BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — At first blush, it might appear a beauty shopper has every choice at the Bridgewater Commons Shopping Center. There’s Macy’s, Lord & Taylor and Bloomingdale’s for department store customers, Sephora for specialty fans and CVS for mass market consumers. There are also two hair salons selling retail products for those who want salon hair care.
In February, another competitor, Essentials, opened its doors, proving there’s also room for a store bringing together mass, class and salon hair care. Essentials is now a 12-store operation melding salon services with retail. The stores average 3,000 square feet and sell everything from niche brands, such as NYX, to premium hair care, including Biolage.
There is a small salon area where, in this store, the operator was busy for several hours shaping eyebrows.
“What makes us unique,” said Ramy Jamnik, who operates Essentials with his brother, Alan, “is that we specialize in niche products. We are always on the lookout for the fun and hot items.” As an example, he pointed to a headband scarf that is a mass market version of those sold for 10 times as much in department stores; it is blowing out of his stores. Other trendy items include jeweled hair accessories, That’s So Raven cosmetics and Bed Head lip gloss.
He also likes unusual cosmetics lines such as Tara, which shoppers can’t find in all locales. Much like Ulta, Essential fuses mass and class. The higher-end beauty items include Sugar Baby, Burt’s Bees and Bloom. There’s a healthy selection of traditional mass lines, too, such as Maybelline and L’Oréal’s HIP.
When Essentials bowed 14 years ago, one of the main customer attractions was the presence of salon hair care. However, as those brands became more available in other outlets, Jamnik got more creative finding unique appliances, accessories and cosmetics lines.
The top-selling categories at Essentials vary by season, Jamnik said. During the summer, accessories are number one. The retailer has also carved out a healthy business in skin care, which is strongest starting in the fall. Beyond the hair care products, Essentials has a huge appliance department. “This has been very strong for us because women are wearing their hair differently from day to day — curly one day and straight the next.” He added that the presence of the stylist helps move these items.
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Mall locations are favored by Essentials, despite the fact many companies are moving into lifestyle shopping centers. “There is always mall traffic. We’ve been in malls since 1989 and we are very committed to them,” he said. The Manhattan market is also appealing, albeit expensive, and Essentials has a booming store in the Flatiron district — not far from Sephora.
In an interesting twist, Sephora has actually helped boost business at Essentials. “We compete right up there with them,” said Jamnik. An employee at the Bridgewater location said Sephora sends many shoppers looking for upscale hair items to their store. The salon within the store is also a lure, Jamnik said, especially for eyebrow shaping. “Anything to do with eyes is so hot now. I think eye liner is going to come back in a big way,” he added. The shaping service is less than $10 at Essentials. The salon offers all services, including hair coloring and cuts.
Although more related to a drugstore than Sephora, Essentials is clearly a cut above in presentation and service. The stores have attractive, often illuminated displays and employees roam the aisles assisting shoppers. Stores average 3,000 square feet and average transactions are about $18.
Essentials is one of many new beauty formats growing in the U.S., giving further competition to traditional department stores, as well as mass market retailers.
Rite Aid has agreed to buy the Brooks Eckerd chain from parent Jean Coutu in Canada in a cash and stock deal valued by the companies at $3.4 billion. Jean Coutu’s Brooks expanded in 2004 with the purchase of 1,539 stores from Eckerd. Many industry observers wondered if Brooks, a small powerhouse regional chain, could digest the Eckerd acquisition, and the pace has been slower than expected. Rite Aid has been on a comeback trail, thanks to a management team that has focused on improving stores through a new prototype and more efficient operations. The acquisition will bump Rite Aid’s store count to more than 5,000 doors.
The deal would put Rite Aid in closer competition with Walgreens and CVS, both of which have upscale European beauty brands. With the buy, Rite Aid also will take over Brooks stores with skin care centers. Manufacturers said they’ll be interested to see what Rite Aid will do with those departments and what further enhancements Rite Aid will make in beauty.
Visitors to Maybelline Beauty Bar at the Entertainment Tonight/People’s Emmy Party on Sunday in Los Angeles will receive samples of Blackest Black and Clear Great Lash mascara to celebrate the product’s 35th anniversary. Top industry makeup artists will give guests touch-ups and hand out free products, including Maybelline’s new Shadow Stylist Eyeshadow, Shinylicious lip gloss and shades of long-lasting lip color Superstay.