Happy days are not here again.
Friday, August 31st, 2007At least they’re not for retailers. Dillard came in with a decline of 3 percent in comparable store volume, while Sears Holdings reported declines of 4 percent for Sears and 3.8 percent for Kmart’s comparable store sales.
At Sears, inventories were rising and cash was dwindling. The consumer has been in a recession for the past six months, and retail comps don’t show much hope that they’re returning to stores in a meaningful way.
In the New York market, department stores have been running hefty pre-Labor Day sales. Fall fashion does not seem to be a factor from an advertising point of view either, as price promotions have been far more prominent.
In Thursday’s (August 30th) The New York Times, Estee Lauder Companies’ Origins and Prescriptives have full-page Macy’s advertisements where extensive sampling is offered. In the first section, Origins has photos of its top 10 products and says, “Our Origins consultants will introduce you to the most sought after experts, and you’ll take home your choice of the five super samples that are the best for you.”
In the Style Section of The Times, Prescriptives has a selection of “freebies” with any $32.50 purchase of foundation, powder or concealer. The sample sizes include Super Line Preventor Xtreme, a 14-day supply of “your exact-match foundation” among others and a signature cosmetics bag.
Rather than calling their samples a “gift-with-purchase,” Origins and Prescriptives are indicating that beauty advisors will help choose samples that will match the customer’s personal needs. It certainly should build traffic and offer consumer value in shopping both lines.
In the first section of this same issue of The Times, L’Oreal Paris has taken a full-page to headline its new Revitalift UV with Mexoryl SX. That was “just approved by the FDA.” It is a new Anti-Aging Moisturizer with breakthrough UVA-filter. The tagline is emphatic: “Protect and correct your skin year-round. Because you’re worth it.” And the ad says you can “find it in the skincare aisle of chain drug, food and mass market retailers.”
Procter & Gamble’s Olay has a partial page ad in the Style pages for Total Effects. Its tagline is, “you can’t stop menopause. But you can have skin that looks too young for it.” In the next issue of The Informationist, we discuss how mass vs class is stacking up in beauty. Consumers are demanding more from all classes of trade and marketers are obviously responding.