Tony Cuccio at Star Nail International has hit it big with product mentions in two June consumer magazine issues now out: All Season Nails in InStyle and Cina Nail Creations in Seventeen.

Check out pastel, four-sided All Season Nails Buffing Blocks on page 130 in “10 Ways to The Perfect Pedicure …”; See 3D Blossoms Nail Decals on page 52, part of a summer 2009 beauty guide.

Kudos to Star Nail’s Arica Carpenter, who I’m sure had something to do with getting these placements!

If I were a beauty store owner or manager, I’d go buy these magazines right away and set them up in a well-located display with the two products.

See you next Wednesday,
Marc

After successful pilot launches in Washington, D.C., and Mission Viejo, California, CVS has just rolled out another of its Beauty 360 stores on Main Street in Ridgefield, Connecticut.

If you’re in the beauty store business and in the Northeast, I urge you to visit the latest site of this high-end beauty products retailer. It’s open seven days a week. Contact information, directions, hours of operation and special grand-opening events are at the Beauty 360 website.

In its issue last Friday in an article by Molly Prior, Women’s Wear Daily reported that Beauty 360 will offer spa services by the end of the month.

CVS plans to have 30 Beauty 360 locations—many in California—by the end of the year, according to Women’s Wear Daily.

See you next Wednesday,
Marc

Professional Consultants & Resources has just finished its 2008 Professional Salon Industry Appliances Study—it’s the first time statistics guru Cyrus Bulsara and his company have closely examined these highly profitable electricals by themselves. For many in the beauty store business, it confirms what we suspected all along: Last year, sales of salon appliances grew at 8.5%, more than three times 2008’s overall salon industry growth (2.8%), according to the proprietary data.

Five key takeaways for me from advance excerpts of this latest study (available this Friday) are:

1. Sales of flat and curling irons jumped up 25.5%, blow dryers were up 10.2%, and clippers and trimmers grew too.
2. Growth is mainly due to huge increases in home hairstyling during the recession—and mostly because of the use of flat irons and ionic dryers.
3. Helen of Troy/Belson Products is “the undisputed leader,” with ConairPro following closely. Others in the top 10 include The Cricket Co. and HAI.
4. Andis, Oster, Forfex, Wahl and Remington are the leaders in clippers and trimmers.
5. In a special section on top companies’ sales and shipment market shares, more than “95 leading brands” are covered.

For the study’s table of contents, questions regarding it or purchasing information, contact Bulsara, cbulsara@augustmail.com.

See you next Wednesday,
Marc

If your beauty store needs more natural beauty products to offer customers, then Natural Products Expo East 2009 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center on Sept. 23-26 is the place for you.

Producer New Hope Natural Media expects more than 1,300 manufacturers for this 25th annual edition of the East Coast’s largest natural and organic products trade show and conference.

Qualified buyers, brokers and distributors can register for free until Aug. 21.

The 2008 event, held last October, drew more than 26,000 attendees and featured more than 2,100 exhibits.

See you next Wednesday,
Marc