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Margaret Dabbs founder of the eponymous British beauty brand awarded OBE
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This October, Margaret Dabbs, the founder, Managing Director and CEO of leading British beauty brand Margaret Dabbs™ London, will be appointed as an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE). We spoke with the woman herself in honour of her receiving the prestigious award.
From humble beginnings
Born in Hertfordshire, Margaret Dabbs grew up in East London. One of four children, Margaret and her siblings were brought up by their father after her mother died whilst they were attending junior school. By her own account, she was a happy but mischievous child; she formed great friendships and excelled at sport, which their father encouraged. Yet, coming from a single-parent home, she always felt underestimated.
When her father passed away, ten years after her mother, Margaret and her siblings faced tougher times. She says, “I imagine this is what has given me my determination, drive and strength.” Whilst at school, the family GP asked if she would assist in her General Practice, which opened Margaret’s eyes to a career in the medical sector. She credits a dear friend and surgeon as an early mentor who encouraged her to study podiatry. “I’m generally very impatient in life,” she laughs, but when it came to feet, she found she was a perfectionist.
Margaret says: “During this period, patients were constantly asking me which products I would recommend for various foot ailments, including hard skin on the feet, cracked heels and fissures, dehydrated skin and hygiene issues. I felt that pharmaceutical products were mostly unpleasant to use, and beauty products were not effective on a treatment level.
Margaret felt there was a need to fuse the two, providing foot treatments which offered medical credibility, with treatment and health benefits, but also beautified. It became apparent to Margaret that there was a huge gap in the market for high-end luxury treatments and products for feet. With that notion and her own clear vision, Margaret Dabbs™ London was born.
A fresh start
“I saw an opportunity to develop the first credible range of effective treatment formulations for feet,” says Margaret, “and sourced ingredients from around the world to meet the demands and needs of my patients. In doing so, I ensured that the scent, look and feel of these products were unlike anything that had been pioneered previously. My products were beautifying, anti-ageing and luxurious, but also exceptionally effective on a treatment level, and I used these in my clinic to treat patients whilst also launching these products for retail sale. It just made total sense to me.”
When she first started her journey, major retailers approached to take on the products, but were left with a dilemma as the foot products didn’t fit into the beauty, skincare nor cosmetics categories. It took time to realise, and carve out a whole new beauty category. “I have been underestimated along the way,” says Margaret, “but it probably worked to my advantage.” People soon began to realise the quality of her products, and soon, Margaret Dabbs™ London products were being embraced by the medical, beauty, and fashion industry alike.
The competitive landscape for feet products was nowhere near as crowded as the skincare and cosmetics market, and Margaret Dabbs™ London quickly became the leading product before expanding to include hand, nail and leg products. The clinics expanded too, as Margaret introduced teams of qualified podiatrists and professional beauticians to perform these unique treatments.
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Going global
Through rapid expansion, Margaret remained focused on her goal. “A good business idea will always throw up lots of opportunities, but don’t be tempted to go for all of them… keep focused and don’t keep changing direction.” She muses: “Focusing on what you set out to do is key.”
At the end of 2008, Margaret moved out of her traditional podiatry consulting rooms into her first Foot Clinic and Nail Spa, in the retail space in the medical district of Marylebone High Street. Beauty therapists were introduced to complement the podiatry treatments. “It was a bold move,” she recalls, “but it gave the brand visibility, accessibility, and high street presence.” Soon after, Harrods approached her, with an offer to launch her foot products and open a second clinic.
Further opportunities – and a fruitful long-term partnership – with Liberty London followed, before Margaret opened her first international clinic, and fourth overall, with a large designer shoe emporium in Dubai. Fourteen worldwide clinics later, the name Margaret Dabbs has become synonymous not only with the finest standard of leg, hand, nail and feet care, but also with the grit, entrepreneurship and self-belief of the woman behind the company. Their clinic customers are both male and female, and Margaret Dabbs™ London products are now sold in some of the most exclusive and prestigious retailers around the world, with their treatments performed at some of the most luxurious hotels and spas.
Today, Margaret Dabbs™ London is the luxury British beauty brand leader committed to innovation for feet, hands, nails and legs. The company remains pioneers of powerful, results-driven formulations, delivering products that harness the best of medical science with the best of beauty. Margaret continues to spearhead the company and infuse her philosophy and beliefs into all products and in-clinic treatments.
Giving back
Margaret fought gendered stereotypes to blaze a trail for women running their own companies, commenting: “I don’t think I was taken seriously in the early days… I’m self-taught and had to learn quickly that there was no one else to pay the bills.”
She married at an early age and became the mother of “two lovely children,” juggling the business world with family. She continues to take inspiration from strong women in business and politics: “I see and feel their strength, determination, and ability and admire their focus, skill, and intelligence.” She has also become renowned for her charity work: Sole Potential is a charity which provides underprivileged children across the UK with sports footwear, giving them the opportunity to compete and enjoy themselves to the fullest.
Personal challenges for charity were also ticked off one-by-one: she climbed Kilimanjaro, and the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. Perhaps most impressive was completing the Cycling Challenge across India – having never ridden a bike before that! Alongside these challenges, she even found time to run a number of marathons!
Margaret received her OBE this and it comes in recognition of services to business and podiatry, her entrepreneurial ability and for creating a brand-new wellness category within beauty for the care of feet, hands, nails and legs. Her reaction, “shocked, thrilled and humbled,” is emblematic of the woman who built her own success from the ground up.
More of the same is expected for the future – Margaret Dabbs London is showing no signs of slowing down. With further distribution, an increase in products, exciting launches and global clinic expansion all on the horizon, it’s an exciting time to be Margaret Dabbs.
Find out more at www.margaretdabbs.co.uk
