Body art sticks and develops into a hot category

Drug Store News, Sept 13, 1999 by Andrea M. Grossman

After two years of sales turns primarily on niche fixtures in cosmetics sections, body art has grown into what some estimate as a $100 million category-thanks in large part to the expressive Generation Y demographic. And some are predicting that this new, still emerging beauty care category which targets mainly teens with temporary tattoos, body glitter and body jewelry-may see an uptrend in 2000.

One factor fueling sales is the wide demographic to which body art appeals. Body art is not limited to teens, and manufacturers claim that the more designs they offer, the potential for appealing to different demographics grows. The four-to-eight age group is being targeted with several different licensing deals: Kiss Products landed a deal with Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse, while Highgate is profiting from Scooby Doo and Looney Tunes. Non-gender specific designs, such as Japanese characters, peace signs and Grateful Dead dancing bears are targeting young adults. Mehndi designs in popular henna colors attract college students and twenty-somethings.

Aside from driving foot traffic in stores, as well as cosmetics sections, body art offers retailers flexibility in pricing. It appears that while some stores may need to stay with value prices, others can bump up prices without fear of losing customers. An item at $2.99 may not move because it is perceived as an inferior product, whereas at $3.99, consumers think they are getting more for their money. "It's similar to cosmetics. A consumer can spend $1.99 on lipstick, and for basically the same thing, she can go to Saks Fifth Avenue and pay $25," said Craig Arnold, national sales manager for Kiss.

Giving body art more of an air of longterm legitimacy is the entry into the segment by beauty care's big three brands: Maybelline, Revlon and Cover Girl. Despite a late appearance-all three entered body art this year-their presence validates the category. According to Anne Martin, global de signer and marketing director, North and South America for Cover Girl Cosmetics, "Body art will continue to be a hot trend item throughout the millennium as consumers prepare themselves for a celebration and are looking for fun products that reflect their festive mood." Martin predicts sales will increase for the back-to-school season and during Halloween. Revlon, too, is gearing up for the Halloween season with metallic body makeup, Body Paint from Street Wear.

Body art beginnings

Body art sales also could surge if other chains follow Walgreens' lead and put the product into their planograms. Walgreens made the switch to merchandising body art inline about a year ago. Buyer Arnie Silver said after putting out on-counter promotional displays, he saw the trend early on, reacted, and is seeing results.

Though Walgreens' move marked a major coup for manufacturers, it took them more than 10 years to get to this point. Many of the companies began by selling products mainly to stationery and party supply stores. According to Mike Barker, vice president of sales for Highgate Products, competing in the body art game in the early '90s was more difficult than today. "Now-defunct players imported low-grade temporary tattoos from Taiwan for very little money and sold them at high markups," Barker said. This business strategy worked in the short term for suppliers, but poor-quality products, undeveloped business strategies and inferior art designs soon led to their demise. Companies such as Highgate and J&M survived the purge of tattoo makers in the early '90s and now, along with Maybelline, Revlon and Cover Girl, make up the bulk of body art product in stores.

As the temporary tattoo trend began to hit movie stars' and musicians' bodies, mass doors began to open. Two years ago, as fashion propelled body art sales, a home was found in cosmetics sections of mass market stores. Now, some retailers dual-merchandise product in cosmetics and general merchandise departments with permanent niche fixtures and clip strips. Mitch Perdue, president of J&M, said this past year served as an important one for body art, but mass still has a way to go. "This is the first year body art has been considered a real category [by the mass]. But, mass is still a neophyte to this business," said Perdue.

And manufacturers still have hurdles to jump. They can't present overall category performance figures to retailers since neither Information Resources Inc. nor ACNielsen track body art. Without this information, manufacturers are forced to point buyers to less factual and non-traditional methods of measuring the market: mainstream trends.

Secrets to success

Manufacturers described the main changes in the segment as increasing sophistication and quality of art design, as well as the number of competitors the hot trend is bringing to the industry. For manufacturers, broad product selection, innovative design, quick order fulfillment and easy-to-use product have been part of their success strategy since temporary tattoos began being marketed. Several shared their strategies and forward-looking plans: