A fast-growing Ilkley company is set to expand the global market for its famous hair-straightening irons.
GHD is poised to announce the next stage of its growth which will involve £3 million launches in two European countries.
The firm - which already has celebrity customers including Madonna, Jennifer Aniston and Gwyneth Paltrow - will put the products on the market early in the New Year and then plans to hit the American market.
The move will further accelerate the expansion of the two-year-old firm which has an annual growth rate of 741 per cent and turns over £30 million per annum.
It is growing so quickly that it has called on Bradford architects to use a pioneering scheme to build its new headquarters in Silsden in record time.
Director Gary Douglas said the major marketing campaigns would raise the profile of GHD in Europe.
So far the product has only officially been rolled out in Australia, although irons have been distributed overseas in response to demand.
"If you are going to launch overseas then you only get one chance, so we have decided to spend £3 million on each launch, and if it requires more we'll probably spend more," said Mr Douglas.
"In each country, the markets are very different for hair care, and the same formula as we used here will not necessarily work in Italy.
"But it is fantastic to be able to commit to spending this type of money because it shows that we have really made it as a brand."
GHD, which stands for Good Hair Day, sells around 20,000 irons per week and has raised its profile in the UK by sponsoring hit Channel 4 reality series, The Salon.
It is planning to expand its 35-strong workforce when it moves from Ilkley to its new Silsden headquarters in March.
The new building will be the first constructed by a new company called Procure 1, a collaboration involving three firms including the Bradford-based Robinson Design Group.
Procure 1 aims to develop industrial units at high speed by using a stock of formulaic designs which the client can choose from by viewing virtual reality images.
All building regulation requirements are already secured for the designs and the building work and financial support is carried out by partners in the Procure 1 company. Sue Ainley, business development manager for Procure 1, said the ground-breaking concept allowed at least six weeks to be saved at the design stage of the process, as well as cutting out the need to negotiate with various contractors and financial advisers.
And Mr Douglas said Silsden was the ideal location for the firm to expand. "Our main asset is our great team of staff and many of the girls that work for us live in Ilkley and it was essential to keep them here," he said.
"We looked at places like Leeds, but we started in Ilkley and Silsden is only ten minutes away so it didn't mean such a big upheaval."
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