Treatments fortify nail care sales with new players and products

Drug Store News, Feb 16, 2004 by Molly Prior

These days, women--celebrities included--seem to favor natural-looking or naked nails.

This beauty trend paints a troublesome picture for certain categories along the nail care wall, namely artificial nails and nail polish. However, bare nails also have given rise to a positive sales trend: the growth of nail treatment products.

Last spring, retailers reset their nail care planograms, taking space away from artificial nail products and devoting more space to nail treatments. The artificial nail category lost a total of 9 percent of its shelf space in the top nine retailers and was down 9.4 percent in dollar sales in food, drug and mass, including Wal-Mart stores, for the 26-weeks ended Nov. 22, according to ACNielsen data Pacific World provided.

Since the resets, nail treatments increasingly have begun to fortify nail care sales, attracting new players and a wave of new product introductions.

Maybelline is dipping its brush into the treatment category for the first time with this month's launch of Forever Strong + Iron nail color with a suggested retail price of $4.14, a nail polish that doubles as a long-wearing, nail-strengthener.

Sally Hansen, a consistent leader in the nail treatment or natural nail category, has stepped up its promotional efforts with frequent in-store features and displays.

The brand s extensive 2004 new-product lineup includes Salon Strength Treatment with soy protein and keratin to moisturize nails, Age Correct Strengthening Base & Top Coat to promote smooth, younger-looking nails, Manicure In A Minute to give hands spa-like pampering and Sally Hansen 18 Cracked Heel Creme with tea tree oil to soothe dry, cracked feet.

This year, Sally Hansen also has unveiled a new line called Beyond Perfect, an assortment of five treatments, including Healing Cuticle Oil and Deaging Spa Hand & Cuticle Treatment, and a nail polish. Beyond Perfect Protein Nail Color, which retails for $5, uses protein and lavender to bind moisture to nails and protect them against splitting and cracking, explained Mona Monaghan, senior vice president and general manager for Sally Hansen.

Leaders in the artificial nail category have switched gears just a tad to take advantage of the natural nail trend.

Pacific World has identified treatments as a high-growth area and has repositioned all its treatment products, including its Hard & Healthy French Manicure Kit, under the Nailene brand. Nailene products also have been refreshed with new packaging; soft, metallic purple with silver accents and white type has replaced Nailene s signature bright purple box with yellow type.

Nailene aims to grow its treatments with two new launches: Crystal Hard, a nail hardener that contains iron, keratin and zinc, and Nutri Strength, a nail strengthener with titanium, calcium and biotin as key ingredients. The treatments rely on a time-release formula that delivers benefits to nails over a longer stretch of time and are packaged in clear bottles with ornate caps.

Next month, Nailene will introduce a new innovation to the category--a nail-polish alternative--to bolster sales. DuraColour Nail Strips are thin, adhesive strips available in several colors and patterns that users simply apply to fingernails or toe nails with a little rubbing and filing and peel off to remove. DuraColour, which will sell for a suggested retail price of $3.99, is intended for nail polish users and, therefore, will be merchandised alongside nail polish, rather than artificial nails SKUs.

In artificial nails, suppliers are clipping lengths to grow sales. Nailene is adding New Natural Length nails to its Nailene French Express line. Similarly, Kiss is introducing Broadway Real Life, a line of artificial nails in shorter, more practical lengths. The new length, which is intended to attract new users, also may drive incremental sales from heavy users who prefer long nails for special occasions and shorter nails for everyday wear, said Kiss vice president of marketing Grace Tallon.