Spa Canada Magazine

A wake-up Call for the industry

ESI’S MONTREAL SHOW

By Jim Carr

Exhibitors and spa owners at ESI’s Montreal Show were quick to point out that 2009 has been a painful wake-up call for just about everyone.

And 2010? Predictions ranged from “a year of consolidation” to a year of modest growth.

Kathleen Piché, president of Distribution Kathleen and president of Esthetique Spa International’s Montreal Show, is looking for things to pick up after Christmas. The past 12 months, she says, made a lot of people sit up and take a hard look at their operations.

“For spas and salons, it’s a time to return to core values … going back to the first time they opened their doors and why they decided to make esthetics their life career.

“Above all, they need to think about what they can do to make themselves different and stand out.” In any economic downturn, she adds, this is really important because clients can always find something similar elsewhere – unless you make your spa or salon a place where they feel like guests rather than clients.

“It makes a big difference”.

If customers feel they’re guests, there’s a good chance they’ll come more frequently because they’re getting a unique experience. In the midst of a recession, they may only come a couple times a month, but they’ll still come.

Even in good times, she says, it’s important that spas and salons think what they can do to make themselves different.

Marie-Hélène, president of  Léger et Cie Inc., was more upbeat. “We didn’t incease business in 2009 but we didn’t lose any business either.”

The secret? Having a strong client base and helping your clients weather the recession with certain types of marketing and promotion.

“If you have a personal relationship with your clients, they won’t stop buying from you – even in a recession. Your clients might stop going to the movies or the restaurant but they won’t stop using your product.”

She believes there’s always a way to go through a recession without being hurt, adding that at one point in the current recession, people became frightened by all the bad news and stopped buying. But once they saw it really wasn’t affecting a lot of people, they started buying again – “as if nothing had happened.

“Right now the market is the way it was before – back to normal.”

Aryan-A Mehran, president of Dr. Mehran Produits de Soins, also thinks the coming year will be better – for Dr. Mehran and the spas and salons it serves.

“It’s been a rocky road for many spas and salons. Nothing worked as it usually does … we used to be able to plan ahead … but when everything suddenly turns upside down, you have to be able to adjust to various scenarios.

“Our policy is to bring top-quality products at reasonable prices to our professionals. For 2010, we definitely look for an increase in our share of the market in Canada and the U.S.”

In addition, Dr. Mehran has been positioning itself to take advantage of opportunities in the international market place and is very positive about that’s happening globally, especially in Asia.

“If one of these scenarios work, it will be extremely significant.”

For Mehran, ESI’s shows are very important. He sees them as “a great occasion to meet people, especially those we talk to on the phone over the course of the year … people we don’t normally see on a regular basis.”

Ronald Jean, managing director of Markham-based Brueckner Group Asia Corp., feels 2010 will be a year of consolidation in the industry. “There are many places that really shouldn’t be in the business as well as many who do a dynamite job and who deserve to grow.”

The people who really deliver core values were still busy and in demand, he says. The discerning customer will go where they get the best value and will be less frivolous. They’re prepared to pay a lot more but they also want the proper value.

In this particular market, you have to make sure your vision statement is clear and that your staff recognize their contribution to the success of your spa. He notes that 85% of consumers buy products on the recommendations of their therapists. If you want to know why sales are low at your spa, he adds, it’s probably because there were no therapist recommendations.

“Your best tool, the trained therapist, is not fulfilling the obligations of her job – to communicate the proper skin care requirements for the well-being of the guest.”

For therapists, it also means having the knowledge and know-how to apply and express it in dealing with clients.

“You have to make it your own. When you do, you’ll be able to deal with the concerns of your clients in a meaningful way. You’re not there to do your service for an hour but to address your client’s needs. We need to do it right.”

Amir Hussein, CEO of Europe Cosmetiques Inc., noticed that attendees at this year’s show were looking for quality products and were more focused on education.

Amir thinks the recession is fading and that people are now beginning to spend. “That wasn’t happening a few months ago but now people are starting to feel a bit more secure and even looking at expansion in some cases. Our sales have actually improved since summer.”

The only sector that’s still down is capital equipment but he expects that to slowly improve throughout 2010.

I reached Amir and his wife, Manon, as they were getting ready to leave for Asia, where they will be attending seminars and shows. They attend a number of spa events around the world, learning and bringing what they learn to teach others. These include medical as well as esthetic seminars to get a peek at what’s coming up in the industry.

Talking about the Montreal Show, Amir noted that since Bernard Renaud had taken over as promoter, “it’s just boomed. He listens and pays attention to the trends and the needs of the market and expands on that.”

The U.S. market needs an organizer like Bernard, he says, to come in and listen to the needs of the show and “take back the focus on education because that aspect has been lost in recent years and is very much needed”.

ESI, in fact, will be expanding into the U.S. market in 2010 with the Las Vegas Show in June.

His wife, Manon Pilon, focuses on education in their travels and if often invited to speak at spa shows and educational seminars on how to create a medical spa. She is also the author of two books, an educator and a frequent speaker at international shows. That includes medical spa shows, where 80% of attendees are physicians – plastic surgeons, dermatoligists and other medical professionals.

She can see the emergence of skin care specialists, operating at a higher level of understanding about the skin and beyond. “The skin is bit just the iceberg of our bodies but interacts with our organs.”

The evolution of medical esthetics, she says, is an opportunity for estheticians to make a difference in peoples’ lives. About 95% of skin care is pretty much all the same. “With the advent of medical esthetics, we have an opportunity to add the other 5%.”

She believes estheticians can reach new levels of professionalism by working together with medical practitioners in esthetics as well as preventative medicine. “We have a place to really help determine the root cause of skin problems.”

Manon also sees esthetics evolving to two or even three distinct levels – the average esthetician who does a little bit of everything – pedicures, manicures, facials and waxing – and the esthetician who specializes in skin and works with dermatologists.

“We all have our place.”