Claire's creates Teen Center

Drug Store News, August 14, 2000

Teens have taken the personal and beauty care industry by storm, and hair accessories are no exception. At Marketplace, Sassy Doo!, a wholly owned subsidiary of Claire's Stores and maker of hair accessories and a number of teen-inspired products, introduced a new merchandising concept that looks to serve as a destination point in stores and a way of building foot traffic in hair care aisles. Breaking now in more than 2,500 Eckerd Drug Stores is Sassy Doo!'s version of a one-stop-shopping teen area called Teen Center. In 36-by-58-inch endcaps and power wings, Sassy Doo! packs in approximately 72 SKUs of teen must-haves, ranging from sleepy masks, make-up accessories and hair accessories to night lights, journals, body glitter and flower-topped pens. Sassy Doo! provides all the SKUs needed to build the endcap, so retailers can turn to just one supplier for all of their needs.

Dino Valentino, president of Sassy Doo!, said Teen Center caught the attention of competitors, as well as retailers, at the show. "People told me, 'Only a company with the expertise of Claire's could make a program like this work,"' Valentino said.

An idea becomes reality

Given the enormous disposable income of today's teens, Valentino realized that more than hair accessories should be merchandised in the prime real estate retailers would be dedicating to Teen Center. So an idea to model Teen Center after things found in a teenager's bedroom came about.

"Every major supplier and retailer is exploring this [teen] avenue, but there was a stumbling block. It would be difficult for drug chains to be able to coordinate anywhere from seven to 10 different manufacturers in order to get what is in our Teen Center," Valentino said.

Valentino invited Eckerd merchandise managers and buyers to Hoffman Estates, Ill., the location of Claire's manufacturing facilities and two model stores. There they had the opportunity to pick what could be merchandised in Teen Center. Valentino provided sales data from Claire's and the ideal assortment of merchandise was put together.

"Claire's is nearly a billion-dollar-a-year business. We know what sells and what doesn't. What other manufacturer can provide that data?" Valentino asked.