Melbourne, 1997. Iconic Australian cosmetics brands Australis, Red Earth and Bloom had all been born in the city over the past decade, but still there was a gap in the local make-up market. Pharmacist George Lambropoulos saw first-hand what was missing and wasted no time filling it.
It was around the time [US brand] Hard Candy had launched coloured nail polishes,” Lambropoulos says. But you could only get them in David Jones and at that time in Melbourne, there were only two DJs stores. All these young girls were coming into the pharmacy with cut-outs from magazines, looking for coloured nail polishes, but we weren’t getting any from our brands.”
It started as a joke between Lambropoulos and his staff, as he declared it would be easier to make coloured polishes themselves than buy any. With that, he used some liquid paper and a couple of red and blue biros to mix together what was the first inspiration for the brand. Those original mixes inspired our launch colours – Chic Baby Pink, Ice Baby Blue and Pure Baby Lavender,” Lambropoulos says.
When Lambropoulos decided to take some time off work and take a chance on his new business venture, he turned to long-time friend Frank Nassiokas, who had a background in the fashion industry. Today, despite spending a lot of time together – the pair live together as well – the two are still good friends and successful business partners. We separate work from non-work things and we do it well,” says Lambropoulos. We collaborate on a lot of things together, but generally we’re diverse in our opinions, so when we both like something, it usually equates to retail success.”
So what to call this new venture? Chi-chi (a derivation of the word chic, repeated), was a play term Lambropoulos picked up from a friend of his. In his hunt for a name, he explained that he was looking for a chi-chi name,” when it hit him that he’d already found it. And Chi Chi was born.
Lambropoulos and Nassiokas created an initial batch of 15 nail colours, which they sold in Lambropoulos’ pharmacy. It caught the eye of a buyer, who made their first wholesale order. That buyer happened to be friends with the buyer for [‘90s retail chain] Hound Dog, who put the product on their counters nationwide. The Chi Chi boys furthered the brand’s success with their own ad campaign, declaring Chi Chi as the brand for fussy bitches”. While the campaign may have caused controversy at the time, it also caught the attention of Myer Grace Bros, who came to Chi Chi with an opening order – just six months after the brand’s initial launch.
Chi Chi was one of 40 young brands approached by Myer at the time to be rolled out in stores as part of a pilot program for local brands. Today, it is the last brand of that original selection to still be stocked in the department store today.
Once the brand had signed on with Myer, it was time to expand the range beyond nail polishes. I always knew in the back on my mind that lipsticks would be next, so we brought out lipsticks and lip crayons,” says Lambropoulos. We had attacked the nail revolution, now it was time to embrace the lipgloss trend.”
That trend took off in a big way for the brand. In 2001, Big Brother hit Australian TV screens, starring contestant Jemma Gawned who became famous for her constant application of lipgloss. Her lipgloss of choice was a Chi Chi Gloss Pot, which resulted in stocks of the product flying off shelves and selling out nationally. It was very cool,” concedes Lambropoulos. I will be eternally grateful to Jemma.”
Today, the Gloss Pot remains a stalwart in Chi Chi’s huge collection of products, which now includes everything from foundation and eye shadow palettes to eyeliners and a BB cream. We bring out a huge number of new products each year,” says Lambropoulos. We have to keep bringing out new things because we’re often copied. We’ve got to keep on designing and manufacturing and changing to keep it honest.”
Chi Chi boasts a huge number of colour palettes, which Lambropoulos attributes to his family history as tailors and Nassiokas’ experience in the fashion industry. The boys know that to stay in touch with a discerning female consumer, you have to move quickly to stay ahead of the trends. If Rihanna is wearing a green polish in one of her film clips, then every young girl wants it. I can sometimes get a polish from lab to shelf in two weeks,” Lambropoulos says.
As with any successful brand, Chi Chi has evolved in a big way over the years. When we started, Chi Chi was a little bit out-there as a brand,” says Lambropoulos. [In the beginning] we had blue and green lipsticks – what were we thinking in Australia?! We had to tweak the formula so we appealed to a wider audience.” Lambropoulos says it’s about finding that happy medium between what you are as a brand and what the consumer wants. Sometimes you have to roll with more conservative colours, even though it may not have been the initial inspiration of the brand.”
Whatever the formula, Lambropoulos and Nassiokas have got it right. Today, the brand exports to Farmers department store in New Zealand, and are in talks with numerous other companies across the globe. In staying in touch with the ever-changing Chi Chi customer, the brand also launched e-commerce on their website this year, with a plan to focus further on social media in 2013.
So what’s their advice to other young Australian brands? My biggest advice to everyone is that if you have a great idea, don’t take short cuts. Do it properly, and take one step at a time. Get good advice, get legal advice, and ask people for help. I am forever asking people I trust for advice.”