Czech cosmetics company Dermacol brings jobs and beauty products to women in West Bank and Jerusalem
The Czech cosmetics company Dermacol has been a well-known and respected brand in the West Bank for some time, recommended by beauticians and dermatologists. This year it went a step further –in addition to offering tried and tested beauty products it is helping women in the Arab world to launch their own business and run it with self-confidence. I spoke to Dermacol’s Lucie Šarkadyová, who is in charge of overseeing the opening of a series of beauty salons in the Middle East, and asked her to tell me more about the project.
“Well, the idea is to help these women launch their business so what we do is provide them with furniture, Dermacol products, and training. Dermacol has a very good distributor in the West Bank who has been working there for more than 10 years so he started helping the women with the training. Under normal circumstances a Dermacol specialist would have come to the West Bank and Jerusalem, but of course the coronavirus pandemic made everything more complicated. So to sum it up -we give them the whole package – the furniture, the products and the training and we encourage the women to launch their own business, to start work and not be afraid - because it is not always easy.”
Why did you decide to help open Dermacol cosmetics salons so far from home?
“Well, as I said Dermacol has a very good distributor here who has worked with us for a long time and there was also an opportunity to apply for this B2B project founded partly by the Czech Development agency and it all came together. It was born here in Palestine and the idea was to help the women. There is no other project like it in the region, as far as I know.”
How was the idea received by the locals?
“They are very excited. I must say I was very touched when I visited the salons now ( they are already furnished and most of them are already open, but as I said the pandemic has complicated things) the women were very excited and very grateful, but it was very touching for me to see that the project can make a change, can help them start a business or develop a business. The women are often in a very difficult situation, so this was very important. We have had lots of positive feedback in this project. Next year we would like to continue with it and expand it –if we succeed with our application – and already now we have a lot of women interested in joining, so it exceeded my expectations.”
How difficult is it for women to establish a business there? Are there more hurdles on the road than we would imagine here in Europe?
“It is difficult. For one thing, there is the political situation, but apart from that the Palestinian society is very conservative, so even if you have women working, studying and everything, it is difficult for them to actually launch a business. That is because to do that you need a certain amount of cash and to get a loan you need to offer something as collateral, but that is difficult for women because things like houses are always in the ownership of men here. So the starting point is difficult and it is also difficult for them to travel to work, so our aim was to open a lot of small salons all over the West Bank, so the women would not have to travel because that poses a certain risk.”
And is there a demand for beauty salons there?
There is a huge demand for beauty salons. It is incredible. When I visit my friends at home and see the cosmetics they have –they have more than I used in my entire life. The beauty salon is almost like a coffee shop in Europe. The women meet there and have all the procedures –they go in the morning and have a pedicure, then a manicure, then the hairdressers, then skin care and so on.”
Did Dermacol have a special collection made for them with an accent on anything in particular? Skin care, eye-make up, special colours?
“Yes, Dermacol’s flagship make-up product is the most popular, but what is starting to be more and more important is skincare –our distributor works with pharmacies and Dermacol also got prescribed by dermatologists – so I would say skin care is getting more and more important here, but what makes Dermacol unique is that the portfolio is really broad –it has make-up, skin care, hair colours and hair products so anyone coming to the salon has a big choice and the beauticians themselves can chose what they want to specialize in. This is very unique here, we are the only brand to have such a wide range of products.”
And these women were given online training from the Czech Republic?
“Yes, the training was online and local training was done individually, because it was impossible for more people to meet –it is only recently that ten people can gather in one place.”
You were aiming to open for the wedding season – why was that so important?
“Yes, weddings are very important in the Arab culture and people spend a lot of money on weddings –they want special make-up and go for the complete treatment offered. So we wanted to open ahead of the wedding season to get the beauticians motivated and help them start the business because there would be a bigger demand for their services. Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus complications this was not possible, on the other hand, because of the restrictions, there were also fewer weddings.”
How much of an adventure was it for you to travel to this region to oversee the setting up of the salons?
“For me –under normal circumstances – it would be quite normal, because I divide my time between Prague and the Middle East, so I can find my way around, but with the pandemic it has become something of a mission impossible. We needed a lot of permissions and there was a lot of paperwork to be done so I could come.”
Was there a moment that filled you with satisfaction, that made you think it was all worth it?
“Yes, it was the stories of the ladies (beauticians). Two weeks ago, I got the chance to visit almost all the salons and hear these ladies’ stories, to see their faces – how happy they are. There was one lady from the north of the West Bank whose husband is sick and she has six children and she has to take care of everything, she has a mortgage on the house and I could see her almost crying when she was talking about her husband and her situation, but she is so strong and a big fighter so it was very inspiring for me to see. And for me this was the biggest gift that I could get –to see with my own eyes that with a simple project we can made a big difference and help somebody. Of course, it was nice to see the Czech brand all over Palestine, but it is these human stories that make the project worth it, you see that you really can make a change, which is amazing.”
