Who I Am
THE MAN WHO PUT THE GLITTER INTO GLAM ROCK
ALAN MARCUS is an entrepreneur from central casting. He is the man who created glitter hairspray, an invention that spawned a £20m business. He started businesses ranging from making ink-jet cartridges to radio jingles.
The son of a sergeant major, Marcus was born in Mile End, east London, and raised in Stepney. He left school without qualifications and went to work as an apprentice at his brother’s hairdressing salon.
Soon was able to open his own salon in Newbury Park, Essex, paying £12 rent a week, and he followed it with another in Barking.
In 1978 he launched his first company, Jerome Russell Haircare, manufacturing glitter and colour sprays and home bleaching kits, the products he created were the heart of the 1980’s trash fashion.
He also developed a brand of nail-varnish remover and temporary tattoos, and says he was the first to create shaving foam for women.
Shortly after launching his first product, glitter spray, he booked a stand at the Ideal Home Show at Earls Court. He arranged for the pop star Gary Glitter to promote his product. But Glitter let him down. “all the press and media were going to attend but the day before, Glitter phoned to say he would not be there,” he says.
If Marcus was to save face he would have to act quickly. He immediately thought of Su Pollard the actress and television presenter. At the time she was busy fronting a Saturday morning children’s programme.
“I range the station” says Marcus, “but they had never heard of me and clearly thought I was mad.”
Marcus left a message with Pollard’s agent. “The next thing I knew I was speaking to Su Pollard,” he says. “She said she would be delighted to help. She was absolutely tremendous --- a complete star.
“She ran around the exhibition hall, spraying around people with glitter. She was supposed to spend an hour with us but she ended up spending half a day there”
The consequent publicity was the springboard for Marcus’s success helped to establish Jerome Russell as a brand. “Before we were a cottage industry – essentially a couple East End lads selling hairspray,” he says.
The company rode the wave of the punk and the new-romantic culture, when hair glitter was an essential accessory. The Jerome Russell products were stocked by Boots and other large chains.
The name of Jerome Russell Haircare came from the middle names of Marcus and his brother and business partner, David. He says the idea for glitter hairspray was very simple. “I found a product that was used for art decoration,” he says, “I came up with the idea of converting it for hair and body spray. I saw it as a fashion item and convinced others.”
Another idea for a publicity stunt prompted a visit to the BBC studios in west London. Marcus had tried unsuccessfully to persuade the producers of Top of the Pops to glitter spray the audience, so the brothers went to the studios and handed out cans to those queueing up.
“It was brilliant,” he says. “Every single kid was wearing glitter spray on the show.”
Before long, stars such as Diana Ross and Luther Vandross were wearing Jerome Russell glitter spray. Sales peaked in the 1990s, averaging £6 a year. Three years ago, the duo sold out to Pro Style, an American company, for £20m.
By that time the brothers had established JR Universal Inkjet, making a universal ink compatible with more than 300 computer printer cartridges.
When Jerome Russell was sold, Marcus decided to leave the running of the company to his brother and retired to Spain. But the lure of business proved too much. “It was brilliant for a while,” he says, “But u had to get back. You miss too many opportunities sitting by a swimming pool.”
He returned to take the helm at JR again and is loving every minute of it. “Our annual sales have already hit £18m,” says Marcus, 49, who is married with a son and a daughter. “But this is just the tip of the iceberg. As consumers become aware of the money they can save, we think sales will go through the roof.”
Marcus will now focus on ink, which he sees as the biggest opportunity yet.
The company has caused concern among printer manufacturers such as Epson and Hewlett-Packard, which supply replacement ink cartridges. The JR products, providing an easy way to refill cartridges, are stocked in stores such as Asda, Dixons and PC World, and are distributed in 43 countries.
“The ink companies hate us,” he says, “It can cost £50 to buy two cartridges. When people spot the difference, this business will be huge. We can be the ink world’s Coca-Cola.”
Marcus has also dabbled in music – the pinnacle of his audio career was producing the jingles for Steve Wright’s afternoon radio show on Radio 1.
