L'Oreal USA's Salon Centric Division aquires two midwest distributors

L'Oreal announced two acquisitions yesterday. Their Salon Centric division acquired Maly's Midwest and Marshall Salon Services. This is part of a strategic commitment that L'Oreal USA made to further its mission to gain closer proximity to the salon community while continuing to provide them with products, service, training and education. Salon Centric now covers 80% of the US. Maly's Midwest and Marshall Salon Services represent combined sales of $130 million annually.


SalonCentric, headquartered in Clearwater, Florida, is the professional products distribution operation of L’Oréal USA. It was created in 2008 following a series of acquisitions that provided a strong store organization and distributor sales consultant network. SalonCentric is the premier distribution partner to the professional salon community in the US, fully committed to fighting diversion and protecting legitimate channels of distribution. Focused on a multi-line, multi-channel business approach with professional salon brands, including partner brands, and through hundreds of store locations and field sales activities, SalonCentric connects stylists to the finest brands, education and business solutions to ensure their overall success. SalonCentric has over 3300 employees and services salon professionals through its network of around 1150 distributor sales consultants and 700 stores. A multi-branded organization, SalonCentric distributes, among others, the following: Big Sexy Hair, Farouk, Framesi, Kenra, L’Oréal Professionnel, Matrix, Mizani, OPI, Pravana, Pureology, Redken 5th Avenue NYC and TIGI.

The Halaby Group Expands

Hmmm, Where will they go next?
This just in -

Jay Halaby and Associates, LLC, is once again pleased to announce our further expansion, this time into the Southwest Territory, effective December 1, 2009. We welcome industry veterans Art Hernandez and Jay Ohlrich to the Halaby Team.  With Terry Spitzer servicing State Beauty/ RDA, and Joel Tanenbaum servicing BSG we will have the strength and relationships to service all of the markets in the territory, as we do in our other territories.

With this expansion, Jay Halaby and Associates now has national coverage in all 50 states as well as Latin America.

“With one of the largest sales organizations in the industry we are prepared to enter 2010 even more aggressively, with a focus on servicing all customers, large and small. We now have an incredible foundation upon which we can continue to build. This year was spent on increasing our coverage geographically, and building the manpower to support it. This next year will be about using this unified national team to drive sales and increase the business.”

For more information you can contact Jay Halaby at (800) 651-2106

Forever 21 sets it sights on the beauty world

What do you do after ruling the malls with $14 outfits?  You keep those girls shopping in your stores with
$10 beauty products.  Forever 21 lauches their Love and Beauty line this month.  The line will consist of fragrance, cosmetic bags, tweezers, makeup brushes and products for the lips, eyes, face and nails that will retail under $10.

BSG buys Schoeneman Beauty Supply!

Beauty Systems Group (a subsidiary of Sally Beauty Holding) has purchased Schoeneman Beauty Supply. Schoeneman Beauty Supply is a leading full-service distributor of beauty supplies.
Schoeneman is headquartered in Pottsville, Pennsylvania and employs over 500 people, including over 100 direct sales consultants. Sales revenue in fiscal 2009 is projected to be in the range of $86 million to $89 million. The Company owns 43 professional-only beauty supply stores located in Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey, Northern Delaware and West Virginia. The direct sales consultants further extend its distribution reach to Maryland, Washington D.C., and Northern Virginia. Schoeneman carries approximately 10,000 SKU’s with a focus on the mid-to-high end of beauty professional products.

Dale Schoeneman, Chief Executive Officer of Schoeneman Beauty Supply, Inc. stated, “We are excited about Sally’s Beauty System Group LLC acquisition. Not only do the two companies share similar cultures, but the added scale and financial resources of the BSG organization bring enormous benefits to our customers, employees, suppliers and community. The Schoeneman family looks forward to BSG’s management team bringing new opportunities to the business.”

Sally Beauty Holdings paid cash of approximately $61 million.

Kate Beckinsale will not change her hair style

<sub>Your kids will control your life, even your hairstyle.


Published by: Sakshi Saxena</sub>

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London:British hot actress Kate Beckinsale keeps her hair the same as her 10-year-old daughter Lily will get upset if she changes her hairstyle.

The actress has revealed that her daughter Lily with ex-partner Michael Sheen will hate it if she changes her flowing brunette locks.

Beckinsale saysm, "I don't really think about my hair that much. I've got a daughter and if I do anything really radically different, she gets upset."

