. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beauty - Expert Panel “
Is it too early to start preparing forChristmas?
”
Audrey Hefferan
OPI Educator Lydia Sarfati
Founder & CEO of Repêchage
Liz McKeon
Beauty business expert
“Christmas only lasts for a few weeks, so it’s important to get it right”
“Inmy opinion it’s never too early to start preparing for Christmas. Christmas comes along so fast it’smuch better to be well prepared. Have all your retail gift sets and stock ordered well in advance. A lot of these sell out fast and you don’t want to be disappointed when you go to order themand they are sold out.
“Retailing items at Christmas is great to boost your profitmargins. Have your retail on show where everybody can see them. Also by the till is a good place to advertise your products as people tend to ‘pick themup’ when paying.
“Now is the time to train your therapist in additional treatments you would like to offer as a Christmas special. Have a staff meeting and discuss what you are going to offer for the party season. Have all staff clear of what is on offer andmake sure everybody is up to speed with the treatments. Offer a ‘Christmas Party Special’, let your clients come in and have tan,make-up,mani and pedi at a reduced package price. You can customise your packages to suit everybody.
“Christmas only lasts for a few weeks, so it’s important to get it right. Prepare, prepare, prepare!”
“It is better to be prepared for the holiday season and have a plan of action”
“Word of mouth is a powerful tool and advertising is also a great way to bring attention to your salon or Spa. Try advertising in the sports section of your local newspaper, for example, a few weeks before the holidays. This will grab the attention of hapless husbands or boyfriends, after all what better holiday gift than skin care products or services? Allow them to purchase a gift certificate for their loved-ones with as little effort as possible on your website or in the Spa.
“Have custom-made certificates for the holiday season printed on silver or red cardstock and place them on a shelf with a beautiful display behind the register where your clients can see them. You could also offer to wrap the certificate in a beautiful box, after all it is a gift and the receiver should be excited to open it!
“Another great way of marketing gift certificates is by offering a free gift with purchase. For example:
With the purchase of a €100 gift certificate receive a free gift set! The free gift should be around 10% of what the client is spending.”
Virginie Claire Distributor of Phyt’s Organic Skincare
“We plan for Christmas in May and have our gift packaging ordered and ready in June” “When it comes to Christmas and retailing, you have to be ready and it’s never too early to prepare.
“Working in distribution of a skin care product, I have seen how important it is to plan ahead. Our monthly promotions have to be prepared six months in advance so our clients know what offers are coming, and they can do calculations for costs and stock control.
“We plan for Christmas in May and have our gift packaging ordered and ready in June. If it’s left too late, companies won’t have the demand that we need! From there, the promotion is released in September so again, clients can plan ahead for our release date of the Christmas Boxes in mid-October. It’s almost like fashion, always thinking of next year’s seasons and plan, plan, planning ahead!”
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“Spending a little time developing your strategy can deliver better sales results”
“Christmas is the peak services and retail period of the year and preparation must start now. There’s lots of work to do if you want to get the best sales results for your salon at Christmas. First and foremost is to do some business planning. The key issue is timing. The date for Christmas does not change so plan backwards:
•What are the peak number of clients, retail orders and gift vouchers that you can handle each day?
• Do you have adequate staff in place and fully trained?
• How much retail stock will you need on hand?
•What about pre-Christmas events, promotions and sales?
• Do you have Christmas gift cards, gift wrapping materials and space?
•What is your plan to maximise gift voucher sales and to ensure vouchers are redeemed in January / February?
“There are two guarantees: Christmas will happen, it is the dominant retail period, and people will still spend on gifts for the holiday season, so be ready to maximise all opportunities.
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