Chippp

As a hair stylist and a tanning salon owner for over 17 years I know that beauty supply houses here in Canada are my biggest competition, suppling my clients with all the tanning products they need . That there are large numbers of hair stylists working or just holding on to their licenses in Canada so they can by wholesale . That these numbers of people alone I believe make up the biggest sales of tanning lotion from hair styling supply stores. I personally do not buy tanning lotion from them for this very reason.I buy from tanning supply houses that do not sell by the bottle or to the pubic.
It is clear when they change lines from year to year. They get a new line in, sell to all hair stylists bottle by bottle, then move on to other lines as they find they are not selling case loads but bottle by bottle, The wholesalers believing they need to find a more popular line and that will cause increase case sales.
They don't get the point and don't really want to, they sell most to individual stylists not cases to tanning salon owners.
If they wanted to sell to salons instead of individual hair stylists then the individual bottle price would be higher then the case price, but it is not.
The number of hair stylists buying tanning
lotion wholesale bottle by bottle for their own as well as friends use is VERY HIGH!
It is an industry all to its self!
Salon owners don't be fooled !!! We as tanning salon owner's promote the brand names then we are stabbed in the back!!!!!!
I have beauty supply salesmen come in on a regular bases to show me thier wares only to have them survey my tanning lotion display , counting my invintory of tanning lotion to take back to the beauty supply houses the information as to what I carry in lotion, the brands, what quantites I carry as well as price range .
If i seem to have a large inventory of product they say you must do well with that we should carry it to.
I have to be very carefull and not display a lot of product and watch the beauty suppliers and change the lines I carry as they start to bring in the same products because my sales always go down, when they start to wholesale to the large number of stylists "my clients" and their friends and other consumers.
This is a problem I have been fighting for 17 years! Things have not changed !
I have to change my tanning lotion lines based in large part on what my local beauty suppliers are currently wholesaling to the public.
I am very angry and feel used by the manufacturers of these lotions and my own local beauty suppliers.
IF YOU WANT ME TO SELL YOUR TANNING LOTIONS THEN YOU HAVE TO PROTECT MY ABILITY TO SELL RETAIL WITH OUT COMPETING WITH A WHOLE SELLER!
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BizWatcher

Well, Chippp, you are absolutely correct. What surprises me the most is that it has taken this long for salon owners to realize what IS going on.

Not meaning to bore you, but as an MBA of Northwestern University, having studied under 'famous' names, brand strategy has always been intriguing for me.

Essentially, brand giants are constructed by media manipulation benefits to consumer populous. A recognized brand is nothing more than a product that has somehow acheived name recognition often through media blitzes, or over a period of time in widespread usage, or both. Most often, the brand outlet (grocery, retail store, etc) are considered 'brand-collaborators', or brand development partners, during the populous recoginition phase of the product(s). Essentially, the brand-partner is building the brand's owner's business for that brand. At some point, when the brand owner determines that the brand no longer requires partnership, the ties are severed, or in the tanning salon lotion industries' case(s), the ties are neutered - if you will. Bringing me to this point.
The lotion manufacturers are seeing a rise in overall tanning market recognition. What was in the early 80's a 'fad industry' is now becoming an acceptable alternative to outdoor ultraviolet exposure. And there is money to be made.
Now that the salon owners have built the lotion manufacturer's business for them, and the lotion manufacturers have been busy gathering sales data during your entire purchase history with them, they know what sells in your area. Moreover, they know how much you are paying, they know how much you are charging, they know how much it costs to ship, and they know the critical price concious consumer breakpoint. The point at which the consumer says, subconciously of course, "Forget the salon I've been going to for five years, MooGooGuy Tan lotion is 30% off retail at Hally's Hair Supply Outlet." Now instead of the 3.75 a bottle the manufacturer made before when selling to the salon owner, the manufacturer now can make 5.50 or more. What's worse, and this is the point you were making, is Hally's can now sell the bottle you sold for $15 for $9-$12 each. And where does this leave you? I think you know where.

BooBop

Bravo Chippp!!! Well said. I suggest we as salon owners make a copy of this and flood the Manufactures that Are Not following in CalTan and JA foot steps to protect our industry.

Blondie

......you spelled pubic, but I think you actually meant public.... can't believe no one caught that, but your topic is otherwise very well stated.

Chippp

BizWatcher
Sad to say this is not new to me!
As I said I have been fighting this battle for 17 years!
Its all about making money, and some people
have become very rich on "USING" others.
It comes down to morals, and making big money and morals don't often go hand in hand.
Yes I could have more money but like many others I can't turn my conscience on and off.
I could "use" people I could break the law, I could knowing lie. I could con and manipulate, bate and switch.
I choose not to .....
And I choose to support and have people around me that share my beliefs, even if it means I will never be "rich".
I don't need to, I can get by just fine and I already "feel" rich.
Maybe I am wrong maybe you should do what ever , "and I mean what ever" to make more money. It seems to be the thing that makes the world go round. Funny I can still be happy with out "having it all".

Chippp

One word!
BOYCOT!

BizWatcher

Chippp is correct. Boycott is 'one word'. All joking aside, the small business owner is always the one, who suffers most in this scenario. It's a shame.
Here's a thought, though. Look for products that Sally Beauty, or other competitors are selling, and sell them at cost. Who knows?
In a conversation two weeks ago I had with a salon owner in the northeast, we talked about this very thing. He said that he is 'forced' to sell lotions at 30% off retail to compete with Sally Beauty Supply who just moved into his shopping center. I said, "When you negotiated your lease, did you require a(n) (1)exclusive on tanning, (2)exclusive on branded CalTan/Supre/NuvoBronz/Abate sales ?" He said NO to both. I negotiated leases for a few years, and hated it. Hated every minute of it. Did it for big box tenants like O*d N*v*/Linens N*, etc, and I know their M.O. All Sally is ... is a price point retailer just like Dollar Bill$$ or similiar. When they go in against you, they don't care if they make a nickel on tanning lotions as long as they get your clients to come over and buy tanning lotion, and hair care products at the same time. Period. You guys have to, and I mean must, require an exclusive on indoor tanning lotions, and tanning salon BEFORE you move in! Or you've already lost the battle.

I would like to see someone start another thread, just as interesting as this one, about how tanning technology has improved very little, how manufacturers are just adding bells and whistles to their beds, how manufacturers are making a killing on those beds on your backs, and how salon owners are price pointing each other to death for pennies a session (memberships). That doesn't make sense to me.

Chippp

I have brought this up here before as well.
Just look at all the talk about "super beds".
If we are to not only survive but also prosper we must look at our business matters with a wise eye.
That we must not fall into the trap of some of our suppliers and competitor's and loose our credibility, you can't in most cases ever get it back.
What you do today will come back on your tomorrow, if you survive that long.

Jamacia Jim

As a Wharton grad 94 I know the only proper route is private label that is why as we speak my lotion and labels are on the way to me, know more name brands in my salon. My pricing will be in accords with the "pricing for profit" class that I took at the Kellogg school of buis. this past summer.

darktanman

People will still come in the salon KNOWING what they want, not all, but many. They tan at more that one salon or go from salon to salon. Selection is important in this case.[ This Message was edited by: darktanman on 2001-12-12 22:40 ]