After taking a beating with the recession in 2009, New Zealand’s hairdressing and beauty service industry has been on the up and up ever since. In 2011, hair care value sales increased by 4 per cent, in line with growth experienced the year before. While we’re yet to see results for the past 12 months, the hair care market in NZ is set to continue its uphill climb with the launch of innovative new product developments and a spate of exciting hair trends.
No matter what the economy is doing or how one’s financial situation is sitting, there is nothing like the feeling of being well groomed,” says John Frieda senior brand manager Vanessa Lewis. Personal care doesn’t suffer when times are tough, we may visit the salon less often but we can use a lot of home treatments and save that way, sparing our visits to the salon for an excellent cut.”
beautydirectory sat down with a number of hair care brands to discover how the salon industry is faring and what’s driving the NZ hair market in 2013.
Salon only
The salon business in New Zealand is constantly growing. The last 10 years has seen the number of outlets in the hairdressing and beauty services industry increase from around 3,000 to 3,900. Despite statistics by Euromonitor showing store-based retailing continues to dominate value sales in beauty and personal care, there continues to be a place for professional cuts, colours and salon-only products on the NZ market.
People are becoming increasingly quality conscious rather than price conscious as the past few years have resulted in untold permanent colour DIY disasters,” says Goldwell/KMS California New Zealand brand manager Sarah Birnie. Salon styling products are seeing a resurgence due to hair being ‘styled’ again, from a simple bun to the beautiful coiffed waves you see on the streets. These looks all require support for effect and longevity, which women and men are very conscious of achieving.”
Green queens
A major trend driving growth within hair care is products focusing on natural ingredients and nutrients. The need for nature-inspired and ‘green’ products has been increasing in popularity for a number of years, especially in NZ. We have seen an increase of market demand for products that are ‘free of’, which has been driven by consumer awareness and escalated skin sensitivity and allergies within our country,” says Bernie. She also notes that while these aspects are important to customers, the need for products that perform is still paramount.”
Made4Baby founder Rebecca McLeod adds that the growth of the natural hair care market can be found across all businesses: The large companies are following the lead of the pioneers in hair care and are removing sulphates from their products. Customers are demanding natural products that actually work… there is definitely a swing towards less harsh ingredients.”
Colour
With new innovations in home hair products including the top of the range John Frieda’s Precision Foam colour and Schwarzkopf’s Ultimate Colour, which is the first permanent multi-usage foam, colour is having its time in the spotlight. More consumers are trying at home colouring; the category is growing,” confirms Fuse account executive Sarndra Wenden, the PR company responsible for Schwarzkopf.
While at-home colouring is experiencing growth, so are styling products used to help maintain the salon colour in between visits. Hair colour itself is huge at the moment, and not just for those who want to cover greys - everyone can easily colour their hair at home to update their look affordably without expensive salon visits,” says Lewis. Speciality products we can expect to see more of are styling and shampoo/conditioning products which are specifically developed for those with coloured hair.”
Birnie agrees, adding, Hair colour has always been driven by fashion, but now more than ever, colour is a focus. While consumers realise they will never be able to get that beautiful glossy salon colour at home, they are now seeing the need to protect their salon masterpiece with their take home care.”
Multi-functional products
Another trend that has recently emerged is multi-functional products, driven by the popularity of hair oils. A strong trend is oil - it is nourishing, repairs and reduces hair breakage,” says Wenden. Birnie agrees that multi-purpose products are going to garner more popularity in the near future. Driven by the change in economy, multi-purpose products have had a huge surge. Oils and styling products that have many uses have increased with penny conscious customers looking for a one-stop shop to service all their needs. Products such as Goldwell Elixir can be used on wet and dry hair to aid the drying process, smooth, add shine, detangle, protect against heat and, when added to your regular Goldwell treatment, boosts conditioning effects,” says Birnie.
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