of the Maverick aboutthis company that is such an exponent of calmand quiet. Denton does not fit into the usualtemplate of a corporate suit. And when askedabout his plans for Molton Brown he concludes intypically non-corporate fashion, “the futurebelongs to those who dare to dream - and wenever stop.”

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