RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Truss Professional is the largest manufacturer of professional hair products in Brazil. The brand manufactures in São Paulo everything it sells in 30 countries. In this context, Uruguay became an essential gear for its importer in Argentina to receive the products.
Its arrival in Argentina is made through the importer Pure Beauty, which is dedicated to selling articles in the beauty segment and will also be in charge of its commercialization in Uruguay.
Truss manufactures in three plants located on the outskirts of São Paulo the entire production, which it sells in the 30 countries where it operates. In the market, it aims to position itself between L’Oréal Professional and the most premium brand in the category, Kerastase.
With this objective, Pure Beauty will spend US$500,000 until the end of the year to bring 2,500 units per month to Argentina.
However, the limitations to imports in the neighboring country generated uncertainty in executing the plan conceived in a context of lower obstacles.
Considering that the imports of associated goods must be financed, at least in a term of 180 days from the moment the customs entry into Argentina is registered, Pure Beauty will rely on the capital of its Uruguayan subsidiary.
In this way, the company will try to secure the quota by outsourcing the mechanism through this company, which will buy the goods from Truss and then sell them to the Argentine division. Meanwhile, the money will be returned by Pure Beauty Argentina to its neighboring colleague after 180 days.
“These products receive an automatic license. But the drawback has to do with financial capacity. The Uruguayan company will finance the payment to the supplier,” explained Carlos Bertín, owner of the importer.
In Uruguay -a smaller market but with growth potential, with an annual turnover of US$300,000- they expect to collect US$30,000 at the end of the year. “We are expecting to see how the situation will evolve. We will adjust our projections according to the merchandise we can import. The idea is to achieve wide coverage but provide a real response,” said Sbruzzi.
Seventy percent of the portfolio is oriented to hairdressing salons, and 30% is at-home consumption.
Despite the pandemic, the brand managed to grow by 50%. “We gained a foothold in the domestic segment. There were countries where restrictions were less rigid. When the hairdressing salons reopened, we sold everything we had not been able to sell for months,” described the company’s international sales director, Lucas Pontes.
In Brazil, Truss has 200 distributors and more than 1,000 salespeople. In the United States, its second most important market and the first country to which it expanded, it has 14 distributors in 25 of the 50 states. “We reach 70% of the population, with a sales volume of US$250 million,” said the director.
The brand is characterized by being sustainable. It uses natural water in its products, unlike the competition, which uses chlorinated water. In addition, natural light is used during the manufacturing process instead of artificial light. All printing paper and packaging are recycled and reusable. The products are eco-friendly and cruelty-free, i.e., they are not tested on animals and are made with natural and organic ingredients.