Bio-Oil’s cosmetic coup!

He’s the chief operating officer of a company whose product is sold in 73 000 stores in 22 countries, but David Letschert  still calls his wife an “angel” and loves the North Coast with a passion. He spoke to Debbie Reynolds.

Surrounded by containers of aromatic oils and “stuff”, David Letschert looks somewhat out of place. With his easy, relaxed manner I imagine him on a yacht somewhere networking with like-minded entrepreneurial high fliers.

Within minutes, however, I’m completely sold on the fact that he’s very much at home in the pristine Union Swiss laboratory on Umhlanga Ridge.

I’ve been briefed that David and his brother and business partner, Justin, have propelled the company from a South African operation with retail sales of R5 million to a global operation with retails sales of R1.2 billion, and yet I’m still not sure what they actually sell.

And that’s when David’s passion for his product really kicks in. We’re actually talking about Bio-Oil which is not only a familiar brand locally, but has become the United Kingdom’s biggest selling body product.

“The brand has gone mad there,” says David. “It is sold in 12 000 outlets there now and the crazy thing is that we were told there was ‘no way’ it would sell in the UK.”

Team work

David attributes the company’s success to team work saying that its biggest asset is its people. “We’re Cape-Town based, but have directors in various countries,” he says. “Our head office is in Cape Town, but I’m a Durban boy. Most of the our people don’t come from the personal care industry, but because they’re so talented they’ve been quick to learn the business. It’s also a very young team with an average age of 33.”

He admits that at 38, he’s one of the “ballies”, but he’s certainly packed a lot into the years following his matriculation from Northlands’ Boys High.

After qualifying as a chartered accountant, David completed his articles in 1995 at Ernst &Young, Cape Town. He did the mandatory “backpacking thing” around Eastern Europe and South America, before joining UBS Bank in London for three years.

“It seemed like a good idea to get some international experience while stocking up on some pounds at the same time,” he says.

He returned home in 1999 where he joined Justin at Letschert Brothers Corporate Finance, a specialist mergers-and-acquisitions boutique serving the pharmaceutical and personal care product industries.

And that’s when the Union Swiss opportunity came up. Instead of brokering the deal to sell the business to someone else, the brothers decided to buy it themselves. “That’s when I really started learning,” says David. “Almost overnight I went from spreadsheets to skin care … I constantly had to ask the ingredient reps what I was buying. But learning from the bottom up is definitely the way to do it.

“I read everything I could find on the business, went to all the trade shows and even packed boxes in the factory after hours.”

It was at a dermatology congress in Durban that David met his “lovely” wife, Jane Sutherland. At that stage he was living in Jo’burg where the company’s production facility was based and commuting to Cape Town where the head office is based.

“It didn’t take too long before I was spending almost every weekend in Durban,” he laughs. “When we got married and decided to have kids we had to make a decision about a home base.”

Having both grown up on the city’s north coast, the couple chose Umdloti. “Because of business, we’ve got an apartment in Cape Town,” says David, “but we’re lucky to be living in the one of the greatest places in the country. The kids can grow up on the beach, my in-laws are just down the road and I’m surrounded by friends, family and familiar faces.”

With a job portfolio that incorporates overseeing the operations across all departments of the company and substantial overseas travel, David insists on spending quality time with Jane and his two young children.

“I have a very supportive family and I constantly thank my lucky stars for my wife – I know how hard it is going from owning your own business to looking after kids. She’s an angel!”

FACT FILE:

Exercise: Loves swimming in the morning

Eats out at: Bel Punto and Casa Nostra, Umdloti

Loves: Chilling out with family and friends

Watches movies at: Cinema Noveau, Gateway

Spends time: On Umdloti beach

Holidays: Cathedral Peak, Cape Town and the annual ski holiday