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According to Faith Popcorn, a well known trend analysis, she states that “the entire consumer mentality has changed across the socioeconomic spectrum. We understand and buy what we truly need and we actually want less-stuff is clutter and we want simpler.”

Quoted from a recent WWD article, Popcorn told the writer that she walked up Madison Avenue recently, and the stores were empty, reinforcing her view that the economy won’t be returning to its previous levels anytime soon. “It’s not going to happen. Not ever. It’s permanent and we’re getting used to it and it scares the hell out of us.”

The well-timed article summarized the Characteristics Of The New Consumer:

• Frugal
• Buys online
• Waits for sales
• Price sensitive
• Exhibits little brand or formal loyalty
• Clips coupons
• Saves money
• Buys private label
• Does research online
• Trades down

Both Ralph’s and Kroger have vigorous loyalty programs that give quarterly rebates and direct coupons based on previous purchases. Many consumer brands have printable coupons. Coupon usage has reached record levels.

President Obama spoke about the economy yesterday stating that it was not where he wanted it to be.

On the other hand if you provide stunning products (like the iPad and iPhone) or provide a service that people need (airlines are charging more per seat and charging more add-on fees) or want (Starbucks sold more Frap’s than ever before), coupons and sales are meaningless.

When we look at retail sales in the salon/spa industry, we marveled in the good times that retail sales as a percentage of total sales were only 7%. Clearly, “cashing out” is not as prevalent in our industry as mass retail.

Still, consumers are looking for value and deals. What I find amazing is the fact how many salons/spas buy goods on deal and don’t pass on the savings to their clients. Perhaps now is the time to take advantage of pricing, create in-store signage and see if there is an upturn in sales.

One thing for certain is this: If you sell two bottles of “x” a week at $20 and pay $10, you make $20 a week. If you sell 6 bottles a week at $16 and still pay $10, you make $36 a week. It makes a difference.

Happy Tuesday!

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Only if

They didn’t build Cobo and Joe Louis on the riverfront.

Only if

They didn’t build a steel factory on the riverfront.

Only if

J.L. Hudson’s never left (Macy’s on 34th is still their flagship store in NY)

Only if

Elected officials looked out for the city and not their own pockets.

Only if

There was leadership that had vision.

Then, and only

We wouldn’t be envious of Chicago. Oh, Chicago has plenty of issues, many similar to Detroit’s. No matter what however they have a vibrant downtown that people flock to, vacation to, do business and live in. And perhaps my oldest son and daughter-in-law wouldn’t be living there among the tens of thousands of other Michigan graduates that move there as it’s a birth rite.

Only if

Detroit was like the Eastern Market. Saturday’s are open market day and thousands come from all over to savor the flavors, colors, history and virtually every food you can think of. Bring your own wagon and choose from fresh veggies and fruits to flowers to pure maple syrup to Zingerman’s breads to homemade sausages to fresh donuts and cider.

Wander over to Rocky’s and virtually every nut on the planet is available in bins, boxes and bags. You won’t resist the bulk candy and bulk spices. They had giant wasabi peanuts that I couldn’t find anywhere.

However, the real treat are the restaurants. People come to eat. Stand in line at the Russell St. Deli or head next door to the best pizza anywhere, Supino’s. We didn’t want to wait an hour at Russell St. so we headed to the Farmer’s Restaurant, circa 1954 so something like it.

You walk in and you think you are in Gaylord. Wood tables, wood booths, coffee poured in those brown mugs you haven’t seen in 20 years. Omelets filled with fresh veggies, homemade sausages, home fried potatoes that are crisply and disgustingly good and hotcakes the size of a plate. The only downer is no pure maple syrup (buy some in Shed 2 in advance). For $6 a person, it’s a steal and it is packed. They open at 5AM and close at 2:30PM and never on Sunday.

Only if

It was possible. If you think about what made Michigan back in the day, it was Detroit. Detroit was cranking and people moved from the south to get jobs in the motor city. Woodward was packed with people, cars, and busses just like Chicago is today. As Detroit goes, so does Michigan. The question is, can Detroit get revved up again?

Too bad Saturday mornings at the Eastern Market doesn’t cut it.

Happy Monday!

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Next weekend is Labor Day weekend. Where did summer go?

