Anti-frizz products add sizzle … but hair care still driven in style

Drug Store News, Oct 14, 1991

Hair care dollar sales trends

                          1990            1991
                        2nd quarter     2nd quarter
  Segment                 $ sales        $ sales      % chg.
  Shampoos                $ 88.4         $ 81.9         (7%)
  Hair color                 73.2          75.3          3
  Hair styling                  43.4       44.0          1
  Conditioners/rinses        46.0          43.6         (5)
  Hair sprays                41.8          39.5         (5)
  Men's hair preps           17.2          18.7          8
  Permanents                 11.7          10.8         (9)
  Women's hair
  dressings                   2.8           2.8         NA
  Total hair care          $324.4        $316.6         (2)

Source: Towne-Oller Drug Store Audit.

Share of hair care sales

(drug versus food stores)

              1990              1991
           2nd quarter       2nd quarter
            $       %        $         %
          sales   share     sales    share  % chng.
  Drug   $324.4    42%    $316.6      41%     (2%)
  Food    442.4    58       447.9     59       1

Source: Towne-Oller Drug Store Audit.

Styling aids and professional hair care continue to drive the business, although gel, mousse and spritz sales are leveling off after some explosive growth years.

This year, anti-frizz products are becoming a hot new segment. Such buyers as K&B's Chuck Gautreaux, Drug Emporium's Dale Rogers, Bill's Sharon Schrage and Douglas's Steve Dubin report lots of interest in brands like Frizz-Ease and the new L'Oreal and Anti-Frizz.

Two-in-one shampoo/conditioners are also continuing to sell well, as are new curling gel products, particularly those in the L'Oreal Studio Line.

And price-value lines are doing well. Many buyers said their 99-percent offerings of White Rain, Suave and Awesome are moving fast.

Drug Emporium

Drug Emporium is currently testing hair care merchandising by brand family rather than category. The test, under way for a year already, is in 25 stores in various markets, said buyer Dale Rogers. No conclusions yet, he notes, but "it helps us with a labor because products are shipped directly into the stores. It's easier for one person to put it up because when they open a case, they just have to go ton one point in the section, not two or three.

The drawback, he adds: if a customer doesn't know what brand of hair spray to buy and wants to shop an entire section, she can't. On the other hand, it has helped some brands get additional sales. Something customers don't know that the shampoo they're using also has a companion hair spray or gel.

The new set is organized by price point. The lead section is semi-professional brands, followed by once professional, now professional heritage brands like Vidal Sassoon and then by premium priced lines.

Some of the strongest brands in the set: Studio Line, Salon Selectives, Vidal Sassoon, Pantene, PErt Plus, Jhirmack and Head & Shoulders. Also, L'Oreal's Colorvive, John Frieda Frizz-Ease and Studio Anti-Frizz are strong.

Revlon's Flex is coming back, but it still isn't as strong as it used to be, Rogers says. Neutrogena is strong and Citre Shine is moving very well. The hot oil category is selling well, particularly Alberto-Culver VO5.

Frieda has line extensions, including a shampoo, and Rogers thinks it will catch on. Redmond has a new shine enhancer that he was very positive about.

Douglas Drug

At Douglas Drug in Rhode Island, HBA buyer Steve Dubin has a few favorite performers in recent months: the Colorvive line, with the new Colorvive Color Sealer looking promising, and the repackaged and relaunched Jhirmack. He also says that Vidal Sassoon's Advanced Ultra Care three-in-one shampoo/conditioner/finishing rinse line has a new water-based environmentally sound hair spray that looks like it could be a winner with advertising dollars behind it.

Dubin likes Studio Line's new Anti-Frizz and Frizz-Tamer from Del Labs, and feels that a new Aussie Gloss from Redmond, shipping in at press time, might be a winner.

K&B

In Louisiana, HBA buyer Chuck Gautreaux reports that frizzy hair treatment products are hot: Frizz-Ease and Frizz-Tamer, as examples.

Spray gels, particularly from Sassoon, Salon Selectives and Jhirmack are also very popular, he said, because they're a lot less messy than gels in tubes.

The Colorvive line is moving well, he said, "a surprise to us because of the high price points," he added.

Repackaged Jhirmack, supported by heavy advertising, is selling much better, said Gautreaux, who also credited L'Oreal's new product "inventiveness" when mentioning the following for Studio Line.

He felt that Agree, with its ad support from S.C. Johnson, might show come dramatic increases.

Among children's brands, Care For Kids was slow at press time, he said, but Johnson & Johnson's Baby Shampoo was selling as well as ever. Goody's Mickey Mouse hair accessories were just coming into the stores at press time, and Gautreaux thought they would do well.

Harco Drug

At Harco in Alabama, hair care is flat and dull-although buyer Charles Monk says Harco has an opportunity to expand in professional hair care, and he'll manage that over the next few months.