In 2015 the UK distributor for Environ, Jane Iredale & the Advanced Nutrition Programme, the IIAA Limited, took the decision to impose a “marketing levy” on all it’s accounts that it deemed to have “National Reach”, we were told that it was non-negotiable and that it would be applied to everyone without exception. Our levy was set at an annual rate of £24,000 on top of the normal wholesale prices we were paying and although we argued against it at the time, we initially reluctantly decided to pay it in order to ensure the customer base we had built up over 8 years could still purchase these products at reasonable prices.
However in March 2016 this “levy” was increased with just 2 weeks notice to £36,000 per annum with a further increase to £48,000. We also now understand that the “levy” has not been applied uniformly to all IIAA Limited accounts with “National Reach” as we were originally told. Harvey Nicholls who sell Environ across their stores are not subject to this levy.
As this increase meant we would be forced to increase our prices to maintain the small profit margins we require as a business, we took the decision to contact the manufacturers and question the legality of the “levy”. These events have led to the IIAA Limited refusing to supply us with any more products from the 3 brands they represent.
We have tried to engage with the IIAA Limited in order to try and resolve the situation both amicably and in a professional manner, unfortunately this has not been achievable. In that time the IIAA Limited have refused to move on this matter and have sought to deflect the situation by involving us in there own internal issues and accusing us of illegal activity.
As a result of this we removed Environ and Jane Iredale from our National Award Winning Salons. We intend on now challenging the legality of this “levy” through the court system. It is anticipated that this will take some time.
The most important thing to us as a business is you, our customers. We want to be able to supply you with affordable results driven products, we can only do that with the support of distributors who manage these brands. All we can do at this stage is try to provide you with alternative products.
We have Dermaquest on the website, a highly concentrated range of products that will bring you the results you are looking for along with equally good products from Hydropeptide & Elemis, you will see alternative products on each of the individual product pages on the website.We also have YoungBlood mineral make-up on the site, which is a wonderful alternative to Jane Iredale and a brand many of our Jane Iredale customers are now enjoying using.
We would just like to thank each one of you for the support you have given us over the years in purchasing from us. We do hope that we have provided you with a service you are happy with. We do hope that you will continue to use us for all your skincare needs and we are on hand to offer advice over the phone or via the online consultation form.
We have reported this matter to the Competition Markets Authority who have confirmed they are looking into the matter as there could possibly be competition laws broken by the IIAA.
We will look to keep all of our customers informed with updates including full details of how we have been treated and the accusations laid at us by the IIAA when the legal process allows us to.
