What Trade Secrets does

Trade Secrets is a Canadian family-owned beauty and professional hair care retailer, operated as a consumer-facing brand under the GS Beauty Group corporate umbrella. The business distributes a curated catalog of more than 3,455 SKUs across 100+ professional and premium brands — including Olaplex, Moroccanoil, ghd, Dyson, Wella, Redken, OPI, and Morgan Taylor — spanning hair care, hair tools and color, skincare (including a Physician Elite line), nails, makeup, men's grooming, clean beauty, travel sizes, salon supplies, gift cards, and bookable salon services. Its primary customer segments are individual Canadian consumers seeking professional-grade products, with a secondary vertical channel of hair professionals and salon owners served through a dedicated PRO accounts program.

The operating model is direct-to-consumer, anchored by a Shopify-powered e-commerce storefront at tradesecrets.ca, supplemented by physical retail/salon locations across Canada, dedicated iOS and Android mobile apps, and a presence on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. The technology stack is intentionally lightweight: a Shopify storefront with native payment integrations (Shop Pay, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and major card networks), a BON Loyalty rewards plugin for retention, and Google Forms for in-store salon service bookings. There is no disclosed proprietary technology, AI/ML capability, or custom platform architecture.

Monetization is unit-pricing on product sales with pay-as-you-go billing: one-time transactions on individual SKUs priced from approximately C$4.99 to C$649.99, plus digital gift cards from C$25. Flat-rate shipping of C$9.99 CAD applies below a C$49.99 order threshold, with free standard shipping above it, encouraging basket-building. Promotional mechanics — Free Gift with Purchase, Build Your Bundle, the Litre Sale on bulk professional sizes, and clearance markdowns — are central to customer acquisition and AOV expansion. The company ships exclusively within Canada and is privately held with no disclosed institutional funding.

Name

Trade Secrets

Legal name

GS Beauty Group

Website

https://tradesecrets.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Trade Secrets is a Canadian family-owned, Shopify-based D2C beauty retailer under GS Beauty Group, selling 3,455+ professional hair care, skincare, nail, and makeup SKUs from 100+ brands to 100,000+ Canadian consumers and hair professionals via e-commerce, mobile apps, physical stores, and a PRO accounts program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Woodbridge

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Product Sales: One-time transaction sales of professional beauty, hair care, skincare, makeup, and nail products directly to consumers and hair professionals. Products range from shampoos and conditioners to styling tools, with prices spanning from budget to premium tiers.
2. Gift Cards: Digital gift cards sold to customers, available in denominations starting from C$25.00, providing flexible gifting options and enabling customers to purchase products of their choice.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Trade Secrets is a Canadian family-owned beauty retailer that sells professional hair care, skincare, makeup, nail products, and salon supplies through a Shopify-powered e-commerce platform (tradesecrets.ca) and physical retail stores across Canada. The retailer offers over 3,455 SKUs from 100+ professional brands including Olaplex, Moroccanoil, OPI, ghd, Dyson, Redken, and Wella, with PRO accounts serving stylists and salons.

Product overview

Trade Secrets is a Canadian family-owned beauty and professional hair care e-commerce retailer operating via Shopify, offering over 3,455 products across multiple categories. The core product portfolio centers on professional hair care (shampoos, conditioners, masks, treatments, styling products, and tools), nail products (OPI and Morgan Taylor with 522+ polishes), skin care, makeup, and men's grooming. Additional offerings include Clean Beauty products, salon supplies, travel sizes, gift cards, and bookable salon services. The business model combines direct retail with promotional programs including the Litre Sale (bulk-size professional products), Build Your Bundle options, Gift Sets, and Free Gift with Purchase promotions. The company operates a loyalty rewards program through BON Loyalty and offers free standard shipping on orders over $49.99 CAD within Canada.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GS Professional: Professional hair care tools and accessories brand
• Trade Secrets Gift Card