It's not just Lily who likes the actress Kate the way she is, her director husband Len Wiseman also wants her to stay the same.

Can you get $30,000 for a hair cut?

I can read you mind on this question. No one would ever pay that much for a hair cut.
Well here is a Stylist in London that gets that kind of money. Outrageous? Yes, but how do you up your price? How do you convince a customer that you can be worth more than the cost of typical haircut? It's service, that extra time or product that you spend on your customer. That great cup of coffee for the morning appointment of glass of wine for the evening appointment. This case is extreme, but find something that will bring your service to the next level.

From the New York Daily Post
by Sherryl Connelly

If a haircut costs $32,339.98, how often would you go in for a trim?

British stylist Stuart Phillips claims that regardless of the recession his Covent Garden salon is crowded with clients willing to pay that price. Many of them are the wives of new-money Russian oligarchs, according to London's Daily Mail.

Phillips insisted in the Daily Mail the price was right and fair.

"I am available to them for the whole day and we make sure they have the best of everything.

"I have had to provide everything from security teams and bodyguards, exotic and expensive oils to wash through clients' hair, interpreters, personal chefs, and special scents put through the ventilation system, and even dog walkers to entertain their pets."

Okay, so there's overhead. But Phillips does provide a discount, of sorts. A guest can bring a friend for the cut-rate cost of $13,023.95.

There is a 20-point questionnaire in which clients make clear what kind of treatment they expect. Questions run along the lines of "Would you like your bodyguard to wait behind you or by the front door?" and "Would you like your personal shopper to shop with you or for you?"

Phillips, who won't reveal the names of his clients for security reasons, among others, came to stylistic prominence after the British Academy of Film and Television made him their first official stylist. He was the one who peppered Serena Williams' hair with diamonds worth 163 million for a Wimbledon party last year hosted by business mogul Richard Branson.

"It may seem a lot of money, but I feel that these charges are justified," Phillips insists. "All you need to do is compare other expensive non-essential things. For example, certain hotels in the world can easily cost a few thousands pounds a day.

"If someone has a billion dollars in the bank, to fly their girlfriends or wives over, it is nothing. For them [$32,000] is a drop in the ocean."

For the price, Phillips will close the salon, send a luxury car, deliver an hour-long lifestyle consultation, and usher the client into a relaxation area where they are treated to a shiatsu acupressure head or body massage.

Canapés and cocktails are served throughout, or champagne lunch, or traditional tea and scones. Probably all three are available for that price since a personal chef can also be had as well as an assistant and up to three bodyguards.

Then there's the goody bag composed of luxury hair products that Phillips chooses based on hair type.

"If anything my services have been more in demand," he claims. "I guess in times of uncertainty people like to pamper themselves."

Oh, we do. But the rest of us can't, or at least, not like that.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/2009/08/26/2009-08-26_30000_haircut_at_british_salon_helps_superrich_survive_recession_with_no_hair_ou.html#ixzz0Qm3EKSEu

Putting a pretty face on Retailing

There is a new podcast up from the Salon Insiders. We have Anita Zappacosta as a guest talking about retailing in salons. She gives advice about retail layout and products to bring into the store. She also gives tips about the customer experience inside a salon.
Give it a listen with the site's embedded player on the left.






Written by
Bryan Cantrell

Salon and Barber trade good do for good grade

Quida Rand, a Memphis stylist donated a days work of cutting and styling hair to help school kids who normally would not be able to afford a haircut from her salon. She and a colleague spent a Sunday giving girls the confidence to go back to school with fresh hair styles. The school girls pledged to do well in school in exchange for the new dos. Read more at


What a great way to get involved in your community.



Written by
Bryan Cantrell

Regis in trouble

Regis Corp. (RGS US) had the biggest slump in Russell 2000 Index, sliding 21 percent to $13.47. The owner of Supercuts and Cost Cutters hair salons said its revenue in the fourth-quarter declined 2.5 percent to $625 million and it's offering stock and convertible notes to repay debt.

Posted by
Bryan Cantrell

Salon Insiders Podcast

It's up and working! Please give our newest addition to the Salon Insiders blog a listen. There is a podcast player now on our blog in the upper left side. We will try to have new episodes up regularly. The podcast will bring you insightful information about the beauty industry along with our commentary. If you like the podcast you can subscribe to it through itunes.




Written by
Bryan Cantrell