NEW YORK — A new guard of celebrity hair care lines is looking to pull sales of shampoo, conditioner and styling products out of their recent slump. And many think America’s obsession with celebrities will fuel sales early on.
“We are, as Americans, voyeurs and certainly celebrity seekers,” said Rick Goldberg, founder of Progressive Beauty Brands, the Minneapolis-based beauty company that makes the new Hilary Duff hair care line. “I think that’s evident in that People [magazine] just celebrated 30 years in business. It’s a result of the media being so instantaneous in getting us an insider look at what these people do and how they live.”
Goldberg, and many manufacturers like him, regard the 3 percent dip in mass shampoo, conditioner and styling products sales for the 52 weeks ended March 6, according to Information Resources Inc., excluding Wal-Mart, as an excuse to look beyond national brands as an answer to sluggish sales.
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Brigitte King, assistant vice president of marketing for John Frieda, perhaps the best-known celebrity hairstylist line, agrees. “Our whole society is obsessed with what [celebrities] are doing,” she said.
While John Frieda generates more than $150 million in U.S. retail sales, according to industry sources, no fewer than 10 celebrity hair care lines have emerged on mass retail shelves over the past several years. Some are from actors such as Duff and Connie Selleca, who sell hair care products at Target and drugstores nationwide, respectively. Sports figures are expected to get into the game, too. Industry sources said a men’s hair care line by Michael Jordan is being pitched to mass stores now.
Most notably, a fresh batch of celebrity hairstylists has entered the mass hair care arena. Cristophe, Marc Anthony and Ken Paves, for example, may not be household names, but all have garnered a loyal fan base through coverage in beauty magazines.
A key trend for many of these new lines is partnering with a specific retail chain for their initial entry into the mass market. The deal, it seems, brings retailers exclusivity and a point of difference from competitors, while celebrities enjoy shelf space in as many as 4,000 doors at launch time.
Cristophe’s hair care line, Cristophe Beverly Hills, is the newest to enter the market. Set to launch exclusively in CVS’ top 10 markets in May, sources estimate it could reach between $4 million and $6 million for 2004.
The 13-item line aims to capture the hair maven’s flavor for fashion, and will offer three different platforms, Thick & Full, Smooth & Shining and Hydrating, complete with shampoo, conditioner and styling products. The brand’s slogan is “Beautiful Hair for a More Beautiful You.”
“It’s not for the shopper looking for a $1.99 deal of the week,” said Goldberg, whose company is making the line. “This is built on taste and is for people looking for value with an exquisite positioning.” Retail prices range from $6.99 to $7.99, higher than Pantene and Herbal Essences, hair care’s two leading brands.
Canadian Marc Anthony has his Marc Anthony True Professional line arriving in as many as 22,000 drugstores this month after a successful test at select CVS stores around the country.
Ken Paves’ Flawless line began selling exclusively at 4,500 Walgreens stores in February and, according to industry sources, expects to generate more than $5 million in sales by the end of the year.
According to Alec Batis, director of marketing for Flawless, the professional trend in hair care is similar to what color cosmetics experienced in the mid-Nineties when a flux of professional makeup artist lines entered the market.
Besides, he added, the hair industry is coming full circle.
“Years ago, celebrity stylists like Vidal Sassoon and Jheri Redding were considered the foremost experts in hair care and were looked to for advice on how to achieve and maintain the most healthy and well-styled coifs,” Batis said.
But during the past 15 years, Batis explained, their success became overshadowed by beauty corporations with big ad budgets featuring glamorous, retouched models and celebrities with unnaturally shiny hair. Now consumers are becoming savvy enough to know that such results are unlikely, he said, and that the true experts of product performance are the celebrity hairstylists who use these products.
“Many of the large corporations are observing this and are hiring big-name hairstylists to help lend credibility to their brand,” Batis said. Giselle, a well-known colorist from the Pierre Michel salon on 57th Street here, for example, is a spokesperson for Clairol’s home hair coloring kits.
The consensus among brand executives with celebrity lines is that, with recent industry reports showing decreased hair care sales despite Unilever and L’Oréal launching multimillion dollar campaigns last year, it’s more important that companies look for ways to stimulate growth in the category with products that don’t look mass.
Allan Peters, managing director of Charles Worthington London, said employing an expert or designer positioning, rather than one that’s celebrity focused, is key to Charles Worthington’s success.
“Having a real figurehead such as Charles, who is genuinely involved in all aspects from design to product development right through to public relations, certainly creates brand differentiation and definitely accelerates awareness,” Peters said.
But while celebrity brands may attract attention based on newness, repeat purchases are based on a variety of factors, such as price, product benefits, quality and packaging. These reasons are why product makers are quick to add that not all celebrity lines are created equal.
John Frieda, for example, prides itself on being a brand that is built on the expertise of many hair experts. Sally Hershberger, for example, inspired and helped create Frieda’s Sheer Blonde range. Hairstylist Oscar James contributes to the John Frieda Relax line of products. Richard Marin lends his expertise to Frieda’s most recent launch, Brilliant Brunette.
Whether consumers buy into the new host of celebrity ranges remains to be seen, but at least one manufacturer is confident that a combination of good product and fame could lead to success.
“I think that the power of celebrity remains a strong sales driver,” said Peters. “Whether from celebrity endorsement, or as a reputable expert behind a brand, the power of that credibility cannot be underestimated.”