Professional Beauty North bounces back
The weekend’s Professional Beauty North has been acclaimed by visitors and exhibitors alike as the best for years.
In all, 14,516 visitors flocked to Manchester Central over the two days of the show on 22–23 October to see 600 brands launch innovative new products and treatments and watch treatment demos and business talks on seven educational live stages.
The level of business done defied media talk of a high-street slow down; Ewa Johnson, head of communications at exhibitor iiaa, distributor of Environ, Jane Iredale and ANP, said “It’s been a very good show; we had four times as many leads as last year.”
Christina Jenkins, director of the Eyelash Design Company, added, “It was like the old days. We’ve had an excellent time, strong sales and more importantly the quality of visitors were excellent.”
Major skincare brands including Thalgo, Sothys, Murad and Codage exhibited in the new spa zone. Sales director Simone Newall–Black commented: “The spa concept stands were an excellent idea. We saw a wide cross-section of buyers and have a list of strong leads to follow-up.”
Show organiser Mark Moloney commented, “With a change of dates meaning the show fell over the half term period, I was nervous in the run-up, but although we were slightly down on student attendees, visitors from salons and spas were well up on last year. I’ve never experienced so many exhibitors rebooking their stands at the show, so for me that says it all.”
The winners of the Professional Beauty Regional Awards were announced during a Champagne afternoon tea on October 22, while the Warpaint North make-up Championships and North Nail Championships celebrated the talents of creative MUAs and techs on the show floor.
The winner of Professional Beauty’s SOS: Support Our Salons campaign was also announced at the show. Karen Johnson of The Chillgrove Clinic in Chichester shared the challenges she faced in launching her business and was chosen from a huge number of entries to win £5,500 worth of business development.
The Salon and Spa Owners’ Convention ran alongside the exhibition and delivered real-life experiences and benchmarking figures to help overcome the challenges of running a small business. Meanwhile, the Education Forum brought together college heads and employers to discuss the recruitment and training issues facing the market.
With launches, education, competitions and numerous networking opportunities, Professional Beauty North offered something for professionals from all corners of the industry. The show will return to Manchester Central on October 21–22, 2018.