mcg

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chandising techniques, Gaynor's mas-
sive distributorship is the link between
the manufacturers of hundreds of beau-
ty aid products to nail salon profession-
als who serve the general public.
"Those retail customers are ulti-
mately the keys to our success,"
Gaynor said, "because this is a busi-
ness that will never go out of fashion.
Beauty maintenance -- for both men
and women -- is the last thing
Americans will give up. They may
give up trips, larger cars and some
appliances, but not beauty aids.
"Everyone wants to look beautiful
and younger. With many couples
today working all week and taking
care of kids, they usually pick one
day to reward themselves by getting
manicures, having their hair colored,
maybe getting facials, and doing
other beauty pampering. And we're
ready to help take care of them."
Gaynor graduated from Southfield
High School, then obtained a degree
in accounting from Michigan State
University. He worked in his father's
Cadillac Ace Hardware in Detroit's
Davison-Linwood area before
branching out on his own.

4

0

0

"I've always been fascinated by the
beauty aids business, and we even
sold a few of those items in the hard-
ware store," Gaynor said. "The retail
customer trade in general was inter-
esting, and Gaynor's was a real spe-
cialty store that offered a variety of
merchandise. But I saw the great
need to provide upscale women with
modern beauty aids, and I decided
that dealing with salon professionals
was the way to go."
The ascent to becoming America's
leading distributor of professional beau-
ty and salon products was under way.
With only three other employees at the
beginning, Nailco contacted beauty
supply manufacturers, started a 16-
page, black-and-white catalog, installed
a toll-free telephone number, developed
a frequent buyer program, organized
annual nail show and moved to a
-
1,600-square-foot building.
Through the years, Nailco expand-
ed the catalog and trade show, added
the Nail World Newsletter and
Magazine, training classes and mar-
keting seminars for salon owners and
manicurists (now called nail techni-
cians) and even launched the Salon of

Nailco has become the industry leader for nail and haircare profissionals. --,

Larry Ga-rnor built Nailco

into a :$40

bus-inefs.

BILL CARROLL
Special to The Jewish News

IV

hen Larry Gaynor, at
age 29, started selling
health and beauty aids
from a small counter in
his Farmington Hills store in 1985,
he made $7,000 the first month from
local retail customers. That was in
Gaynor's Specialty Store in the old
Talley Hall on Orchard Lake Road.
This year, his worldwide professional
beauty aids business will become a
$40 million operation. That's in his
Nailco Salon Marketplace's $5 mil-

4/9
1999

62 Detroit Jewish News

lion headquarters complex on
Haggerty Road — with Gaynor as
president and CEO.
There's that much money in finger-
nails, especially if you add toenails and
artificial nails, and also skin and body
care, hair care, skin tanning, aro-
matherapy (oils and lotions), salon and
spa equipment and furniture, and
everything else that comprises today's
multi-million-dollar beauty industry.
Gaynor's store counter has grown in
14 years to the Nailco parent company
and five divisions, with more than 150
employees handling close to 100,000
clients. Using aggressive sales and mer-

Oak
5161011

.13$

•

monabi,

In 14 years, Larry Gaynor

has taken his professional

salon products from a

counter in Tally Hall to an

international business.

the Year Award.
"Although we've grown and diversi-
fied immensely, the hard-core nail
tech is still our most important
client," Gaynor said. "Fortunately, I
had the insight to determine what
every nail tech needed and we set out
to provide those needs."
Rapid growth forced a move to
larger quarters, a 6,400-square-foot
building in Livonia, and eventually to
the current headquarters in
Farmington Hills. It has more than
100,000 square feet and plenty of
room for expansion.
In the early 1990s, Nailco intro-