Drug stores give hair care its share of color and style

Drug Store News, Dec 9, 1991

Drug stores give hair care its share of color and style

With few exceptions like hair color and, to a lesser degree, hair styling products, the hair care category has become a commodity category. With so many different trade classes stocking and promoting hair care, consumers have learned to shop where and when it is most convenient for them.

Often they cherrypick stores, looking for the best sales price they can find on the leading brands.

Since hair care has evolved into a commodity category, it isn't surprising that Leo J. Shapiro & Associates found that consumers only infrequently shop drug stores for their basic hair care needs.

For example, only 21 percent of consumers who bought shampoo in the past year bought it most recently from a drug store. Only 20 percent of the consumers who bought conditioner in the last year bought it most recently from a drug store. Just 25 percent of women and 27 percent of men who bought a hair spray in the past year made their last purchase from drug stores.

The only hair care category that clearly remains a drug store specialty is hair color: 34 percent of all the women who bought a hair color product in the past 12 months bought it most recently in a drug store.

Drug stores, of course, have a merchandising advantage in this category. They carry more shade ranges than most other trade classes, and they often have someone in the cosmetics department who can help consumers.

But consumers don't need any special help in choosing products like shampoos, conditioners or sprays. There are certain well-advertised, reasonably-priced brands like Suave, Pert, Pert Plus, White Rain and Finesse that have a relatively large base of loyal brand users, and these are brands that consumers can buy anywhere from a local "Mom and Pop" fill-in corner grocery to the largest super food store.

Some salon brands have also amassed a strong following, especially Nexxus and Paul Mitchell, and these are often only available from hair salons or specialty stores.

Of course, the presence of these brands lessens the demand for mass market brands, and that inevitably has a negative impact on drug stores' share of hair care sales.

Many drug stores have learned to turn this problem into an opportunity, by creating their own professional or prestige hair care department. But it is still hard for drug chains to obtain many salon lines, including Nexxus and Paul Mitchell.

Today, the Paul Mitchell brand has even built up a following with the men's hair care user. Value brands like Aqua Net and White Rain are still very popular with men. But in terms of overall purchases last year, Paul Mitchell ran neck and neck with Clairol hair sprays and Rave hair spray.

One of the strengths of the specialty brands is their innovation. Consumers think of brands like Nexxus and Paul Mitchell as being on the cutting edge of new technology.

Drug store operators might beef up the appeal of hair care departments by identifying and promoting innovative mass brands as they emerge. Pert Plus, Salon Selectives, Colorvive and Frizz-Ease are examples of mass brands that rocketed to popularity because of uniqueness in formulas, packaging or marketing.

Table : Consumer Preferences by Region: Conditioners

                                 North-      Mid-
                         Total    east       west      South   West
Suave                     14%       13%        17%      13%    11%
Finesse                    6         7          7        6     5
White Rain                 5         6          4        9     0
Salon Selectives           4         3          5        4     5
Nexxus                     4         2          4        1     8
Flex                       4         4          1        5     4
Vidal Sassoon              3         6          1        2     4
Vo5                        3         4          2        5     1
Ivory                      3         3          4        3     1
Pert/Pert Plus             3         2          1        4     3
Paul Mitchell              2         2          4        1     4
Perma Soft                 2         2          3        2     1

* Based on consumers who bought conditioners in the past 12 months. Source: Leo J. Shapiro and Associates.

Table : Consumer Preferences by Region: Women's Hair Spray

                                 North-      Mid-
                         Total    east        west     South   West
Aqua Net                  11%       15%         8%      10%    12%
Rave                      10         9         12        10     6
White Rain                 9         3         12        12     5
Suave                      7        12          7         5     8
Paul Mitchell              5         2          8         5     5
Salon Selectives           5         3          4         4     8
Final Net                  4         3          2         3     5
Clairol                    3         3          2         3     6
Style                      3         2          3         2     6
Finesse                    3         9          3         2     0
Aussie                     3         1          3         4     0
Vo5                        2         2          2         3     3