Well, it's official. They now have a lotion and spray on the market. I found them both at a local KMart. They retail for about $7.99. The packaging is similar to that of European Gold, but the bottles are light brown in color with black and gold lettering.

This is yet another product added to my lotion cemetary. Thanks Banana Boat!

I can't be the only one that is upset about this. I know we should have been prepared by the dozens of others that were already out there. We also should have been prepared by the recent article about this. But, it felt like a huge slap in the face to actually see these products in the stores.

No... we got them too. Thankfully I was able to take the focus and place it back onto Indoor Tanning Lotion Manufacturers. I tell them that I'd much rather tan with a product that I know is made by a company who's sole focus is indoor tanning products. I say that tanning indoors and outdoors are two different animals... how can a manufacturer of outdoor products possibly know anything about indoor tanning technology, much less meet that need? It was a pretty convincing argument.

That's the same concept that we tell people. But, it just bothers me that another company is invading our space.

I was in Walmart today and I did see some Banana Boat sitting there with LA Express among others.

I was in such a hurry that I didn't look really close. Will check them next time and make my list updates.

Yes, I've had several customers saying, "No thanks, I already have lotion" and flash me their brand new bottle of Banana Boat indoor tanning lotion.

Is it safe for indoor tanning use? Maybe, but the question is; safe for who...you? the bed? What? They are made for money, not for skin care.

shallee

I have seen a Hawaiian Tropic - Tingle lotion in my local drug store.

I believe that retail store indoor tanning products will become a bigger problem than beauty supply and internet diversion combined.

You need to develop a stragety to keep these retail products from effecting your profits from selling indoor tanning products.

TanTalk.com Readers and Supporters;

I agree with Greg, that a real strategy needs to be developed to combat the arrival of the Mass brands to the Indoor Tanning Industry.

History

The market was developed by David Rollins with his brand Eurotan for the past seven to eight years that i am aware of....

Hawaiian Tropic last year launched Tan2Max and it was the number one product lauch in the Food/Drug/Mass outlets last year....This must have caught my old teammates totally off guard and their new lauch was their reaction to attempting to capture some of this market.

Make no mistake, Hawaiian Tropic and Banana Boat are very strong trademarks.

The best way for you to deal with these products is to have:

1) Knowledgeable staff representing the lines you carry....they must know the differences between these products. There are substantial differences, read the labels, contact the website, contact the manufacturers's customer service departments.

Consider giving your staff smples of the professional products you stock and buy one bottle of any Mass brand and let them compare. There are big differences in the tanning results your staff will receive and they can communicate their testimonial from these experiences.

This is not a time to be shy.

2) Incentiveize your staff, no matter what commission you are paying, consider, increasing it to your staff, a staff that shares in your success will be more motivated to help you in the sale of professional products.

3) Note on the Hawaiian Tropic Tan2Max, they attach eyewear and on the back of the package they tell their clients not to use in tanning beds...let people see this.

4) Lastly, don't panic....this may or may not turn out to be a competitive threat to the professional industry, but thru better trained, better motivated staff you will be able to overcome these competitive threats.


Please post your succes stories in this thread, share them so that we can all learn how to better serve our clients.


Max

I'm going to point out to my customers that if it were a good product, you would find it it TANNING SALONS, not just WALMART and KMART, and that the reason they will NEVER see it in a tanning salon, is because it is not a quality product.

Obviously Banana Boat knows that their product sucks, because they skipped the salons that they expect their products to be used in, and went directly after the consumer.

We do not have this problem.
We simply say..
Why would risk your investment in time, effort and money to a product that isn't a professional indoor lotin made by and sold by professionals?

We explain the very clear differences in these products vs. professional ones.
We explain that Hawaiian Tropic was formulated in a trash can in a garage years ago.. They now have larger trash cans and several people who tend to these cans.. this makes the client laugh a bit..but it is true..this is how Ron Rice started.. He himself tells the story ..Jim (my husband) has judged the Miss Hawaiian Tropic contests several times here in Daytona Fla.
They are great at marketing..but we in this industry are great at showing value over price!

It's simple.. Tell them the truth.
These products will not produce the results a "professional" one will.
Give them a sample of your lotion.. ask that they do not use these products in your units as you can not be sure they will not hurt your acrylics.. and then say......
when they come out of the bed..
See I told you and smile ... Everything nice has a price.. If they want to get rid of their over the counter stuff right then and there..give them the price they paid for their Bannana Boat (or whatever) off the "professional" one you think is best for them. Try this and I'm sure it will work 9 out of 10 times..


There is never a problem..Only a solution..

Keep your sunny side up!!