Products and services

• Professional Hair Care Products Comprehensive range of professional shampoos, conditioners, hair masks, treatments, hair oils, serums, and leave-in products from brands such as Olaplex, Moroccanoil, Sebastian, Redken, and Wella, targeted at Canadian consumers and hair professionals.
• Hair Styling Products Styling creams, hairsprays, mousses, pomades, gels, dry shampoos, heat protectants, and texturizing products for various hair styles and finishes.
• Hair Styling Tools Professional hair tools including hair dryers, flat irons, curling irons, hot air brushes, brushes, combs, clippers, and trimmers from brands like BaBylissPRO, ghd, and Dyson.
• Hair Coloring Products Hair color, root touch-up products, color treatments, and coloring accessories from Wella, Schwarzkopf, and Clairol Professional.
• Hair Extensions and Hair Loss Products Hair extension products for adding length and volume, plus hair loss treatments, concealers, and fall defense products from Nioxin and BOSLEY.
• Skincare Products Facial cleansers, serums, moisturizers, masks, eye creams, body lotions, washes, foot care, tanning, hair removal, and fragrance, including the Physician Elite Skincare line.
• Nail Products OPI and Morgan Taylor nail lacquers, gel colors, nail care products, strengtheners, cuticle oils, base and top coats, nail tools, false nails, and polish removers, with 522 nail polishes and 610 nail care products available.
• Makeup Products Cosmetics including lip products, eyeliners, eye shadows, mascaras, blushes, bronzers, eyebrow products, makeup brushes and tools, and makeup removers.
• Men's Grooming Products Skincare, shampoos, conditioners, styling products, hair tools, aftershaves, cologne, and barbering supplies tailored for men.
• Salon Supplies Professional salon sanitation products and supplies for salon operations, serving professional stylists and salon owners.
• Clean Beauty Products Curated selection of clean, natural, and environmentally-friendly beauty and hair care products.
• Travel Size Products Mini and travel-sized versions of popular hair and beauty products for on-the-go use, with 279 SKUs available.
• Trade Secrets Gift Cards Digital gift cards available in denominations starting from C$25.00, allowing recipients to purchase products of their choice from the Trade Secrets catalog.
• Salon Services Bookable in-person salon services including haircuts, coloring, and treatments at select Trade Secrets physical retail locations, with bookings managed through Google Forms.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Sephora: Global multi-brand beauty retailer operating in Canada with both e-commerce and physical stores. Directly comparable to Trade Secrets in selling 3,000+ SKUs across hair, skin, makeup, and nails from premium brands to similar consumer and professional segments.
• Ulta Beauty: Largest US multi-brand beauty retailer with extensive e-commerce and physical footprint. Comparable to Trade Secrets in offering a wide assortment of professional and mass beauty brands across hair, skin, makeup, and nails, with a loyalty program.
• Sally Beauty: Specialty beauty retailer focused on professional and consumer hair care and beauty products. Closely comparable to Trade Secrets in targeting both professional stylists and consumers with a wide assortment of professional-grade brands and salon supplies.
• SalonCentric: Professional beauty distributor and retailer (subsidiary of Sally Beauty). Direct peer to Trade Secrets' PRO accounts program in serving salons and stylists with professional-grade products and salon supplies.
• CosmoProf: Professional beauty distribution platform serving licensed salon professionals in North America. Direct competitor to Trade Secrets' PRO accounts program in the professional beauty supply space, with a similar multi-brand assortment.
• Murale: Canadian beauty retailer that operated as a multi-brand beauty store with curated premium brand assortment. Was a direct competitor to Trade Secrets in the Canadian multi-brand beauty retail market before largely exiting physical retail.
• Bluemercury: Multi-brand beauty retailer (owned by Macy's) focused on premium and emerging beauty brands. Comparable to Trade Secrets in curated multi-brand approach with both e-commerce and physical retail, plus in-store services.

Broad incumbents

• Shoppers Drug Mart: Largest Canadian drugstore chain with significantly expanded beauty sections. Broad incumbent competitor to Trade Secrets in Canadian beauty retail, operating as part of Loblaw Companies with broader grocery and pharmacy focus.
• The Body Shop: Global beauty retailer with focus on ethical, natural, and clean beauty products. Comparable to Trade Secrets' Clean Beauty segment but as a single-brand retailer with broader geographic presence and category focus.
• Bath & Body Works: Specialty personal care retailer focused on body care, fragrance, and home scents. Broad incumbent in personal care retail with significant North American presence and overlap with Trade Secrets' body care and fragrance categories.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/tradesecretsCA
• Facebookfacebook.com/TradeSecretsCA
• Instagraminstagram.com/tradesecretsca
• TikToktiktok.com/@tradesecretsca

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Trade Secrets