Selling Private Label Hair Products vs. “Name Brands”
Posted on October 8, 2009 with No Comments
I try to spend at least 8 hours per week looking through some of the hair forums and blogs to see what customers and salon owners are thinking. It’s a great way to get new ideas and to get a feel for what customers really think – generally, the ability to post anonymous comments brings out what folks really feel.
Earlier in the week I ran across a forum where salon owners were griping (in a good way) about the expense, carrying cost, and pure hassle of dealing with some of the well known brands and the distributors they buy from. While many folks are genuinely satisfied with many of the there suppliers, many are not. And many have considered selling shampoos and conditioners under private label brands.
Why? Well the list is pretty long and it will probably take a few posts to dig into depth. But, here are a couple of things I hear.
- Getting “jacked around” – Sorry, it’s the only way to say it, and that’s what many folks feel. Here are some examples.
- Discontinued products (with no warning) – I have a long list of products customers LOVE, but have been discontinued. We are not at the corporate level of many of these companies so you don’t know what the justification is, but I promise many products are discontinued as a mistake.
- Price changes – Not much to say about this one – often necessary, but I don’t believe some of the changes are warranted not justified – just more attempts at increased profit.
- Delivery – Some manufacturers are pretty good…many are not.
- Snooty-iness – Yep, again, sorry for the lack of better vocabulary, but “it is what it is”. Increasing demands, selective exclusivity, product positioning – yepper, all of the above.
- Product Diversion – The major manufacturers just need to get over this. There are numerous marketing and sales channels available for personal care products. If a few of them would go to b-school, they might figure out that ”exclusively through professional salons” isn’t such a great idea – especially if everyone is doing it. Prohibition is over…and the majority of consumers are not married to their brands – especially at lower price points.
I didn’t spend too much time discussing why a salon owner might turn to private label, but for those of you in the business you understand and probably have a much longer list. With that said, here a re a couple of reasons why many stylists and owners prefer their own brands:
- They know their customers – This allows them to carry just the products they need that they think will do the job. It also allows them to design labels, names and verbiage that will sync with thei customer base better.
- You can often make more money – Name brands may go through 3-4 levels of wholesalers, distributors and manufacturers before they hit your shelves. This makes for lower margins for you and higher costs for customers (which is not a good thing in this economy). As a side note, many (most) upper-end brands spend a TON of $$ promoting, advertising and packaging their products. You can be sure you as the salon owner is paying the bills. With private label hair products the products go straight from the manufacturer to you…period.
- You can dictate the pricing and promotion as you wish – sales, specials, give-aways – you name it, you can do it. Plus, if you salon has a website, you can sell your products online without fear of retribution or having your “name brand” pulled.
Here’s a couple of ideas to get started. There are some draw-backs. You need to educate your staff. There is a an upfront cost to getting started (labels, art work, etc.).
If you are interested, there are several companies theat have private label hair products available for purchase – Alternative Beauty, Aware, and Liquid Tech are three that are good.