Kelley Morrell, CFO of Wonder Group and formerly of Blackstone, to join the Board and
Sean Bock, formerly of Drybar, to lead new franchising efforts
Boston, MA, Nov. 16, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MiniLuxe Holding Corp. (TSXV: MNLX) announced today that Kelley Morrell, current CFO of Wonder Group and former Senior Managing Director of Blackstone, has been appointed to join MiniLuxe’s Board of Directors subject to final shareholder approval at the Company’s annual meeting to be held on December 1, 2023. The Company also announced that it is partnering with Sean Bock, longstanding head of franchise divisions for service retail brands including Drybar and Heyday, to serve as MiniLuxe’s Franchise Development Officer. MiniLuxe will launch its franchising plans together with Mr. Bock in the first half of 2024.
Kelley Morrell is a highly experienced investor and operating executive with a proven track record of delivering exceptional returns for investors. She is currently the Chief Financial Officer at Wonder Group, a company that was founded by entrepreneur Marc Lore and is redefining at-home dining and food delivery. Ms. Morrell is also the founder of Highline Capital Investments, a family office supporting female and minority-founded businesses.
Ms. Morrell’s experience includes serving previously as Senior Managing Director of the Blackstone Group, where she led a global team across Blackstone’s private equity strategies and was co-chair of the Blackstone Women’s Initiative. At Blackstone, she led market-leading deal transcations including Spanx and Bumble where she also held board and interim executive positions.
“We are thrilled to welcome Kelley Morrell to our board of directors,” said Stefanie Jay, Chief Business and Strategy Officer of eBay and Chair of MiniLuxe’s Board Governance Committee. “Kelley’s track record of driving value creation through brand and operational excellence while disrupting industries is a huge asset to MiniLuxe. It also goes without saying that her own values are squarely aligned with MiniLuxe’s mission,” added Ms. Jay.
Sean Bock will also expand MiniLuxe’s capabilities as the company announces today its intention to develop a franchise program to complement its studios which perform nailcare, waxing and esthetic services. Mr. Bock brings relevant experience having spearheaded and led Drybar’s and Heyday’s franchise programs. In addition to designing and driving MiniLuxe’s franchise program, Mr. Bock will also support the company’s efforts on any acquisitive conversions (acquisitions of other nail care locations to be converted into MiniLuxe branded units).
“MiniLuxe is one of the most exciting brand platforms that I have ever come across with a mission to radically change its industry. Having worked with other mission-based service concepts and seeing the impact franchising can make, I could not be more excited by MiniLuxe’s potential to grow through franchise partners who share in the company’s purpose, standards and values,” says Mr. Bock.
“The biggest lesson we have learned with our MiniLuxe studio business is that performace is directly correlated with having the right leader in any given store location. Franchising is one of the best vehicles we know that can scale localized entrepreneurship in a capital-efficient manner. As we have continued to optimize our studio performance and studio-level economics, especially studio volume growth, we are especially excited about marrying this strong base with Sean Bock’s expertise to our brand and growth journey,” said Tony Tjan, CEO of MiniLuxe.
Ms. Morrell and Mr. Bock will receive incentive options as a part of their compensation and have also made commitments to become investors in the company.
About MiniLuxe
MiniLuxe, a Delaware corporation based in Boston, Massachusetts is a digital-first, socially responsible lifestyle brand and talent empowerment platform for the nail and waxing industry. For over a decade, MiniLuxe has been setting industry standards for health, hygiene, high quality services, and fair labor practices in its efforts to transform the nail care and waxing industry. Underlying MiniLuxe’s mission and purpose is to become one of the largest inclusionary educators and employers of diverse self-care professionals across our omni-channel ecosystem and talent empowerment platform.
Today, MiniLuxe derives its revenue streams from nail care and waxing services across an omni-channel ecosystem with company-owned studios and off-premise partnerships. The company also develops and sells a proprietary retail and e-commerce line of clean nail care and waxing products that are also used in MiniLuxe services. MiniLuxe is driven by a fully integrated digital platform that manages all client bookings, preferences, and payments and provides designers with the ability to manage scheduling and client preferences, track their performance and compensation, and access training content. Since its inception, MiniLuxe has performed over 3 million services. www.miniluxe.com
For further information
Anthony Tjan
Executive Chairman and CEO, MiniLuxe Holding Corp.
atjan@miniluxe.com
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