TGIM! That is my newest motto, love it. Only four days until Friday.
We just returned from one of our favorite resorts in Mexico. They made a business decision and expanded their gym to include one nice room for cardio and one nice room for weights. Guess what room was converted? That’s right, the salon is gone. Not enough business. With destination weddings way down and most likely for a long time, resorts are rethinking everything. As mentioned earlier, the entire fate of steam rooms, saunas and hot tubs is up in the air. Who even knows if locker rooms will exist in a post-pandemic world.
So what is going on in the finance world of pro beauty? Not much. When you realize that a handful of companies own pretty much 80%+ of the business due to acquisitions, you easily understand the state of affairs. Last quarter, Sally Beauty sales were down about 4%, likewise for L’Oreal Professional sales in the USA. Both companies like to talk about the upside of this but c’mon, we know the focus is on consumer business and with more consumers doing their own personal services at home, it is no wonder that Ulta, Sephora and Estee Lauder continue to gain market share.
Believe it or not, acrylic nails is having a resurgence and that is good news for nail salons offering acrylic nails. Perhaps it is boredom with gels, dislike of powder dipping or just loving the shine and durability of acrylics, we are seeing renewed interest. Our new ForPro Expert brand is exceptional and nail techs are loving it.
Tony Cuccio and I were chatting the other day about the industry and how two young rebels got old but at least survived the fallout and are still around to run our companies. He misses traveling to his international customers while I don’t miss traveling for business one second. We talked trade shows and all the activities that took place both on and off the show floor. If Cosmoprof has another show in Vegas, as it is advertising, who is going to exhibit and who is going to attend? For the pro beauty business, days of trade shows as we remembered them are over just like the magazines, educational academies and so much more.
Jeff Bezos retired from being CEO of Amazon most likely to focus on his Blue Origins rocket company. Musk’s Space X is light years ahead and advertising consumer launches this year. Branson’s Virgin Galactic is getting ready too as Branson is set to take off this year in their first manned flight. Are you ready for space travel?
I’m getting the vaccine, but for some reason, supply and demand is not working as advertised. My preference right now is the single dose J&J.
I was reminded that I never published my quick and easy marina sauce recipe. So here it is!
Ingredients:
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes, 2T tomato paste, 3 garlic cloves crushed, 1C each diced celery, carrot and onions, Italian seasoning, salt & pepper, good olive oil, crushed red pepper flakes (optional).
In large saucepot, sauté trilogy of veggies in 1T olive oil over medium heat until tender, about 5-6 minutes. Add garlic and stir for another minute. Season with salt and pepper.
Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and 1t Italian seasoning. Bring to boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and boat motor until smooth (or use food processor). Taste and add more seasoning and red pepper flakes for a bit of spice.
Excellent for use for homemade pizzas too!
TGIM!
Larry
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