Speaking of which, do you notice the change in the air and the trees changing color? I have even seen leaves on the ground and it’s still August.

Did you hear about the Beverly Hair’s salon owner that overcharged her celebrity clients to the tune of $750,000? One client was overcharged $215,000 over a period of a few months and didn’t even know it.

College football starts up next weekend so that is very exciting. I love going to State games and always wonder why the football players, marching band and cheer squad never get older.

Speaking of which, TONY turned 56. I remember him when he had a full head of hair, cool sunglasses and 56 pounds lighter. But no one has more fun than him.

Tiffany reported its sales and stated for the first time more than 50% of its business was overseas. L’Oreal which posted higher sales stated that its sales overseas were strong making up for the weaker US and European markets. Looks like all the jobs that went overseas are paying off for multinational companies.

Coffee and wheat prices are at 12 year highs. Does that mean a dozen bagels will cross the $10 mark and cup of coffee $2 mark?

If you were stuck on a deserted island for at least a couple months and had one food choice, what would it be? Pizza for me.

You got to love the new Coke commercials stating that a full serving of Coke might be too much for you to consume. That is why they make smaller containers. Who are they kidding? Oh, did you know besides 19 teaspoons of sugar, Coke is full of acid so forget about white teeth.

One in four US adults is obese. Big Mac, fries and a Coke. And a DQ Blizzard for dessert. At least it’s satisfying.

Water bottles are all the rage. Ever heard of Sigg and Camelbak? Do you know what BHP is? Wonder how we can sell these in salons?

Tiger Woods finally hit his stride. Looks like dropping $100 Million cleared his conscious.

Happy Friday!

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TNG has been selling nail products for more than 26 years. For us, it started with a “honey tip” brush. I will never forget a nail tech coming into my store and asking me for this brush. I asked her, “Why would you want honey on the tip of it?” She laughed and told me it was a brush made by Creative Nail Design.

The things you learn in business. Solarnail was the rage and invented by Dr. Nordstrom who was Jan Arnold’s (co-founder) and Jim Nordstrom’s (co-founder) father. Nordstrom was a dentist and figured out dental products could be used on nails. And voila, acrylics and Creative Nail Design were born.

This new category was hot, hot, hot. This spawned new companies overnight including the now infamous Odontorium Products, Inc. known as OPI started by George Schaeffer in 1981. Schaeffer’s family was in the dental supply business and coincidentally, discovered the same thing about dental products being able to be used on nails.

Everyone wanted in. Larry Gaertner went from collecting guns to making No Lift Primer. Jack Sperling rode the wave with Alpha 9 and his trade show had no less than 100 acrylic companies hawking powders and liquids.

Then came odorless acrylics. Frank and Laura DeSantis’s Aqua Nails was the rage. Both CND and OPI came out with their formulas but the stickiness and application issues were too much to overcome.

Fast forward to 2010 and CND has once again invented a new category: Gel polish. President John Heffner claims CND spent over 4 years on product development and wanted it just right. Prior to introduction they did a dog and pony show with their top USA distributors to get opening order ideas and launched internationally.

Based on their data they came up with a plan and then tripled it. Little did they know what was in store. “It totally blindsided us,” quips Jacquie Johnson, VP of Sales. “Not even Larry could predict this overnight sensation.”

OK, I will admit I was hesitant due to the economy, price and prior launches. But in 26 years, I have never seen anything like Shellac.

Now that we have the new category, here is what I don’t get. How did so many companies come up with their own version in less than a couple months when it took CND over 4 years? How does Danny Hale’s Gelish have 48 colors with zero R&D and how does Jessica have 36 colors overnight?

Rick Slack, President of NSI, gave me a call and told me his new line coming out in October has been in R&D for quite a while. At least NSI has R&D. NSI’s line will sport 24 colors in 1/2 oz. bottles for a great price.

American International’s IBD and China Glaze are coming out as well this fall and they certainly have the resources behind them. But I’m seeing companies come out of the woodwork with 24, 36, 48 and even more colors. The question is, none of these companies have a chemist on staff, none have a working lab and all are outsourcing. How can they all be doing this at the same time?

Ah, the acrylic days are back. When Kym Lee, a nail tech in Southern California can launch a line called Galaxy while doing nails at her salon, you know anything is possible. Kym was a great gal and was in the right place at the right time. But now?

