Going to Additional Lengths to be a global leader

Guided by Managing Director, brand creator and product innovator, Victoria Lynch, the North East based business has grown from a spare room operation to a multi-million pound company and the UK’s second largest of its kind.

She spoke to Mark following their recent rebrand which added narrative, clarity and hierarchy across their organisation.

For those who don’t know you, can you tell us a little about yourself and Additional Lengths?

“My name is Victoria Lynch and I’m an award-winning entrepreneur, brand creator, product innovator, industry leader, hair extension and hair replacement specialist, to name a few… but my official job title is managing director of Additional Lengths and brand creator of Remi Cachet and Qute.

“As you can imagine, I’m super busy but I absolutely love it. I couldn’t imagine myself working in another industry; hair is something I always have and always will be passionate about.

“Additional Lengths is a leading hair extension manufacturer and retailer distributing hair extensions and related products worldwide. I started the business in 2003, from a room in my parents’ house. In the time since, it’s grown into a multi-million-pound company and the UK’s second largest of its kind.

“Overall, I’m responsible for strategic and business planning, product development and have responsibility for all aspects of running the business.

“I like to think of myself as ‘savvy’, and when it comes to hard work and a gap in the market, I always take the opportunity with both hands. I maintain a focus throughout a project to achieve the result and don’t release a product until I’m happy.”

What’s Additional Lengths’ Big Idea and what are you famous for?

“Everything Additional Lengths does is about quality and it’s what sets us apart from the rest. Whether it’s more innovation, extra longevity or better customer service, we bring quality on every level and to every length of hair.

“It’s a simple but powerful assurance; a product from Additional Lengths will offer something more. Something additional.

“It’s this additional quality that instils confidence in our customers to not only buy from us but to also look, feel and be their best.”

What makes you different and how do you stand out?

“Just like our name, we are ‘additional’ and this at the core of who we are.

“We take pride in having additional quality in every product, at every price point and additional innovation in every idea. From Remi Cachet to Qute and everything else associated with the business, we strive to bring our customers the best in class, helping them to look good and feel good.

“It’s this extra that makes a big difference to them and makes us stand out from the rest.”

Not so long ago, the business invested in developing and refreshing its brand. Why did you feel you’d outgrown the previous brand and why was the time right to evolve?

“Before the brand refresh, the business had been running for almost two decades. In that time a lot had changed. We’d evolved as a business, as a brand and as people. It was definitely time to reassess, reorganise and level up our brand hierarchy.

“Over recent years, we’d placed a lot of emphasis on Remi Cachet, and in some ways we’d left the Additional Lengths brand behind. This caused both strategic confusion internally and a lack of clarity for customers.

“For the brand refresh, we wanted to elevate Additional Lengths’ look and feel while bringing consistency to our guidelines. At the same time, it was also a chance to raise the brand’s visual quality inline with our products.”

What impact has the rebrand had on the business?

“The rebrand has had nothing but a positive effect. Not only is our vision clearer for our customers, it’s inspired our team and helped them realise where we’re heading and how we’ll get there.

“By separating our brands for different audiences, Additional Lengths is now more appealing to our target consumers, with a distinctive and relatable message. It’s given us a platform for marketing, with an aligned narrative that’s powerful, impactful and of real resonance. Already, we’re seeing this translate into positive results across all areas of the business.”

As part of the process, we clarified your brand hierarchy and defined a new brand story, including purpose and proposition. How has this informed your strategy?

“The process has truly brought our vision and brand story to life. It’s made our message clear and empowered both our team and our customers.

“As our Big Idea and single-minded proposition, ‘Get Real’ has a double meaning which fits perfectly with our attitude outlook on the world.

“We make real hair with real quality, real innovation and real service. And we also don’t pander to cheap imitations. We bring real, genuine quality on every level, which helps people look and feel their best.

“As a bold but agile central communication, it can also work as a standalone external campaign by adding positive suffixes. It even informed our visual approach – introducing a timeless wordmark partnered alongside a more neutral colour palette and an honest, down-to-earth and stripped-back image style. This gets to the heart of our brand essence: real hair, real people, real quality.”

We know your team and your customers are at the heart of your business. What do they feel about the Additional Lengths brand?

“We’d previously placed a lot of focus on developing the Remi Cachet brand, which was where the bulk of our professional customer base sits. But since the Additional Lengths’ rebrand, our full range of customers can more easily identify which brand is for them.

“For personal buyers, the aesthetic of Additional Lengths cements its place as a destination brand. Its new look and feel is something which is much more relevant and designed with their attitudes, behaviours and needs in mind.

“Whether it’s from social, search or word of mouth, the rebrand has helped buyers simplify their journey and even influenced purchasing decisions. At the same time, this has allowed Remi Cachet to retain and solidify its own standing in the B2B market.

“Internally, it’s great for the team to see the goals we’re trying to achieve with the Additional Lengths brand. Bringing this up a level, and on par with our other leading brands allows us to expand our B2C opportunities and really helps boost our message and sales focus. It feels like we’ve finally found a brand that reflects our products, service and team, as well as our customers.”

How do you define ROI for your brand investment?

“We measure our ROI in a number of ways, and there’s undoubtedly an indirect impact from our brand. Through further investment into new marketing strategies and campaigns, we’ve been able to build our reputation and increase our awareness amongst target consumers.

“The brand sits at the heart of this, and in fact the rebrand has served as a great opportunity to refresh and redefine our message. Both visually and verbally we’re now much more distinct which sets us apart from the rest and has a subsequent commercial benefit.”

We know that Additional Lengths continues to evolve, grow and expand. What does the future hold for the business?

“This is just the beginning for Additional Lengths. We’re at such an exciting phase of growth so for the next 12 to 24 months, the only way is up and it’s so exciting to think about all of the amazing things we have planned for the future. We’ve recently just announced our partnership with investment firm, Growth Partner, who are supporting us as we accelerate our huge plans for growth.

“Along with a new store and salon opening, as well as head office redesign, we have a whole host of plans in place for the future. It’s fair to say it’s going to be busy.”

What are you most proud of and why?

“On a personal level, it’s the fact that after dedicating my life to the business I’ve never given up even during the most difficult times and I still apply every ounce of energy everyday. That in itself is a huge challenge and a constant battle, but strangely I love it! So I’m proud of my personal strength, mentally and physically. Only those in the same situation know exactly what that means and how it feels.

“The recognition from other industry professionals is always heartwarming. I’m proud of the business I’ve created, which continues to grow year on year, as well as the internal culture we’ve adopted. I hope my energy and dedication to the company inspires our team to commit to their roles in the same way.”

You can read more of Mark’s chats with business leaders, discussing their organisations, the importance of brand and more. Features include Managing Director at Casper Group, Michael Shakesheff; Founder of Visualsoft, Dean Benson; and Managing Director at Active, Karl Pemberton.