Drug chains are making it happen

Chain Drug Review, March 28, 2005 by Richard Monks

NEW YORK -- As one of chain drug retailing's most mature categories, skin care is an area that is constantly evolving.

Besides new technologies that are helping to revolutionize the category, the way retailers merchandise skin care and the products they choose to put on their shelves play a key role in the success of their efforts.

While nearly every chain drug retailer across North America continues to rely on a core of strong-selling mass market beauty brands and therapeutic items, some are taking the category in another direction by interspersing brands with a European heritage among these best-sellers.

Brooks Pharmacy was one of the pioneers of this movement when it became the first United States drug chain to offer L'Oreal's Vichy and Dermablend and Pierre Fabre Inc.'s Avene brands in late 2002.

Brooks took the concept of skin care a step further by incorporating Derma Skincare Centers in many of its stores.

"We have to change the idea many consumers have that a drug store is just a convenience store on the corner that also has a pharmacy," Brooks president and chief executive officer Michel Coutu said at the time, suggesting that U.S. drug stores were straying from their core mission of being health care providers.

Coutu said the idea behind the 250-square-foot Derma Skincare Centers was based on the European drug store model. To drive that point home he noted that the suppliers of the three brands being offered in the centers had agreed that their products would only be sold in drug stores, helping the trade class differentiate itself from other mass market channels.

Brooks' addition of these brands was the impetus for other drug chains to follow suit.

Within a few months CVS Corp. added the Vichy and Avene lines to its skin care mix and quickly followed that with the addition the Finnish brand Lumene and the British brand Boots.

In men's grooming CVS was one of the first chains to offer the XCD line of skin care products from British supplier KMI Ltd.

This spring the chain is expected to be among the first in the industry to incorporate Paglieri & Mugnos USA's HQ Minidose line of Swiss-made skin care items into its mix.

To help drive home its commitment to skin care CVS has begun offering Healthy Skin Care Centers in about 100 of its stores. The areas are set off by special lighting and unique fixtures, and each is staffed by a trained beauty adviser to answer shoppers' questions and ensure that they get the right products for their needs.

Other chains have also been capitalizing on the influx of European technologies into the American market.

Brooks, Duane Reade Inc. and Albertsons Inc.'s Osco chain were among the first retailers to include Vitabiotics USA's Perfectil tablets in their beauty care aisles.

A nutritional supplement that has been used in Europe for more than 15 years, Perfectil is said to provide benefits to hair, skin and nails. Its introduction in the U.S. expands the market for beauty care products that work from the inside out that was started last year with the debut of Procter & Gamble Co.'s Olay vitamins.

For the skin Perfectil offers such beneficial nutrients as vitamins E, C, [B.sub.6] and [B.sub.12], as well as thiamin, riboflavin and niacin. It contains manganese, a critical ingredient forhealthy skin and promoting connective tissue metabolism, and extracts of echinacea and burdock, herbs that are commonly used to treat skin conditions, help in wound healing and prevent infection.

While these chains have tumed abroad to help attract shoppers to their skin care departments, others have taken a slightly different tack.

Rite Aid Corp., for example, relies on a strong private label program as the centerpiece of its efforts to set itself apart from the pack in skin care and a number of related areas. For instance, the company's Pure Spring bath and body line is seen as a top-quality brand in the eyes of many consumers and has helped make Rite Aid a destination for shoppers seeking skin care items.