We Are All in Business

Image by grahamc99 via Flickr

You may be running your own one-woman-man-and-a-dog band or heading up the UK arm of a global enterprise or part of a team anywhere in the huge range of companies working in our industry.

We are in all business and fortunately it is the beauty business. Fortunately, because it is surviving the financial storms so well but the underlying pressure of uncertainty is a common thread we all share.

Our view is to keep pushing ahead; keep one eye on the financial weather but keep the focus facing forwards and the result has been an increase in business.

I have had the same conversation with many people now and heard so many positive comments which themselves are a reflection of the whole positive nature of the beauty business:
“I can’t bear to read the papers or hear the news because it is just too depressing, we just have to keep our heads up and keep powering on.”
“At times you wonder if it’s all worthwhile but then something good happens and you realise that it is.”
“Human nature is stronger than the economy and by sheer determination and vision we will succeed.”

If you think about it beauty is about feeling good, looking good, building confidence and this attribute is deep within the DNA of the people driving the industry which is key to why we do succeed and that along with products that fulfil the consumers’ needs makes for a very exciting combination!

What motivated me to write this?
Driving in this morning Radio 4 reported on Italy’s bond rates exceeding the critical 7% figure; investors are moving out of the safe currency countries such as Austria and Robert Peston mentioned ‘meltdown’. The traffic was horrendous, even though of course I was also ‘the traffic’ and for the briefest of seconds a wave of despair entered my brain.

So is this my own personal counselling session? Of course not but this morning inspired me to put pen to paper (well fingers to keyboard) and express the overall and overwhelming positive vibe we pick up on in our everyday dealings at every level in the beauty business and which inspire my team to keep pushing forwards. There are also some other key statistical indicators.

Ad revenues are up year on year across every beauty sector.

The number of beauty editorial product mentions is up, overall.

Fragrance column centimetres will continue to increase in 2012 and we predict an increase in ad spend around celebrity brands.

There are some downs. 39% less new product launches but that can help the consumer who is tending to stay with their tried and tested favourites, and after all it is the consumer who is the litmus test of our success, and success is what the beauty industry delivers.