BW Confidential - Issue #10 - May/June 2012 - (Page 36)

Insight: Skincare Retail viewpoint Retail equation Three selective retailers give their views on the specificities of selling skincare and look at where the market is headed by Alissa Demorest Harrods general merchandise manager for beauty Annalise Quest Space NK chief merchant Joyce Avalon Marionnaud France marketing director Fabrice Obenans What would you like to see from skincare brands? AQ: The most important step for brands is to understand what kind of products appeal to certain customer groups and strategically plan when to launch those products. For example, we have seen a huge surge in Asian-inspired skincare launches this year. The Chinese customer tends to shop more heavily in the cosmetics hall and is looking for new, high-tech skincare. This means trends, such as BB creams, brightening products, which are hugely important to them, and the ritual of a structured skincare regime are coming to the forefront. Understanding different customer groups and how they shop at Harrods enables us to work with our brands to provide the best possible product offering. JA: It’s about simplifying the message and keeping it as focused as possible. It can be annoying when one brand has success with an item and others come out with a me-too product. This does nothing for the market. I’d rather a brand push their innovation. It doesn’t happen that often with niche brands as they have creators behind them that are quite passionate about particular ingredients, but the bigger brands with more important R&D budgets tend to spend too much time creating me-too products. FO: I wouldn’t have any criticism, as brands have succeeded in developing new product categories that we would never 36 have imagined, and they have a healthy sense of competition. One brand’s creation stimulates the others to come up with something new. What is today’s consumer looking for? AQ: At Harrods, we pride ourselves on being the first to launch the most effective, high-tech skincare exclusively. Our goal is to maintain a unique product offer with a significant flow of exclusive launches and firsts to market. JA: The consumer is looking for simplicity. We are seeing a decline in ranges calling for numerous steps and products and an increase in simple routines—those that don’t ask the consumer to do too much. One of the challenges in skincare is compliance. People love the idea of taking care of their skin, but if they buy into a regime that is too difficult to maintain they don’t do it, so they have spent money without seeing a benefit. As a result, some brands are becoming very straightforward in their offer. We are also seeing more demand for multi-taskers and for specific products that do one thing, but do it well. FO: Consumers are asking for results today more than anything else, especially relating to the imperfections that come with aging skin. We are also seeing a transmission of skincare routines to younger consumers. The use of serums, for example, is becoming commonplace and the younger generations are picking up on this. May-June 2012 - N°10 - BW Confidential

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of BW Confidential - Issue #10 - May/June 2012

Cover
Comment
Contents
Update
- Brand & retail news recap
- Companies on the move
Take note Market facts, figures & trends
Best of BW Highlights from our e-publication
Launches The latest in fragrance, skincare & make-up
Interview Clinique global brand president Lynne Greene
Insight: Skincare
- Category overview
- Retail technology
- Retail viewpoint
- The latest trends
Wellness
- Spas & healthcare
- Spa case studies
Retail
- Inspiration from Apple
- Store concepts
Market watch: China
- Country overview
- Industry viewpoint
- Prestige retailing
- Taobao & the internet
Digital focus Social media strategies
Strategy spotlight Case studies to inspire
Travel retail: Asia Pacific
- Regional overview
- India
- Interview: Delhi Duty Free Services coo Arun Barathi
Radar Six up-and-coming beauty brands
Packaging
- Make-up packs
- Innovation showcase
Last word Metis Insights director Stéphanie Morou

BW Confidential - Issue #10 - May/June 2012