Estée and Me
The movie “Julie & Julia” inspired this editor to create a blog about the beauty shopping experience. Summoning up the great observation techniques learned from Estée Lauder’s biography, I set out to shop a different store for a week (forget 365 days!). Call it Estée & Editor.
There are some amazing sales people out there. Some…not so much. The week started with a visit to BLC in the Princeton Forrestal Center. Estée would be proud. Two sales associates directed me to products for my teen daughter that she actually…liked! The staff knows and truly lives with the products and aren’t afraid to speak out about personal likes and dislikes. They even challenged each other on what was good — making it fun to hear opinions. The store is located in a shopping center a few miles from Princeton. Product lines range from Miss Oops to Stila. Although traffic is slight in the center, there are shoppers seeking this store out as a destination. Total sales ring: $160.
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Day two is a visit to Bloomingdale’s in Bridgewater, N.J. This is a fairly large beauty department in comparison with other New Jersey Bloomies’ sites. In need of a sun care purchase, I was conjuring my inner Estée and fell for the good old gift-with-purchase. While I usually find the gimmick annoying, a beautiful orange beach bag beckoned me (and it wasn’t a Lauder product — sorry!). I specifically purchased three Clarins sun care items to get the bag. The beauty adviser was as sharp as could be, asking direct questions about the needs and advising against some items even though they had a higher ticket. She was quick to notice me mulling near the coveted bag, but didn’t pounce and scare me off. Expense to pocketbook: $80.
Now it is time to visit the local CVS to see what’s new in mass market items. CVS stores are well-organized selling machines. They are clean and well lit and located in some of the best real estate in the nation. While efforts to shore up beauty advisers are in action, there is still a little work to be done. Keep in mind, however, that most mass stores don’t have any assistance, so some is better than none. Many CVS units have a small area for professional skin care such as the unit “Estée” and I visited. However, the associate was not on during the hour I first popped in. I returned later to find an amicable adviser who did help find the new Maybelline mascara. She told me most customers so far didn’t understand the pulsating fixture. So much for cross-shopping. Although she was familiar with many items in the store, it was evident she had other chores to accomplish in addition to assisting me. Total purchases: $16.95.
My daughter’s return from Europe, where her toiletries bag exploded, necessitated some new beauty items. Without a major department store in the vicinity to get the items she needed within 10 minutes of her life, we opted for Ulta. Ulta has recently added many new brands and the sales associates are trained to help sell the entire store. Our expert deftly directed my daughter to a tinted moisturizer for her face and a handful of fun items from Urban Decay. She was desperate for Britney Spears’ Believe, but since she was spending her own money, she had to leave the lovely bottle behind (and she had just visited Paris’ Fragonard, for goodness sakes). Total spending was $102.
With both our wallets thinning, we thought we’d venture to the dollar store. There’s lots of chatter about dollar stores adding beauty. We ventured into one in Piscataway, N.J. While we found a smattering of known names, most of what we saw were obviously closeouts and dusty. There were no clerks to be found. Total sales: $0.
Saturday brought a visit to Target. Target’s beauty department never looks the same. A few months ago they were selling Kiehl’s; now they’re not. Target is also self-serve and although we sampled (Estée would be proud) some items that have testers affixed to the shelves, we left empty-handed in beauty, but did buy some excellent house brand potato chips.
Sunday was time to visit The Mall at Short Hills in Short Hills, N.J. The beauty department at Neiman Marcus buzzes with visitors. Highly trained beauty consultants beckon shoppers in polite, yet aggressive ways. The retailer appears to be really pushing its exclusives, and my credit card was almost pulsating in my purse (or is that the Maybelline mascara?). The thought of getting something not sold anywhere else is inviting in this retail world, where it seems mass and class often sell many of the same items. Despite some of the best marketing and trained experts in the business, I left without spending. In this economy, I just couldn’t justify a $200 Estée Lauder makeup compact. I’m sorry, Estée — maybe next time. When I do have extra funds, Neiman Marcus will be my first stop.
People, Places and Things
A few words with William Lauder, executive chairman of the Estée Lauder Cos in regard to the firm’s recent fourth-quarter loss as the recession roiled. Losses for the quarter weighed in at $17.9 million, or 9 cents a diluted share, and compared with year-ago earnings of $120.2 million, or 61 cents. Excluding restructuring charges, per-share earnings were on par with the 20 cents Wall Street expected. Sales for the three months ended June 30 fell 16.4 percent to $1.68 billion. For the year, earnings dropped 53.9 percent to $218.4 million, or $1.10 a diluted share, on a 7.4 percent decline in sales to $7.32 billion.
William Lauder: While I am disappointed with our overall performance, throughout the fiscal year, our company rallied to meet the challenging business conditions in the many regions of the world we serve. We prioritized investments and accelerated cost reductions. We also resized our company to meet near-term needs and began implementing a restructuring program to position us for the long term.
W.L.: The consumer is actively responding to value messages. Is there one magic price point? No. But, there are magical price levels, which we are continuing to focus on and making sure consumers have access to price points under $30, under $50, under $75. We are seeing some caution from the consumer, but certainly not the reticence she had from the late fall through the early spring 2009. She is coming back, but she is responding to stronger value propositions.
What’s in Store
Coty Keeps Them Guessing: Coty Inc. has entered into a license agreement with global lifestyle brand Guess Inc. to develop and market new Guess fragrance lines. As part of the partnership, Coty also will take over the distribution of existing Guess fragrances, beginning in January 2010.
New From Newhall: GroWorks is a new six-stockkeeping-unit hair care line unveiled at ECRM. It uses a proprietary blend of natural ingredients in a complex called ABS for an antibreakage system.