Lamaur bin10se Hair Styling Range Marks Entry Into Teen Market - CEO Pesin
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
Lamaur bin10se hair care, launching in January 2001, will target a much younger, trendier audience than the company's existing Willow Lake and Style ranges, CEO Lawrence Pesin said at the National Chain Drug Stores Marketplace Convention, held June 25-28 in New Orleans.
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Lamaur bin10se hair care, launching in January 2001, will target a much younger, trendier audience than the company's existing Willow Lake and Style ranges, CEO Lawrence Pesin said at the National Chain Drug Stores Marketplace Convention, held June 25-28 in New Orleans. The 13-SKU line of shampoos, conditioners and styling aids is expected to generate $20 mil. during the first half of the launch year, the company predicted. While the brand name (pronounced "be intense") and product labels are not easy to read, the concept has been consumer tested and incorporated into Lamaur's marketing strategy, Pesin explained. "The customer we are reaching for in the focus groups indicated they have no trouble interpreting this kind of thing," the exec noted. "This customer, which we have coined a CEFF, probably spends more money on beauty and styling aids than they do on food because they are Cutting Edge Fashion Fanatics." "Hair is fashion to them," Pesin said of its new target group. The bin10se debut marks the first new line to launch under the direction of Pesin, who took Lamaur's helm at the beginning of the year (1 (Also see "Lamaur" - HBW Insight, 14 Feb, 2000.)). The styling line is Pesin's latest project; the exec already revamped the Willow Lake, Style and Salon Style brands since coming on board. Distribution also has been expanded to include Mexico, Europe and Latin America, in addition to the existing U.S. and Canadian markets. With bin10se, Lamaur will target males and females ages 14 to 28, placing the heaviest emphasis on 16 to 25 year-olds. The launch will be backed by $2 mil. in advertising for the spring, more than the company has spent on any brand since the debut of Willow Lake in 1997, Pesin noted. Ads will break in February books such as Seventeen, Fitness, Maxim, GQ and Rolling Stone and are expected to reach 47% of the firm's target group, Lamaur noted. Since the bin10se target group spends more time online than it does watching TV, according to the company, Lamaur will include a "substantial spend" on Internet marketing. The Minneapolis company also plans to launch a namesake product information Web site, which will contain links to retailers carrying the product, as well as links to other beauty sites. "We have taken our salon heritage from an R&D standpoint and incorporated it into this range," Pesin said. Products in the line include Hair Stuff, a daily shampoo and Good Stuff, a daily conditioner. Stripper is an intensive shampoo, intended to be used weekly "to remove any of the buildup, gunk [and] resins that occur through the use of all the styling products." Reboot extreme conditioner also is intended for weekly use after the shampoo. Four styling gels contain translucent microcapsules that break when released to deliver vitamins, aloe, jojoba and sunscreen to the hair. Gel strength ranges from Softwear for light hold, to Dominant Control, Hyper Control and Extreme Control for the stiffest hold. Several niche styling products, packaged in tubes and tins, round out the bin10se line. One product, reminiscent of the company's salon heritage, is called Creme Gelee, a mix of cream and gel consistent with that hair stylists mix in salons, Lamaur said. Curl Control Micro-Emulsion straightening balm, HT hair wax, the more malleable HT Spun Wax and Amplifying Potion jelly round out the bin10se line. Products will be line-priced at about $6.99, a price point much higher than Lamaur's existing lineup. Willow Lake products retail for around $3.79 while the value-brand Style can sell for as low as $.99. "This is an audience we have never reached before," Pesin said, explaining pricing strategy. Separately, under the Willow Lake brand, Lamaur is introducing Tea Tree Oil & Sage shampoo, launching now. An additional Green Tea, Aloe & Vitamin E Shampoo and Conditioner will debut in the fall. "Tea Tree and Green Tea are a major force in the professional end," Pesin commented. The products retail for about $3.79. Targeted print advertising in Allure, People and Fitness will back the products. Willow Lake product samples can be found in hotels including Marriot, Ramada and Holiday Inn. |