Speaking to: Reem Abou Samra, founder of the Emirates Hills beauty salon José Eber LaLoge

Reem Abou Samra, founder of the Emirates Hills beauty salon José Eber LaLoge, talks to Emma Baron about her plans to franchise the luxury brand

Please tell us about your background? How did it all begin?
The first salon launched in Emirates Hills in January 2016 and then the Downtown branch opened in April 2017. The salon is in collaboration with José Eber. My sister and I would regularly visit his salon in LA, over time we built a personal connection and became good friends. I had always thought about starting my own business in the beauty industry and it just made a lot sense to collaborate with José.

What is your background within the industry?
I am not a stylist or beautician, I am a businesswoman and entrepreneur. I started taking business courses when they first brought them to the UAE around 1995. I learnt English first, which took around a year to learn fluently. I then took a computer course in 1996 and went from there, learning as many things as possible related to business. My first business was a children’s clothing store called Kids Puzzle. It was the first luxury children’s boutique in the UAE when it opened in Dubai Mall in 2007.

What treatments and services do you offer?
We specialise in hair and beauty so everything from cuts, colour, styling, blow-drys, nails and make-up including bridal make-up. We also offer a wide range of super luxurious treatments that fit with our brand and concept including a 24k Gold Facial, Diamond Facial, Caviar Hair Treatment and Hair “Botox”.

Which brands do you stock?
We stock José Eber products, L’Oréal, Kérastase, Redken and Selvert Thermal among others.

We’ve heard that you’ve decided to franchise LaLoge – what are your plans for this?
It is our aim to revolutionise the industry and take it to a higher level in this region. We think it will be a great opportunity for aspiring stylists to gain fame for themselves without opening their own salon.

What benefits would a salon enjoy by becoming a franchisee?
We work to a particular standard and always strive to be the best we can be. We train our staff members to provide the best service to our customers. We have training sessions held by celebrity stylists, such as José Eber who visits every year to train our stylists and keep them updated on the latest trends and techniques. We also have visits from many other Hollywood celebrity stylists including J.Lo’s personal hairstylist Lorenzo Martin who visits LaLoge frequently.

Where do you plan to franchise?
Our plan is to franchise all over the GCC and Middle East.

What affect will franchising have on your current business?
We think that franchising LaLoge will give us the chance to expand and grow the business, we have experienced a high demand from customers to open more branches and we aim to please all our
customers. LaLoge represents glamour and luxury but we also want our customers to feel comfortable and at home during every visit. We want to be accessible to as many people as possible across
the Middle East.

Aside from franchising, do you have any additional plans for 2018?
The plan is to continue to grow LaLoge, and to expand the business all over the Middle East.