Martin Perelman putts SILK Laser Clinics into prime takeover position: national spread starts in Hyde Park, Adelaide
The first shopfront (inset) for SILK Laser Clinics on King William Road in Adelaide's Hyde Park opened in 2009 with a fifth store _ the flagshop in Rundle Mall – started the next year. It was business plunge that paid off for co founder Martin Perelman, who became managing director as the clinic expanded expanded nationally.
South Australian business SILK Laser Clinics, with more than 60 outlets across Australia, was taken over Australian Pharmaceutical Industries in a $180 million deal in 2023.
With its first shopfront in 2009 on King William Road at Adelaide’s Hyde Park, SILK Laser Clinics cosmetic and beauty services was co founded by its managing director Martin Perelman, a graduate of the University of South Australia’s bachelor of management (international business). Perelman was working in the Swiss watch industry in 2009, living in Sydney and sharing a house with a friend who had a job servicing and repairing cosmetic lasers.
Perelman and three friends saw a business opportunity and took the plunge by each putting in $50,000 – something that Perelman, at 30, had to scrape together. The plan was to buy two secondhand lasers, repair them in their garage and start a laser hair removal and skincare clinic.
Calling on friends and family for interior design, branding and fitout, the first SILK Laser Clinic opened in Adelaide at Hyde Park and notched up $10,000 in a week shortly afterward. By the next year it had opened its fifth store: the flagship outlet in Rundle Mall.
SILK Laser Clinics were still an after-hours sideline for Perelman until 2014 when he returned to Adelaide with his wife and young family to join the business full-time. Perelman credited his love of golf for teaching him hard work, methodology and self belief. Having represented South Australia at golf, he won a scholarship to college in Florida and later transferred his studies in international business to the University of South Australia.
The SILK Laser Clinic partners continued to open stores but, with price pressures in the market, they had to diversify while remaining specialists: “We wanted to move into more repeatable revenue, such as injectables and skin treatments where you come in every few months.” Eventually, when Perelman’s partners exited the business, he brought on private equity investment to continue growth.
In 2018, Advent Partners took a majority share with a vision to grow the stores from 12 to 60. Part of that growth was organic (more than 30 new stores opened since 2018) and part through acquiring 16 clinics (previously The Laser Lounge) and the buying a skin care businesses Aesthetics Rx. SILK Laser Clinics remained the fastest-growing laser aesthetics clinic nationally even during the Covid-19 pandemic and was employing more than 600 people nationally with customers growing fivefold and revenue sevenfold while its cosmetic injectables business more than doubled.
With SILK now considered a healthcare business, in 2020, the board decided to list on the Australian Stock Exchange. Its new owner in 2023, Australian Pharmaceutical Industries, was a subsidiary of retail giant Wesfarmers and one of Australia’s largest pharmaceutical distributors, owning Priceline, Soul Pattinson Chemist, Clear Skincare, Pharmacist Advice and more.
