BEAUTY SHOPS: Sitting pretty as customers want to look good
By Tessa Wong and Jessica Lim
HEARTLAND beauty retailers are experiencing an uptick in business, as consumers look to shave a few dollars off their favourite lipstick and moisturiser.
Retail chains selling cosmetics, skin- care items, toiletries and perfumes such as Pink Beauty and Venus Beauty have been enjoying 10 per cent more sales year-on-year since September.
These shops sell products similar to those in department stores - brands such as Clarins, SK-II and Ralph Lauren - but at discounts of up to 30 per cent.
Prices are good because these chains buy their stock in bulk from importers, said Mr Michael Sng, owner of the Pink Beauty chain, which has stores in Ang Mo Kio and Toa Payoh.
It also helps that such shops, being located out in heartland town centres or suburban malls, pay less in rent.
That these shops are more than surviving shows that consumers are looking for value even as they stick to buying their usual bath and beauty essentials.
'People are being more price-sensitive now and looking for value buys,' said Ms Cathy Chan, the managing director of another retail chain, Beaute Spring.
To ensure it keeps its customers coming back, Beaute Spring, which has seven outlets, has given out bigger discounts this year.
As a result of the bigger price cuts, its sales in the last few weeks have held steady.
In contrast, checks with eight make- up and skin-care counters in Orchard Road department stores revealed that sales had mostly dipped by about 10 per cent last month; one counter has had its takings halved.
One shopper these higher-end stores have lost is church worker Edna Low, 49.
She used to buy her Clinique and L'Oreal products from both department stores and heartland beauty retailers. However, she now shops at the latter exclusively.
She reckons she will save 20 per cent on her purchases, saying: 'I'm just trying to save more money now.'
This article was first published in The Straits Times on November 26, 2008.
