Read More - Consumer Growth Partners

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May 12. 2014
1
HoMEwoRLn BusrNEss
Personal Care &Wellness
HSN Sees Growth Potential
In Beauty Tool Segment
BY MIKE DUFF
Senior Editor
ST. PETERSBURG, FL- When it
comes to health and personal
care devices, HSN picks
its spots but sees great
growth possibilities in
the category. HSN wants
to make a statement
in health and personal
care, but rather than a
comprehensive account,
the retailer has been selective to
establish an assortment that satisfies
customer needs that might not be
addressed effectively elsewhere.
The beauty tools operation, for
example, is "a huge category for us at
HSN," said Erica Evans, the retailer's
beauty buyer. "We are able to explain
and demonstrate tools in a way that
others retailers are unable to do."
She said that facial tools and hair
removal are particular destinations
for personal care appliances within
the context of the larger beauty
department. Key drivers of that
business are beauty tools, makeup and
skincare, she added.
HSN expectations for the beauty
tools segment are high, Evans said,
noting that it "will continue to grow
at a rapid pace. HSN is continually
searching for the newest and
most innovative products for our
consumers."
As with segments such as vacuums
and cookware, beauty tools is one that
benefits appreciably from the
kind of demonstration that is
HSN's specialty, she said.
"Beauty tools need
explanation and
demonstration for
consumers to feel
comfortable enough to
\
purchase," Evans said. "We
are able to do this on TV as well as
online."
HSN balances its business in
health and beauty devices, offering
recognized labels but distinguishing
its presentation with key proprietary
brands.
On February 26, Beverly Hills-based
hair stylist Jose Eber debuted a new,
namesake line of styling tools in an
HSN "Beauty: Report" broadcast. The
Eber styling tool line sells for $119
to $169 and is complemented by a
collection of consumables, including
shampoo and hair spray, at prices
fro~ $17.50 to $22. Both tools and
consumables are exclusive to HSN and
Eber's salons around the country.
In addition to exclusive brands,
HSN frequently works closely with
suppliers to develop product lines it
can launch and feature, providing
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educate consumers on
beauty tool usage such
as Epilady's epilators.
RIGHT: Exclusive
launches include
stylist Jose Eber's
new beauty tool line.
further assortment differentiation.
In personal car e, VIOlife is one such
case. HSN has worked hand in hand
with VIOlife's management to develop
the brand, which has a significant
presence on the retailer's site. From its
origins in UV sanitizing, through the
development of its fashion-oriented
Slim Sonic oral care assortment, to a
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recent brand expansion into personal
home environment items, HSN
has worked with VIOlife to cut out
a niche in portable personal care
products.
"With VIOlife, we share trend
information- color, patterns, other
direction," said Sandy Conrad, svp/
merchandising, electronics and
home solutions. "They rolled the new
products and designs out to HSN first."
Initial rollouts can include
temporary exclusives on VIOlife
products.
Jonathan Pinsky, VIOlife CEO, said
HSN is "a great place to introduce
innovation and to introduce products
that need more than space on a shelf
to sell."
Pinsky said that HSN had provided
VIOlife with an admirable level of
support. "In our experience, they
truly are partner in this mutual
relationship, not us selling one way to
a retailer who has to figure out how to
get it to the consumers," he related.
HSN, Pinsky added, has supported
VIOlife's drive to innovate in personal
care products that now include mini
humidifiers that consumers can
take to the office and on the road.
The partnership that has developed
provides both parties with support
continued on page 83
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"The HSN Arcade is
designed to engage
consumers. For the
Today's Special (TS),
there is a jigsaw
puzzle game that when
completed shows the
TS product. The first
customer to complete
the puzzle gets the
special as a giveaway.
More t ime on the site
leads to conversion ."
Id
irad,
svp/merchandising.
electronics & home solutions
HSN & Personal Care
continued.from page 24
when they need it in the product
conception and development process,
Pinsky said.
"It has been a two-way street in every
way," he said. "This has been borne
out in product requests, when they've
helped us develop things, and, when
they needed to add fashion or have a
great product idea. In that case, when
they need items enhanced, we can just
step up to the plate."
