Sell through

Eve Oxberry's Editor's Letter, October 2014

We’ve watched several professional brands cross over to the retail side in recent years, boosting sales through wider distribution and hoping the increase in brand recognition will also drive clients into salons.

But it’s always interesting when the reverse happens and a predominantly retail brand makes a push into the salon market. The launch of Elizabeth Arden Pro is a big one for the US company, which has closer ties with the professional market than most consumer brands, running its own US spas.

The choice to partner with cosmeceutical mastermind Joe Lewis also lends credence to the line. Read more about it in the October issue of Professional Beauty.

With consumer brands making a play for the professional market, however, the pressure is on for the pro brands to mark their territory by offering salons something exclusive to them. As Hellen Ward argues in the same issue, therapists and salon owners are very loyal to brands, much more so than consumers, but only if those brands give them the tools to offer a service clients can’t replicate at home.

Upping service levels to salons is also helping some brands guard themselves against the threat of grey market trading. With a lot of professional brands now sold at cut-price rates online or via unauthorised sources, the manufacturers are finding new ways to keep salons and consumers coming back to the official channels. Read more about the murky world of product diversion in our feature on grey market trading.

Close relationships with suppliers are what the salon industry is all about and Professional Beauty North is your next chance to start forming them. Our show preview for the event, in the November issue, covers all the trends, launches, deals, networking and seminars on offer on October 19 and 20 in Manchester. We’ll see you there.

Image: Red Door Spa at Harrah's Resort Atlantic City