Who would have ever thought that Detroit would have one of the best spas in the country? Fact is, we do.

Mobil doesn’t hand out 4-Star ratings too easily (they also gave MGM Grand one too). After experiencing Immerse, you can see why they earned it for 2009.

I first laid eyes on Immerse Spa when I got the tour of MGM after it first opened in October 2007. I was amazed at what I saw then and the only thing that has changed since is that the staff has improved to match the quality of the amenities.

First off, they have the nicest indoor pool in the U.S. and I have been to plenty of spas. They actually have lounge chairs and mini-cabanas spread around a huge pool with piped-in spa music.

The work-out room is well-equipped although seldom used. I think guests at MGM flex their muscle pushing the slot buttons more than the free weights.

But it’s the locker rooms that sets Immerse apart from others. You would not think you were in Detroit but in Vegas or Arizona. The locker rooms boast all the required wet pleasures (steam, sauna, whirlpool) along with rain showers, deluxe amenities and ultra soft and large towels. The only thing missing is iced washcloths and cucumber slices for the steam room.

The treatment rooms are tastefully done and the waiting lounge is acceptable. The salon features 3 pedicure stations, 2 manicure stations and 3 styling chairs (they are looking for a full or part-time stylist-great opportunity for those that have clientele and want to come to a great place).

This past weekend I had their "Player’s" pedicure. A few days earlier I visited an upscale salon and had a manicure. Tomorrow I will review both services and you will learn the true secret to being a four star destination.

Happy Monday!

OPI should have known their French collection wasn’t going to do well. The Americans and the French still are at odds although they are still very happy to take our money.

South Beach collection was fun but at the end, what consumers really love about OPI is their dark shades. Espana has them covered and then some.

And besides, we love Spain. It has great food, great wine, great Tapas and bullfighting to boot. Spain is a friendly country and they love to have fun.

Espana colors are right on. They are noticed. They are what consumers need at the moment.

I have yet to put any of the dozen colors on my nails and most likely, I’m going to pass this time as all the previous other times. But hey, i know there are plenty of women wearing Espana so I would love to find out your favorite Espana color(s).

Ole!

Happy Thursday!

P.S. Off to see Jimmy Buffett tonight. Yes, I’m a true Parrot Head.

Just a few months back in March, the world was coming to an end. The stock market sunk below 7,000; Ford and GM stock were trading at around a buck and casino giants MGM and Las Vegas Sands were ready to shutter their doors.

Fast forward to today and the market is up nearly 3000 points, Ford is up some 800% while MGM and Las Vegas Sands are up some 1000% suggesting people are still buying cars while gambling and visiting Las Vegas.

The $100 question of the day is the stock market rally for real? As you know, the market is a good indicator of the economy 6-9 months down the road. The market is telling us that the recession has peaked and recovery is underway and within 9 months, we will be growing again.

Is it that simply? Is it that easy? The market is never simple or easy. What do you think? Here are your selections:

A. The recession has peaked and recovery is coming within the next 6-9 months.

B. The recession is still here and the recovery will come mid-2010.

C. The market is full of BS and will go back down and we will be in this recession until late 2010-early 2011.

Happy Wednesday!

P.S. ACS personally presented me my own box of cereal, container of cold skim milk and cereal bowl for breakfast today at the Annual Strides event. Now is that thoughtful or what!

It’s official. The year of the BOGO has declared itself victorious. BOGO’s are running wild with no relief in sight. BOGO’s can be found virtually everywhere. They come in all variations, styles, colors, sizes and run the gamut from tame to wild.

So you ask what’s a BOGO? It’s when a retailer offers a product Buy One, Get One free.

We love BOGO’s. In fact, we love most things free. Estee Lauder perfected giving away free things at the cosmetic counter. I can recall when Clinique gave away a bag filled with $75 of cosmetics free with the purchase of anything over $20. The line around the counter was more than 100. In retail jargon, these are called GWP’s or Gift With Purchase.

But today, BOGO’s rule. We like BOGO’s better than buying something 50% off or half off. A lot of us don’t need two of something but for free, what the heck! And 50% off doesn’t have the ring of a BOGO.

Come September, we are going to feature a ton of BOGO’s. In fact, I love the BOGO game. It’s fun, people love it and everyone wins. In an economy like this one, it makes perfect sense.

But what happens when the economy turns around and the BOGO’s disappear? Good question. So in the meantime, take advantage of a truly good thing.

Happy Tuesday!

My first involvement with the American Cancer Society (ACS) took place when they held their once annual "Lock Up" campaign. Nearly 10 years ago, I was "locked up" at the Farmington Holiday Inn (it was as close to a jail cell as possible) and had to raise money to get released.

Luckily I had some good friends and contacts and I raised more than anyone expected. And sure enough, ACS wasn’t going to let this fund raiser sneak through their grasp. I got recruited.

Unlike many other charities I have been involved with, ACS runs a tight ship and takes care of everyone involved. Their full time staff actually works and our head ACS cheerleader, Voncile Brown-Miller, comes by every quarter to rally our troops.

Specifically, we raise money for breast cancer research. In the past we have even funded scientists that focus exclusively on specific lab test to help find a cure (formally called a TIF). In the 10 or so years we have been involved with ACS, we have raised more than $1.3 million.

STRIDES is a national event and we are proud to be a national sponsor. The Detroit event is coming up in October held at Belle Isle. Over the years, about 10,000 walkers show up and brave the weather. One year it snowed. One year it poured. One year the sun came out. Heck, you never know what you’re going to get but in the end, everyone comes out for a reason.

