Lynne Baker
Lynne The Skin!
I see that two major brands have decided to either pull out of salons and spas, or allow their retail products to be sold online on high street shop websites.
I also see that there is an understandable amount of fury from existing stockists especially just before Christmas.
I wonder if people understand the real reason for these changes?
As a distributor I think I might be able to shed a little light on it from the other side.
On a number of occasions I have been approached by prospective customers who want a personal visit from us to show them the products, and chat about "what we're going to do to support them"
On one notable occasion a young lady wanted us to travel to Newcastle upon Tyne, carry out three different facials, free of charge, on her friends and family, so that she could make up her mind. She was a sole trader, working out of a spare bedroom, with no plans to expand. We respectfully declined her tempting offer, especially when she disclosed that she was looking at many different skincare ranges, and it was by no means certain that we were even frontrunners.
All those reps on the road cost a great deal of money. There's a salary, usually a car, pension, sick pay, annual leave, sales commissions, blah blah blah.
If, for a given sales rep, the return from his/her salon base doesn't cover his/her costs, it makes no sense to keep the reps, or indeed, the salons.
I have a couple of trade customers who spend very little with me, which is completely fine; we value all of them, no matter their monetary value to us. What IS a problem is that these 2 or 3 are the ones who are on the phone for hours, emailing us constantly, making unrealistic demands, always wanting a discount, or freebies, and ranting that we're not doing enough to promote their businesses.
Magnify that up to the scale of these companies which are "abandoning" their salon base, and you can see just how of an issue that could be.
For any business, including yours, the income has to be greater than the costs, otherwise it becomes financially unviable, and that's what I think has happened in these cases.
The cost of servicing tiny little accounts is too great to justify. If the salons are unable to buy enough, for whatever reason, the manufacturers have no option to revisit their business model.
I understand the feelings of betrayal, I really do. To have been utterly loyal to a manufacturer who PROMISED to be on your side, for years and years, and to whose success those salons have contributed in no small way is galling at best, infuriating at worst.
Businesses evolve, including yours. Some of you will have taken a cold, hard look at treatments which no longer bring you enough money, and decide whether to keep them or ditch them. I no longer offer spray tans. Yes, I've lost a few clients who had them semi-regularly, but I refused to lower my prices to compete with the girls who market themselves as "your tanner for a tenner", and it's freed up my time to offer much more profitable treatments.
And that's what these companies have done; they've looked at the parts of the business which cost them too much versus the channels to market which require a lower staff input for a greater return.
I've long since been quite vocal (ahem) about why salon owners expect their staff to be brilliant salespeople when no sales training is provided; it's an essential skill like any other, and you wouldn't expect a therapist to carry out a treatment without being trained to do it, and do it well.
Sadly, this is the net result. The manufacturers just aren't making enough money from the salons channel, so they've had to open up other channels.
It's not personal, greedy, or vindictive, it's a matter of survival.
I'd love to hear your views.
I also see that there is an understandable amount of fury from existing stockists especially just before Christmas.
I wonder if people understand the real reason for these changes?
As a distributor I think I might be able to shed a little light on it from the other side.
On a number of occasions I have been approached by prospective customers who want a personal visit from us to show them the products, and chat about "what we're going to do to support them"
On one notable occasion a young lady wanted us to travel to Newcastle upon Tyne, carry out three different facials, free of charge, on her friends and family, so that she could make up her mind. She was a sole trader, working out of a spare bedroom, with no plans to expand. We respectfully declined her tempting offer, especially when she disclosed that she was looking at many different skincare ranges, and it was by no means certain that we were even frontrunners.
All those reps on the road cost a great deal of money. There's a salary, usually a car, pension, sick pay, annual leave, sales commissions, blah blah blah.
If, for a given sales rep, the return from his/her salon base doesn't cover his/her costs, it makes no sense to keep the reps, or indeed, the salons.
I have a couple of trade customers who spend very little with me, which is completely fine; we value all of them, no matter their monetary value to us. What IS a problem is that these 2 or 3 are the ones who are on the phone for hours, emailing us constantly, making unrealistic demands, always wanting a discount, or freebies, and ranting that we're not doing enough to promote their businesses.
Magnify that up to the scale of these companies which are "abandoning" their salon base, and you can see just how of an issue that could be.
For any business, including yours, the income has to be greater than the costs, otherwise it becomes financially unviable, and that's what I think has happened in these cases.
The cost of servicing tiny little accounts is too great to justify. If the salons are unable to buy enough, for whatever reason, the manufacturers have no option to revisit their business model.
I understand the feelings of betrayal, I really do. To have been utterly loyal to a manufacturer who PROMISED to be on your side, for years and years, and to whose success those salons have contributed in no small way is galling at best, infuriating at worst.
Businesses evolve, including yours. Some of you will have taken a cold, hard look at treatments which no longer bring you enough money, and decide whether to keep them or ditch them. I no longer offer spray tans. Yes, I've lost a few clients who had them semi-regularly, but I refused to lower my prices to compete with the girls who market themselves as "your tanner for a tenner", and it's freed up my time to offer much more profitable treatments.
And that's what these companies have done; they've looked at the parts of the business which cost them too much versus the channels to market which require a lower staff input for a greater return.
I've long since been quite vocal (ahem) about why salon owners expect their staff to be brilliant salespeople when no sales training is provided; it's an essential skill like any other, and you wouldn't expect a therapist to carry out a treatment without being trained to do it, and do it well.
Sadly, this is the net result. The manufacturers just aren't making enough money from the salons channel, so they've had to open up other channels.
It's not personal, greedy, or vindictive, it's a matter of survival.
I'd love to hear your views.
