Holding court

They say, “business is business”, no matter what the industry, and that is a philosophy Paul Wilkinson stands by. Having worked for 14 years turning around struggling subsidiaries for both national and multinational freight and logistic companies, moving into aesthetics may have seemed like an unusual choice. Now the chief executive of Courthouse Clinics and SkinBrands, Wilkinson is the first to admit he knew nothing about aesthetic medicine when he was first approached back in 2009 about running a clinic chain. However one thing he did know about was running and growing a successful business. In the five years since he took the helm at Courthouse Clinics and its sister company Cosmeceuticals – now known as SkinBrands since the acquisition of SkinBrands from David and Tracey Beesely – Wilkinson has created an aesthetic “powerhouse” and is in the unique position of being able to view the industry from both sides. As a supplier SkinBrands has brought some of the most pioneering skincare ranges and devices to market including PRIORI, Vitage, Medik8, Revitalash and Omnilux, while Courthouse has proven that being a chain does not mean compromising on ethics or quality, by sticking to its founding philosophy of offering doctor-led treatments.

CHAIN REACTION

Courthouse Clinics was founded by Dr Patrick Bowler and business partner Ron Sullivan in 1998 and quickly became a well-established and successful business. However, like many businesses, it was hit hard by the tough economic climate and was struggling to advance its plan to roll out more clinics across the UK. This is where Wilkinson came in. He joined the company in May 2009 and within four months started to turn the business around. Today Courthouse Clinics has a multi-million pound turnover, with 10 clinics across the country. He says, “I knew bugger all about the industry but 85% of it is exactly the same as any other business – it’s about people, marketing, controlling your costs and most importantly giving a better quality service than your competitors for a good price.” Marketing has been a key focus for Wilkinson in growing the business and attracting new clients. He explains. “Marketing is a massive priority for us. I see people set up clinics and spend £20K on a sofa and then haven’t got any marketing budget. If you are going to grow your business you have got to constantly work at getting people through the door.” Once clients are through the door it is all about getting them to come back. “We work very very hard to make sure that person who comes in comes back,” Wilkinson says. “All of our staff, including the doctors, walk the client back into reception to re-book them in for their next appointment. We also have a ‘refer a friend’ scheme as word of mouth is still one of the best ways of attracting new patients.” Offering the right treatments is also key to his philosophy. One of the first things he did when he came to Courthouse was streamline the treatment menu, which had 50 treatments on it. When new treatments are added Wilkinson believes it is about finding balance between science and demand. He says, “We always look at the science and clinical evidence behind any new product or treatment but you also need to think about customer demand. You have to look at the margins, how many treatments you are likely to do etc. We only invest in equipment if we believe it has also got mass market appeal.” One treatment that has proven to be very successful for Courthouse is Soprano laser hair removal, which their name has become synonymous with. Wilkinson says, “We have Soprano at every one of our clinics – it has been amazing for us.”

REVALIDATION

While profit margins are important to any business, the core philosophy of Courthouse has always been about providing doctor led treatments and Wilkinson is keen to uphold this. He is very passionate about standards and good practice, especially with the lack of regulation in the market and is proud of the fact Courthouse has put all its doctors through the re-validation and appraisal process and passed as he says “with flying colours”. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we were the first chain to have had all their doctors revalidated,” he adds. “Dr Robin Stones (Courthouse’s medical director) did a great job overseeing the process. It was really him and Dr Paul Myers that drove that.”

EXPANSION PLANS

With 10 clinics up and down the country, Wilkinson has plans to expand the business further and is looking for clinics that would like to become part of the Courthouse brand, however he does not believe in franchising. He says, “I doubt we will ever franchise. With franchising you are only as good as your worst clinic. We would rather look at purchasing a clinic, which we have done before, so the practitioner is still involved. We would even consider cash and shares. Becoming part of the CHC group is a great opportunity for doctors who may be struggling to run a clinic on their own.”

BECOMING SKINBRANDS

As if running a successful chain of clinics was not enough Wilkinson has also been growing and strengthening the position of SkinBrands as a key distributor in the market. As well as their established portfolio including PRIORI, Vitage and Omnilux they have recently taken on Medik8, Susan Posnik and Revitalash after taking over SkinBrands from David and Tracey Beesley. “We’ve now got all the products and treatments an aesthetic business needs, under one roof,” Wilkinson says. “Taking on SkinBrands has been a great deal for us, and a great deal for David and Tracey. David is still heavily involved in the business and will hopefully stay involved long term,” With 1,300 accounts and a nationwide sales force, the company is already seeing increases in sales for the brands incuding a 50% rise in sales of Medik8 and a more than 50% growth in sales of Revitlash. The company is also now moving into the on-trend and growing cryotherapy market by partnering up with ABC Lasers to distribute CoolTech. Wilkinson says, “We have a strong working relationship with ABC Lasers. It just made sense to partner with them. Guy (Guy Goudsmitt, ABC Lasers) has got the infrastructure and we have got the sales force. It is a nice marriage.” Having a clinic proved handy when looking at taking on the distribution as they were able to test its efficacy. He says, “We put two CoolTech systems into Courthouse Clinics to test the credibility of the machine – if we didn’t like the results we got in Courthouse then we wouldn’t distribute it.” They have also recently launched US dermatologist brand Revaleskin, formulated by the creator of PRIORI, Joe Lewis. Lewis is due to visit from the States this month to unveil his latest innovations, including the Elizabeth Arden PRO line, developed exclusively for the professional skincare market; a product that combines SPF, anti-oxidants and DNA repair in one and a new ingredient called “PQQ”, which not only protects mitochondria, it creates more. After spending an hour talking to him it is clear that although “business is business”, Wilkinson has grown rather fond of the business of aesthetics.

REVALIDATION While profit margins are important to any business, the core philosophy of Courthouse has always been about providing doctor led treatments and Wilkinson is keen to uphold this. He is very passionate about standards and good practice, especially with the lack of regulation in the market and is proud of the fact Courthouse has put all its doctors through the re-validation and appraisal process and passed as he says “with flying colours”. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we were the first chain to have had all their doctors revalidated,” he adds. “Dr Robin Stones (Courthouse’s medical director) did a great job overseeing the process. It was really him and Dr Paul Myers that drove that.”