Today Belinda Hart’s name is synonymous with one thing – the Rick Hart Group. But tomorrow that changes.
We recently spoke to Belinda Hart about her debut into the retail industry, her charity work and realised she is a woman full of heart, courage, determination and above all – savvy business sense.
They say behind every good man is a good woman. And behind Rick Hart you will find his daughter, Belinda. Dedicated, educated, compassionate and after15 years of working within the Rick Hart Group, she is about to step out from behind her father’s shadow.
After entering the family business at administration level, she has since worked her way up to become the Group Product and Marketing Manager, overseeing the company’s entire purchasing and marketing activities.
No mean feat.
But this experience is going to come in very handy, as Belinda has visions for her own retail establishment which are finally being realised. Combining a shrewd business sense with a compassionate nature, Belinda has been researching the beauty industry for years and after much market research, she is launching the Bella Hart Beauty Emporium in our very own Subiaco.
“It has always been my dream to do something on my own,” she states, “and I have been looking for the right opportunity to introduce a new concept to the market.”
Belinda was determined to offer Perth women something other than the department-store style of cosmetic shopping, where you are forced to approach numerous counters and each time persuaded by a shop assistant, promoting one particular brand.
After a trip to New York, Belinda was inspired by the beauty concept stores and she firmly believes that “Perth women deserve this.”
She now aims to provide WA women with a retail outlet where premium cosmetic brands are sold alongside organic skin care, fragrances, men’s products and much more.
More importantly it was a sympathetic ear to the Perth woman which led her to develop the idea further. “It was clear from the research that the majority of consumers did not feel comfortable when buying cosmetics, skincare and fragrances, nor were they really enjoying the experience. That made no sense to my mind, as this buying experience for women should be
totally pleasurable.”
Speaking from her own experience, Belinda identifies with the woman on the street, at times even ordering beauty products from overseas just so she doesn’t have to step foot within a mile of the intimidating sales assistant – a feeling we can all understand! “As much as I love buying beauty products, I absolutely avoid it,” she admits.
Not one to rush into anything, Belinda spent six months searching for the right premises and stayed true to her vision of keeping everything customer-orientated. As a result she has managed to incorporate free parking alongside a beauty room; non-biased sales assistants; trained makeup artists; testing before buying; a scientific computer program which analyses skin type and even an amazing little tool which helps customers identify the type of fragrance they like!
But most importantly for Belinda was the aspect of offering shoppers advice in a non-intimidating environment. “Customers will be made to feel welcome and comfortable… without the pressure of a lingering sales person watching over them.”
As with starting up any small, independent business, Belinda experienced an uphill struggle trying to source products and set up new accounts, especially when dealing with multimillion dollar cosmetic giants such as Dior, Estée Lauder, Clarins, Clinique and Lancome.
But testament to her perseverance she now retails all the premium cosmetic brands as well as
product lines only available from spas.
Belinda’s husband, Paul Bernhardt, watched
first-hand the effort it took to overcome these obstacles. “They required a lot of convincing to go outside their traditional distribution channels. We are both very excited in seeing her vision come alive when the store is launched.”
Taking on the cosmetic giants would undoubtedly be something her father is proud of and one would be forgiven for referring to Belinda as a ‘chip off the old block’. It was at Belinda’s wedding that Rick Hart affectionately joked, “I’m not frightened of many people, but I am frightened of her.”
The years of working together have obviously paid off, as Grant Murdoch, Belinda’s previous boss at Rick Hart, remembers meetings where the two were frequently at loggerheads, but worked quickly and easily towards resolution.
“They often agreed to disagree and were both so passionate in their beliefs. The good thing was that once a decision had been made they both quickly moved on and supported the direction and you could see the love they had for each other and the love they had for the business.”
But Belinda’s compassion for her family, her business and the Perth woman extends beyond which cosmetics are right for their skin type.
Since 2007 she has been compassionately campaigning to raise awareness for the Heart Foundation, surprising even us that heart disease
is the number one killer among women.
Working within an all-women voluntary committee called Go Red for Women, Belinda still finds time to plan, promote and attend charity events, which she clearly holds close to her heart.
“The moment I learnt that heart disease was the number one killer in women, I felt so shocked and uninformed of this statistic. I soon became quite passionate about becoming involved with the committee, to work on creating awareness of this fact, to ultimately help save lives.”
Heart Foundation chief executive, Maurice Swanson, said Belinda was an obvious choice to represent the organisation due to her marketing and business expertise. “It is great to know that people like Belinda… are prepared to get involved.”
How ever Belinda manages to combine the demands of family, business and charity work, we’re glad she does, and Perth women are all the better for it.
Bella Hart Beauty Emporium is scheduled to open in July 2008 at 151 Rokeby Rd, Subiaco.
Heart Disease
What women should know:
• One woman dies every hour from heart disease in Australia.
• Five times more women die from heart disease each year than they do from breast cancer.
• Despite this staggering figure, only about 3% of Australians identify heart disease as the number one killer of women.
For more information visit:
www.heartfoundation.org.au
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