Beauty Store Business

OCT 2015

For beauty business news, beauty store owners turn to Beauty Store Business. Beauty business trends, beauty business profiles and more!

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66 October 2015 | beautystorebusiness.com News PLAY! BY SEPHORA MONTHLY BEAUTY SUBSCRIPTION DEBUTS SEPHORA introduced its monthly beauty subscription, PLAY! by SEPHORA, in September. A limited amount of PLAY! by SEPHORA subscriptions became available in select markets with a full national launch scheduled for early 2016. Subscribers of PLAY! by SEPHORA receive the beauty retailer's hottest prestige brands and products delivered directly to their doors for $10 per month. Each PLAY! by SEPHORA delivery is curated around a specific theme, and contains five popular, high-performance, deluxe-size prestige products. The debut set, Uncover The Essentials, features must-have items for endless styles—everything from a best-selling lip stain to a much-adored moisturizer. Subscribers enjoyed a little extra, such as the bonus fragrance sample included in the debut box, and a free monthly Spotify PLAY!List available to everyone on Sephora.com/play that's filled with songs inspired by the current box theme. Upcoming themes will range from Secrets To Dewy Skin to The Exclusives. SEPHORA promises that every PLAY! by SEPHORA box will only contain prestige beauty products that interest its subscribers and never beauty products that just fill up space. Additional PLAY! by SEPHORA perks include: • PLAY! BOOK, which is positioned as subscribers' go-to guide for maximizing each and every item in their box—from application tips and insider beauty hacks to fun facts and conversation starters. It also allows subscribers to access enhanced content through the SEPHORA to Go App on their smart- phones (iOS devices only). Users can scan the images to shop and unlock augmented reality experiences. They can also connect to user-generated ratings and reviews on Sephora.com, and check out fellow beauty lovers' product content on SEPHORA's Beauty Board. And, if more advice is needed, the SEPHORA PRO Team of leading makeup artists is available. • PLAY! PASS provides subscribers with an all-access card to enjoy personalized, one-on-one tutorials at their local SEPHORA stores. Subscribers can simply flash their PLAY! PASS in-store to team up with SEPHORA experts to learn how to use everything in their PLAY! box assortment and master a fun, new look. They also receive 50 extra Beauty Insider points when they scan their cards at the register with any purchase. (This offer is available for a limited time during the launch.) • PLAY! DATES at SEPHORA stores gives subscribers an opportunity to engage other subscribers and experts monthly to get the most from all the products in their box. PLAY! DATES will start in October. Beauty enthusiasts may log on to Sephora.com/play and sign up for updates on availability in their areas. Image courtesy of SEPHORA Image courtesy of Hollywood Fashion Secrets/Business Wire A.I.I. ACQUIRES HOLLYWOOD FASHION SECRETS BRAND American International Industries announced in late August the acquisition of the Hollywood Fashion Secrets brand. Terms and details of the deal by the privately held, multiple-brands pro- and mass-beauty supplier weren't provided. "We are very proud of our new acquisition and its place in the beauty and style essentials category," says Zvi Ryzman, A.I.I. president. "The great brand name and heritage combined with our wide distribution channels will assure a long future for A.I.I. and Hollywood Fashion Secrets. There are many items that nicely complement our current beauty offerings and others that will expand A.I.I. into the fashion category and beyond." The deal allows A.I.I. to expand into the world of fashion and beauty accessories. HFS products include the widely recognized Hollywood Fashion Tape (double-stick tape strips), foot comfort-care products, beauty solutions and more. According to the brand's PR for the summer in early June, HFS products are available at ULTA Beauty; Old Navy; Bed Bath and Beyond; Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts; and Duane Reade; among other retailers. In that press release, the brand promoted its Hollywood Fashion Tape, Silicone CoverUps (reusable nipple concealers) and Bra Converting Clips—all smart Style Essentials, defined as "a collection of genius products that help women expertly lift, hide, secure, tuck, tighten and hem." They're marketed as helping "women dress with confidence and look perfectly put together for the season." Style icon, fashion reality-TV pioneer and TV host Stacy London (pictured) has been the "Brand Ambassadress" for HFS, which is headquartered in Minneapolis and was co-founded by Jane Dailey and Marni Bumsted, according to the brand's website. A.I.I. is based in Los Angeles. U.S. RETAIL HOLIDAY SALES FORECAST: 5.7 % INCREASE, HIGHEST RISE SINCE 2011 Independent market-research company eMarketer is forecasting that U.S. retail sales in November and December will increase 5.7% year over year, reaching $885.7 billion. That's an upward adjustment from the 3.2% growth rate predicted earlier this year—and the highest since the 6.3% rise in 2011. "Retail sales in November and December 2015 are expected to show a healthy increase over what was experienced during the same period in 2014," says eMarketer analyst Monica Peart. "This expectation is driven primarily by the fact that gas station sales, which make up roughly 12% of overall retail sales, dropped rather dramatically in late 2014. Increases in real income from wages, further decreases in unemployment and an increased willingness to spend in traditional retail categories that missed out on the windfall in gas prices earlier on in the year should also drive growth." While U.S. retail ecommerce holiday season sales growth will dip slightly this year to 13.9%, vs. 14.4% in 2014, the segment will play an increasingly important role this season. eMarketer estimates that ecommerce will hit 9% of total retail sales this season, or $79.4 billion, up from the 8.3% share last year. eMarketer expects U.S. retail mcommerce sales to rise 32.2% in full-year 2015—more than double the 14.2% increase forecast for retail ecommerce sales as a whole. The biggest growth, according to eMarketer, will come in smartphone retail mcommerce sales as consumers become more comfort- able buying on their phones—which, on average, have larger screens than those released just a few years ago. Stacy London

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