I wonder. Shellac has the name, the PR, the formulation. What they don’t have is stock. I was told we will receive some early next week and most orders will be fully caught up by late September. CND’s arch rivals are salivating. But in the end who will survive?

And what will the fate of the nail polish industry be?Women who have been accustomed to choosing from among 300 colors are tickled pink to find any Shellac color and wear it.

But the biggest question is what is George Schaeffer coming up with? OPI owns the color category and the one thing I know about George is this: Not only will he come out with a winning product, he will have plenty of inventory.

Game on. In the end, it will just like 1985 again, CND and OPI.

Happy Thursday!

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Monday was a very special day and night indeed. It’s the day Michael and his COO, Nicole, came to TNG and The Academy and set a new direction for education, products, inspiration and down-to-earth fun.

During the day, Michael’s sold out cutting class was filled with awe-inspired hairdressers. Many commented they learned more in this class than any other. They loved the energy, commitment and devotion Michael shared. It was great to see.

Day followed night with the sold out launch party. Instead of 3 models as originally planned, Michael did 6 models while keeping the audience glued to the stage. Nicole made sure the music was in gear and Michael’s high energy carried him throughout the night.

Here are some photo highlights:

All in all, it was a great success. We are now getting ready for the Label.m launch party and Tiffany featuring DREAMS event October 3 at Andiamo showplace in Warren.

Happy Wednesday!

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Elections are won based on popular vote. The candidate that has the most votes wins. So for virtually every public office, voters decide who gets elected (Supreme Court judges are nominated).

American’s can decide who gets elected through popular vote but that’s where the line ends. Once the public official gets into office, sure they listen to what we have to say, but they make the final decisions, not us.

For better or for worse, here are just a few examples if popular vote prevailed on issues:

• We would not be at war in Afghanistan or Iraq. Over 60% of the popular vote is against the wars.
• GM would not be working on its IPO (Initial Public Offering) due this November. That’s because the public was against the government bailout and GM would be shuttered by now.
• Citi, Bank of America and others would most likely be ghosts of themselves if they were still around. Popular vote had the bankers crawling on their hands and knees penniless before they got a government bailout.
• Thinking back on just these three examples, do you think the USA would be better off or worse off if popular vote mattered?
• Popular vote determines the winner of American Idol; it determines if millages pass or fail; it determines if Marijuana should be legal; it determines if new stadiums should be built.
• The question is then at what point do we legitimize popular vote and where do we draw the line in saying “our opinions do not matter?”
• And think about this: How much money is spent in advertising to sway voters to vote one way versus another?
• It’s very interesting to think about. With the mid-term elections coming up in November, what if the winning MI Governor simply listed 100 initiatives that needed to be done and let the voter’s decide on each of them.
• Happy Monday!

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Friday is already here and another week blown to pieces. But this is a Fab summer Friday. We have Michael O’Rourke in the house to launch his signature line and then it’s Hot Diggity Dog!

If you are around the area between Noon-1:00PM, stop on by. I’m grilling up 1/4# Black Angus dogs which have claims of being the best dog ever. My homemade cilantro corn and black bean salad is the side along with Kettle chips (they so good, they should be illegal) and all the fixings.

Shawn will be scooping up Caramel Praline and Moose tracks ice cream into giant waffle cones. The forecast is warm and sunny, perfect for ice cream eating enjoyment.

Got to go, the grill is waiting.

Happy Friday!

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I commented a few weeks about creating a new permanent glove since disposable gloves have become so popular.

Truth is, disposable gloves are becoming more and more indispensable. Over 30 billion gloves are used per annum and growing. Just think of all the industries that use gloves and those that don’t but should.

Don’t you wonder why bank teller’s don’t use gloves? You have any idea how many germs are on paper money? Gross! They certainly should offer gloves before riding an escalator or moving walkway. There are more germs on the rubber grips than any other material known to man. Yikes!

Seriously though, after a lot of investigation into this matter, I have plunged into the glove market in a big way. In doing my research I was shocked to find out not a single disposable glove is made in the USA. In fact, virtually all gloves are now made in China and Malaysia.

