New Brunswick’s Dioné Cosmetics Opens Retail Store
SAINT JOHN – New Brunswick’s Dioné Cosmetics has opened up a retail location.
Alisha Anderson started Dioné in 2012 and, up until now, products were available exclusively through direct sales consultants, a.k.a “Goddesses.” Now, she’s transformed what was her Rothesay storage space into a retail store.
“It started off as just a place for storage because I was operating everything out of my parents’ basement. I brought in a bunch of new products and because of that, I needed more room. It started out as a place to put everything at first,” Anderson says.
“Then I got thinking, ‘Well, if I’m going to pay rent for something, I might as well open it up for people to be able to come in and check things out.”
The store located at 154 Hampton Road will serve as a headquarters for Dioné. However, Anderson says the company’s consultant-based model will remain much the same.
“The consultants can send customers in to pick up orders if they like. The Goddesses are still going to make commission off of their sales,” she says. “It’s still very much that model, it’s just now I have a physical place for people come by and check it out without me or the consultants going to their house.”
Anderson says having the retail location will likely strengthen business for the consultants.
“I’ve been doing this for four and a half years and there’s still so many who have no idea Dioné Cosmetics exist. I think it’s really great to have a physical location that gets people talking,” she says. “That way consultants are not only building their business on their end, but I’m also helping build their business on my end as well.”
Aside from Dioné products, the store will also offer professional makeup applications and makeup lessons taught by Anderson, who is also a licensed makeup artist.
“It’s like a one-stop-shop for all things Dioné Cosmetics. That’s the way I look at it,” she says
Dioné HQ officially opens Tuesday, with its grand opening event taking place Nov. 5 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.