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Healthy Outlook
A new industry report shows strong growth for the beauty industry along with some significant shifts.
by Salon Today Staff
April 1, 20162 min to read
Overall revenues for all salon industry services (hair, skin, nails) plus salon retail grew 3.2%, according to the new 2015 Professional Salon Industry Haircare Study from Professional Consultants & Resources, a leading salon industry strategic consultant and data source.
According to the study, total U.S. salon services and salon retail sales grew by 3% to $60.3 billion. There were nearly 294,000 U.S. salons and barbershops using and selling salon haircare products. Salon count declined by 2.5%, as large rental suites opened.
“The state of the professional salon industry is strong with an upward growth curve and changing dynamically,” says Cyrus Bulsara, president of Professional Consultants & Resources. “Major economic barriers affecting the salon industry are fading as innovative new products, salon suites and new management at top manufacturers bring new vitality. Manufacturer sales of haircolor, shampoos, conditioners, hairsprays, hairstyling products and specialty products all increased. We also saw a major paradigm shift toward large family economy chains and rentals. Most rentals still do not retail effectively. Therefore, product sales at mega-salon stores like Ulta increased.”
Color services remained the all-important anchor service at U.S. salons, attracting clients for other services like cutting, styling and straightening services. Color services were up nearly 4%, due to an aging baby-boomer population plus robust new demands for fashion haircolor, including blonding, highlights, babylights, balayage, ecaille, ombre/sombre, vivids and pastels. Keratin straightening services grew at 3.2%. In addition, cutting and styling services grew at 2.6%, as the frequency of client visits to salons increased slightly.
Major highlights of the study include:
The men’s sector grew at nearly 1.5 times the industry’s growth rate. The study analyzes men’s salon services and product lines in depth.
A major paradigm shift continued from independent salons and mid-tier mall chains toward family-economy chains and suite rentals, plus high-end men’s barbershops.
Sales at two major U.S. distributors grew, with CosmoProf’s sales up 4.2% and sales at L’Oreal’s SalonCentric up 4%.
Leading chair/suite rental organizations like Sola, Salon Plaza, Salon Lofts, Solera, Phenix, Salons by TJ and Salon Concepts grew rapidly.
Great Clips and Sport Clips registered 9.8% and 17% growth, respectively.
Styling product sales increased by mid-single digits as consumers continued home hairstyling, facilitated by new genres of styling tools.
Sales of specialty products, including those for hair loss, shine and thermal protection grew rapidly at 7%, led by sales of oils like argan, macadamia, marula, rose and diamond.
Sales of shampoos and conditioners grew at low single-digits, as women shampooed less often and turned to dry shampoos.
Salon retail product sales grew slightly, primarily due to dry shampoos, haircolor-protection products, new types of hair and scalp masks, cleansing and protein-infusion products.
Visit proconsultants.us or contact Bulsara at cyrus.bulsara@proconsultants.us.
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