Carmel Owens trained in Computer Applications and having travelled the world, she set up first company with her brother, focusing on IT distribution. Now, she is jumping from computers to face creams and wants to help Irish lads look as good as the girls!
Owens studied a degree in Computer Applications in DCU. “I had no real idea of what I wanted to do but that was where most of the jobs seemed to be in Ireland in the 90′s!” she admits.
After graduating, she worked in various jobs at home and abroad. “At work, I always enjoyed the customer-facing, the pre-sales side of the business,” she says. After travelling the world and gathering some experience, she came back home to Ireland and teamed up with her brother Justin to kick off Commtech Distribution, an specialist IT and wholesale business.
Owens headed up the Sales Department for Commtech, which has since become one of Ireland’s leading distributors specialising in IT security, virtualisation software and voice products and services. “I have been working in Sales and Marketing ever since,” she adds.
After ten years in this field Owens decided to change and move from IT distribution to cosmetics. She created online retail site for male grooming products www.lookingoodguy.com, and is now planning the launch of ‘sister-website’ www.lookinggoodgirl.com in September 2007.
“Funnily enough lots of our customers are girls,” explains Owens. “We found it difficult to source a lot of the products initially so we launched a wholesale business with some new business partners at the start of the year and it’s all go!”
Owens set up One Stop Distribution, a specialist skincare distributor for the wholesale and retail market in Ireland and UK. www.lookinggoodguy.com and www.lookinggoodgirl.com are the main retail sites backed by One Stop.
Owens’ ‘light bulb moment’ came after seeing her back-then boyfriend (now her soon-to-be husband) constantly robbing her moisturiser.
“In the USA there were lots of male grooming brands and in trying to buy products for him in Ireland we saw it as an emerging market,” she explains.
“We don’t have a shop or sales assistants so it allows us to keep our costs down and provide products at a great price. We also have worked really hard with our delivery partners so if orders are placed before two in the afternoon they are delivered next day – people really love that.”
The company has secured exclusive distributorship of various US cosmetic brands in for the UK and Ireland.
Grooms looking for some treatments for your big day, check out www.lookinggoodguy.com!
