If not for the pandemic, a local company wouldn’t be on its way to selling its product in thousands of Walmarts nationwide.
Lina Kennedy, CEO of Williamsville-based Alexandria Professional, had previously built her business by creating skincare and sugaring hair removal products for professional use. She also developed a sugaring hair removal certification program that is now used in more than 35 counties. She founded the business in 1991.
“I was not looking to do something with consumers,” she said, “but sometimes you just have to pivot.”
Alexandria Professional’s Kiss Waxing consumer product will be sold in 3,000 Walmart stores nationwide starting in April 2022 and will be available on the retailer’s website “any day now.”
With many salons having to close during the pandemic and people spending more time at home, Kennedy’s business could have taken a hard financial hit. Instead, Alexandria Professional produced hand sanitizer for six months in 2020, making up most of the revenue the business would otherwise have lost.
To further help the business and the salons it works with, Kennedy developed at-home, mess-free kits for sugaring hair removal and started an ambassador program for the professionals whose businesses were shutdown during the pandemic. Rather than having professionals stock inventory in their homes, Alexandria Professional gave them order codes for customers to use online, did the shipping, and gave the professionals monthly commission.
The program is still going and has expanded to allow customers to be ambassadors as well.
Walmart discovered Alexandria Professional's consumer product via RangeMe, a product discovering and sourcing platform for retailers and suppliers, which led to the company’s partnership with Alexandria Professional.
Through all the adjustments, Kennedy said her company’s revenue is steady with pre-pandemic levels with big hopes for further growth through its Walmart partnership.
She has about 20 employees between her Williamsville headquarters and Clarence production facility and is hiring five more people for production.
“If you want, you can,” Kennedy said. “It’s really that simple. If you want, you can change the direction, change your mind. In business you’re going to go through a lot of different things. What’s going to make you a winner is if you keep going forward.”