In the product introduction process,
HSN not only offers an opportunity
to present product effectively but also
to determine how much investment a
product merits.
"Nobody has the ability to showcase
product like HSN," Pinsky said. "Th e
challenge is, can we maximize the
opportunity in front of us? HSN is a
great platform t o start with. Ifwe have
just two or three thousand of a product
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and hit with an audience, it's good for
us and shows other retailers that it's
worth it to invest in the product. And
similarly, HSN is great because, if an
item is not going to be a home run,
we'll find out without having had to
invest in thousands of the product."
Pinsky said, however, the HSN line
provides product intelligence as well by
generating feedback from consumers
that prompt beneficial adaptation.
VIOlife is part of an especially
entwined alliance between HSN and a
supplier, but the company has driven
key categories with more traditional
vendor relationships that have evolved
into important partnerships, as is the
case with Epilady in hair removal.
Amir Abileah, vp ofEpilady noted
that his company has the advantage of
a "very demonstrable" product line that
suits broadcast.
"You need to explain how to use
the product a couple of times," he
said. "That happens eight or nine or
10 minutes into a show for us. Then
people start to really respond. HSN has
a show of13or14 minutes, and that's
worth gold."
On the flip side, Epilady is a product
line with a recognized name that can
get consumer attention and a good
story, one that tells about how to get a
satisfactory result from a product that
can seem scary to the unfamiliar, and
that can set the stage for a successful
promotion. Those factors put Epilady
in a favorable position to succeed with
HSN, he said.
"HSN seems to be a fit for us,"
Abileah said. "We're very happy with
the relationship. They take good care of
their suppliers, they understand that we
need to m ake money just as they need
to make money, and their customer
needs to be happy, and, the way they do
things, its a win-win-win." D
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Violife has worked with HSN on
product introductions along with
design and consumer feedback.
·I'
C1rSON
HOMEWORLD BUSINESS
dyson;
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I May 12, 2014 I
83
Floor care vendors such
as Dyson and iRobot have
teamed with HSN to build
brand awareness and
develop product demos on
HSN's digital platforms.
IR080T
iRobat·
HSN & Floor Care
continued.from page 20
and task-specific products, such as
new generation, dedicated hard floor
vacuums.
Sandy Conrad, svp/merchandising,
electronics and home solutions, said
HSN looks to showcase innovation and
then establish a product presentation
that permits customers to purchase
based on how its application best suits
them, as is t he case with another hfand
HSN feat ures.
"We have the ability to tell the story
about unique, new, innovation," Conrad
said. "We are broadening our assortment with key partners. You want iRobot? You should be able to get several
models. Our approach is to develop a
good/better/best assortment."
Still, in the floor car e category, HSN
works to offer consumers a compelling
tale whether or not a product has an
array of active functions to demonstrate, as is in the case of a robotic vacuum. In stick goods, for example, HSN
tries to differentiate its assort ment
by combining value elements, including unique product bundles, with
trending factors such as unique hues
or fashionable forms.
"Products have to have a new twist, a
unique differentiation, a different fashion or color statement." Conrad said.
Still, it is vendors who offer feature-focused products who tend to be
most enthusiastic about HSN-style
video demonstration, citing it is a convincing way to make a case for product
purchase at a time when the consumer
may be ready to buy.
Bissell, for example, initially released
its Symphony Vacuum and Steam Mop
on HSN to provide shoppers with an
understanding of what it is meant to
do: Clean up everyday messes quickly
and efficiently. The Symphony is lightweight, relatively compact and effective
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in cleanmg up atter spilled cereal and
scattered dog food, making the product
ideal for new parents and pet owners.
In discussing the Symphony product
launch, Anda Allison, senior brand
manager, hard surfaces, at Bissell, said
Symphony, "is a feature rich product
that really calls for demonstration.
HSN does a great job with demos.
We're selling consumers on what we
have built into the product and educating them on it. The HSN introduction
is complementary to the launch in
brick and mortar as it is more education we offer." m