It’s a great event and one that inspires others to give back to ACS. The walk is only 5 miles although you can take the short cut (2 miles). But take the long way as you stroll around the perimeter of the island. You’ll pass such fascinating sights like the golf course, zoo, slide, yacht club and Windsor across the river.

This Wednesday is the annual breakfast (they even have cereal and skim milk) where some 700 or so show up and get motivated to raise money. This will be a tough year no doubt. But in the end, cancer doesn’t care about the economy or health care system. It lives and breathes on its own. That’s why it’s important to continue the fight. Just ask any survivor.

Happy Monday!

If I think way back 20 years, I can remember when hot items were introduced that took the industry by storm. One item was Australian Gold Accelerator lotion. Another was Body Drench Moist. It was like printing money for salon owners, they couldn’t keep the stuff on their shelves.

I remember when Tolfnafoil came out and Paul DiMeglio did his infamous seminars. Dozens at a time were bought by salons only to order more a week later. When Seche Vite came out, the first fast drying top coat, you thought sex in a bottle was invented. It’s still a huge seller.

I remember when TIGI came out with Manipulator. This ooey, gooey, blue gel/paste which had a fruity smell that sold for $17.95 became an overnight sensation. People were slathering it morning, day and night just to play with it. Today, it’s still among the top 5 Bedhead sellers.

The past few years however have been high and dry. But out of the blue, Moroccanoil arrived. First everyone thought it was a one hit wonder (remember Don McClean’s American Pie?). In fact, the first year it was regarded as a fad and not taken seriously.

But the introduction of their Intensive Mask created a serious phenomenon that I have yet to witness in a very long time. Add to that their Curling and Styling cremes and the line became complete. But wait. People even got excited about shampoo and conditioner at $20 a pop retail.

Here’s the thing about phenomenon’s that I love so much. No one cares about price. People pay whatever the price is: no discounts, no deals, no nothing. And the other thing is that people love to buy phenomenon products. They brag to their friends about them; they wake up in the morning yearning to use them; and they can’t wait to buy more.

Moroccanoil is trying to keep up with demand. It’s tough because all products are imported and take time to make. We too are trying to keep up and have now had to limit new doors and set up new programs.

This is fun and a long time coming. Let’s hope the fun continues and even more fun comes from other products down the road quicker than later.

Happy Thursday!

Gallup Organization is the leader in employee and customer engagement studies, methodology and implementation. We should know, we have been students of Gallup for more than three years.

Their employee engagement test is simply called Q12. It is comprised of 12 questions, each ranked 1 to 5 with a 5 being the highest level of engagement.

One of the questions that ranks among the lowest score of the dozen is "Have you received recognition in the past 7 days?"

Recognition can come from a co-worker, manager, or customer. It can be formal or informal. It can be as simple as "good job" to a written note.

Gallup points out that people are quick to point out errors, mistakes, screw ups and bad customer service. But the same people are aloof in providing positive feedback.

Like anything, it’s easy to get involved with this early on but as time passes, it’s easy to let it fade into the sunset. Gallup has pointed out that for engagement to be on the high end, recognition is important (when deserved).

With this in mind, I would like to recognize a few individuals as I have muddled through several projects over the past few weeks.

Dan, Jesse, Charles and Jason for doing the heavy work in loading and unloading the store fixtures.

Shelly for providing the design graphics. Dennis and Chuck for getting the display materials on time. Rick from Innovative Media who got not one, not two, but three installers on location to keep the signage hanging.

Craig for getting the Academy sound station up and working plus a redesign to boot. Mark for creating software to install a scanning station for our outlet center. The CTS talent for organizing their first clearance sale. 

Kelly for organizing two great Academy events, Hair Manya and Rockaholic. Finally Gaye and especially Rob for working out the transfers, price records and new product setups for the flagship store.

I will say one thing more for Gallup’s Q12: Simple questions but not easy to do consistently. But in the end, priceless.

Happy Wednesday!

Sure the economy still sucks regardless what the economists point out and business is tougher than ever. Most pundits would point out now is not the time to invest and reinvent. They say to ride out the storm and be safe during turbulent times.

Being in business today is anything but safe. Ask any business owner. The reinvention of our corporate store didn’t take place because it needed to, it all came about because of SAP, our database software system.

We are now finally able to review metrics and do something about them. For instance, we found out that we had nearly 5000 items in the store. Of those, nearly 1400 didn’t sell during the past 8 weeks. The top 500 items accounted for over half the business.

What happened? We became complacent. A customer would ask for a certain item and we would bring it in. Too bad the item never sold afterwards. Repeat this 1000 times and viola! More importantly, we didn’t have the right tools in place. It’s also a whole lot easier facing items than taking them off the shelf, cleaning the shelf, and putting the items back on.

First thing we did was get rid of the 1400 plus items. Whew, that was a lot of work. Next thing was to bring in our best selling catalog items not in the store including our all new CLUB1 items. Then we took our best selling store items and prominently featured them. And finally, we added a bunch of fun stuff like really cool Quotable greeting cards, mugs, notepads, snacks and a whole section of cleaning supplies.

New graphics and store displays were added. New signage, new in-store secret deals and new T-shirts for the staff. Also added was our new outlet center featuring all the stuff we couldn’t sell at regular price.

Today is the soft grand opening and you will be impressed. Special thanks to Lo, Megan and Lindsay who put up with me for two weeks and worked until 8:30PM Saturday to make it just right for today.

Today also kicks off the launch of Hair Manya, Kemon’s sexy and cool styling line. The Kemon "store-in-a-store" concept is really hip with its own color bar, mixing station and full range of products.

Of course there is no rest. Next up is our Shelby Township store. What fun and I know the Shelby girls are revved up and ready to go.

Happy Monday!