2 mins
HJ REPORTS: DAVINES VILLAGE
The beautiful city of Parma, Italy, is home to Davines, a family company that has led with sustainability before it became an issue of such global importance. HJ visited the Davines Village to find out more
The world has changed dramatically in the four years since Mark Giannandrea joined Davines as Global General Manager, yet the brand has stayed true to its core values as he explains, “Our focus is, and always will be, the professional salon community – it is about being kinder and supporting each other, which in turn helps to facilitate companies to do the right thing. These values are ingrained in everything we do and are the principles for how we are growing the business, literally from the interview process. We bring potential team members to the Village so they can see and feel what we are truly about and recruit on values and then capabilities – we eat together, exchange ideas and use the space to bring ideas forward.”
From the scientific garden, where new ingredients are grown, to the onsite research and development facility, through to the EROC (European Regenerative Organic Centre) which is being used to prove and demonstrate the benefits of regenerative organic farming, this is all part of the culture. Mark explains: “We want to use EROC as an education tool for people to understand how they can make an impact, as regenerative agriculture will rebalance and reverse climate change. Being sustainable is not enough - it has to be regeneration.
The recently opened Davines House and Academy in Kings Cross is a key part of this strategy, and a place to share ideas in a location that has been regenerated, fitting our ethos.
“Davines is not about aggressive growth and my job is to manage this and ensure we stay true to the roots of what we have in Parma across the world. When I joined and looked at the global strategy I put the UK firmly on it – this is my home market with a strong hair heritage and the epicentre of global hairdressing, therefore a key focus for the brand." Mark tells us that the recently opened Davines House and Academy in Kings Cross is key to this strategy as a place to share ideas in a location that has been regenerated.
"We were the first to achieve B Corp status in the sector in 2016, and three years ago we became a founding member of the B Corp Beauty Coalition, joining like-minded companies to improve sustainability through collective action. In addition, our partnership with Plastic Bank reaffirms our commitment as for every product sold by the Group, we will collect and remove an equal amount of ocean-bound plastic from the environment.”
The Village is at the heart of the brand and where innovations come from, and with new markets being opened globally, it will remain the home salons and partners visit to understand the DNA of the brand.