Avi Sivan, founder-chairman Igia
In 1992, Avi Sivan dreamed that he would create a new cosmetics company that would rival such big names as Clinique and Estee Lauder. Fewer than six years later, "We are considered one of them. We are sitting on the shelf right next to them," says Sivan. "We are on the cosmetics floor in Lord & Taylor. I never dreamed we'd be there. Sometimes you have to pinch yourself to believe it's true."
In just five years, his best-selling beauty product, the IGIA Hair Removal System, has grown to generate more than $75 million in sales for 1997, and his product line had grown to 18 different products. Expectations for 1998 are that company revenues will triple..
The key to his company's success, says Sivan, was combining direct response television ads and infomerciafs with high-end print advertising in upscale magazines, placing IGIA’s products "on the pages right next to Dulce and Gabana, right next to Halston." The move allowed him to generate huge orders via both long- and short-form DRTV, says Sivan, even though the product price point—$129—was too high based on conventional short-form standards.
"Some people see infomercials, and they like it; some don't. But you combine the expensive magazine ads with the infomercial shows, and you buy some confidence with these people." And though the approach is costly—weekly television media buys exceed $1 million, and IGIA full-page, four-color ads appear in more than 45 monthly publications—the return on investment has been phenomenal, he says. "I think you should watch us in the coming year. We're going to triple our revenues, without a doubt."
Innovations for 1998 include a focus on taking successful IGIA products and streamlining them into single, multi-functional products that save customers both money and space, says Sivan. "From now on, one product will not do just one thing; it will do four or five things."
Response TV April 1998