Depyl Action started operating in Venezuela and introduced its hot wax hair removal technique in the Latin American country, what secured the franchise chain a place in the finals of the International Highlight Award, which is promoted by Franchising Brasil — a sector project for the internationalization of Brazilian franchise brands carried out by means of a partnership between the Brazilian Association of Franchising (ABF) and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil).
The Depyl Action franchising started in 1996, aiming at putting an end to the prejudice against hair removal. “We had such a great product (hot wax) and so much love for our work that we wanted to change how people used to see hair removal. We wanted people to stop seeing it as a painful moment and start seeing it as a self-care moment. That reflects the true purpose of the chain: to take care of people and increase their self-esteem, regardless of gender, race, religion or nationality”, says Danyelle Van Straten, CEO of the company.
Depyl Action is now recognized by its customers and partners and continues working to improve peoples’ wellbeing. The company keeps growing and the brand is consolidated already. Today, over 6 thousand customers are served per day in the 116 units spread across Brazil and abroad, and 77 dedicated franchisees are part of the chain.
The journey of the chain in Venezuela started in 2005, when Queli Karsten, a Brazilian customer of Depyl Action who used to go to the unit of the city of Boa Vista, moved to Venezuela and found out that in such country there was no business offering skin and hair removal services like the ones she was used to in Brazil. She realized that there was a huge business opportunity. After the first contact with the franchisor, Queli and her sister, Bianca Karsten, got all the support they needed from the chain and started managing two units of the company: one in Maturín and one in Lechería, in the seaside, which was opened in 2012.
According to Danyelle Van Straten, CEO of the brand, the support given by the company was crucial. “The sharing of important information about foreign trade, good practices and international expansion project made the entire process easier since the beginning”, she says. And adds: “Since the opening of our first franchise unit in Venezuela, in 2006, we tried to put into use the best practices promoted by ABF and follow the expansion project”. The executive also mentions that the presence of the company in a recent workshop jointly promoted by ABF and Apex-Brasil gave the company very important insights to continue with its supporting plan for international units.
About the International Highlight Award
The purpose of the award is to recognize chains that, by participating in initiatives developed by the program destined for promotion and qualification, have started or achieved a consistent internationalization process of their brands.
The award ceremony will be announced soon and three franchises will be the winners in the general category and one chain will be the winner in the Strategy and Consolidation category, which was created because of the high quality of the cases submitted to Apex-Brasil and ABF for appreciation. The criteria to be evaluated by the judging panel composed of members of the Franchising Brasil Management Board are: complexity of sector and market; operationalization process; impact of case; innovation of the initiative; and relationship with the participation in the Program.
About Franchising Brasil
Franchising Brasil is a sector project carried out by means of a partnership between the Brazilian Association of Franchising (ABF) and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) for the internationalization of Brazilian franchise brands and promotion of their businesses abroad. The initiative was developed to promote this business model that is well recognized in the main international markets.
READ MORE: Meet the shortlisted brands nominated for the International Highlight Award