Do you even know where Malaysia is located on the world map? Most likely not so read up on this geographic area the size of New Mexico and learn some interesting stuff.

What is most shocking is that doctors, hospitals, technology companies and the like all trust China and Malaysia with their lives each and every day by using disposable gloves. Basically speaking, China owns the USA’s healthcare industry. Ouch!

No wonder 500,000 people filed for unemployment benefits last week, the highest since November 2009. We can’t even make gloves!

On the glove side, there are industrial and medical grade gloves. For years we have sold industrial grade gloves mostly to hairdressers using them for chemical services. Starting September 1 (we are doing a soft launch now), we will be offering medical grade gloves. Medical grade gloves are the highest quality available and can be used by doctors, hospitals along with food service and beauty. More importantly, we are pricing medical gloves at wholesale due to demand.

There are three glove compositions- latex, vinyl and nitrile.

Latex is the most popular for doctors and hospitals since it is chemical and blood resistant. No issues with acetone either, that’s why virtually all Asian salons use them. Latex gloves have become so popular there is now a worldwide shortage of it and prices are up 20% and there are predictions for higher prices yet.

The shortfall for latex is that many people are allergic to latex. Nitrile provides the best alternative. Medical grade nitrile gloves are also chemical and blood resistant (not at the same level as latex), are latex-free, easy to put on and come in fun colors. Nitrile is the fastest-growing glove.

Vinyl gloves are mostly used in industrial settings and are the least popular. They are the least expensive and that is why salons/spas use them. They are perfect for pedicures, food handling, and the like.

Now you know the rest of the story. Question is when will we all be walking around wearing gloves? At least then we can go back to shaking hands without washing them immediately afterwards.

Happy Thursday!

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Everything you want to know or don’t want to know about Lice is one Google click away. If you are so inclined, see the photo below of what Lice looks like. Scary! And to think those tiny creatures are lurking in hair is enough to make anyone sick.

With schools opening next month, parents and teachers are already thinking about Lice as that’s the beginning of the breeding season.

Risa Barash, owner of Fairy Tales Hair Care, is known as the Lice expert around her circle of friends. I can see it now, Risa is at her local Olive Garden having dinner and a family is sitting next to her table and the mother gasps, “OMG, it’s Risa, the Lice expert.” I would rather be the beauty expert.

Parents thank Risa everyday when their kids are exposed to Lice (Lice preventer) and God forbid, get Lice (Lice killer). Her line of products are all based to prevent and kill Lice.

FOX2 picked up on this trend and featured it in their morning news program. Click on the link to learn more: http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/health/how-to-keep-your-kids-lice-free-20100818-mr.

Tip: If you own a salon, now is the time to stock up-your clients will love you for it! Now, about bed bugs. . . .

Happy Wednesday!

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James Wheatley had a dream. Like so many hairdressers before him, James too graduated high school, went to Cosmetology school to get his license and then went to work at a salon.

18 years later, James was ready to bring his dream to reality.

Two weeks ago, James dream came true with the opening of Blo Salon in Shelby Township, MI. He struck a deal with the landlord, committed to 2800 sq. ft. (which is huge for a first location) and decked it out with 16 stations. Currently 5 are filled but he has been so busy, he hasn’t had time to interview hairdressers wanting in.

“I never thought it would be so much work,” lamented James to me yesterday while he attended a sold-out Moroccanoil workshop. “I’m working 7 days a week and still can’t catch up,” he said with a smile on his young looking face of 38.

I told him “Welcome to entrepreneurship and the joys of being a business owner. It doesn’t get easier.” James reveled in his newfound responsibilities and gushed that he couldn’t wait to open his second location.

On the product side, James went with Kemon color, label.m (he had to reorder after 2 days), Moroccanoil and Michael O’Rourke. Personally loving the fact he was pretty much TNG exclusive, I asked him why after being the in the business for 18 years he chose those brands. “I’m not looking to compete with retailers and I want to offer my customers something that’s not everywhere. I love Kemon HD color and the fact that label.m isn’t anywhere (including our Shelby store), makes it that much better.”

Blo Salon represents the new salon lifestyle that will help move our industry forward in a very important way. In times of doom and gloom, it’s so refreshing to see the likes of a James excited for the future. Here’s one dream that we all hope never ends.

Happy Tuesday!