Exclusivity Driving Growth in Mass Beauty

Change was in the air at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores’ annual meeting, held April 27 to April 30 at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Fla. Historically, the pharmacy accounts for about 70 percent of most drug chains’ revenue. But escalating fees for prescription drugs — NACDS reports that DIR [direct and indirect remuneration] fees have increased 47,000 percent from 2010 to 2017 — has cut into the profit margins of many retailers and put pressure on the front end of the store to be more productive, particularly on beauty, which constitutes the most profitable section of most mass retailers. “Beauty is an important category,” said Stefano Curti, global president of Markwins. “Customers tell us it’s the most profitable part of the business. “The biggest challenge is the fight for market share,” he continued, “and inventing something new that transcends product.” “The trade continues to be highly engaged with beauty, as it drives traffic to the stores and online platforms,” agreed Serge Jureidini, chief marketing officer of Revlon Inc. “Three things resonated as a big focus this year — personalization, clean beauty and the rapid growth of e-commerce.” Indeed, for the last year, mass retailers have been going head to head, unleashing several

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