Magazine for the professional nail industry.
Issue link: http://nailsmag.epubxp.com/i/753141
i n d u s t ry s tat i s t i c s 34 | NAILS MAGAZINE | 2016-2017 THE BIG BOOK I've said it many times before, but I have a love-hate relationship with the annual Big Book. Not only is it a lot of work because it's an extra issue, it's a lot of pressure. We know how salon owners, nail technicians, industry researchers, manufacturers, distributors, associations, and lots of other interested parties use this data, so it's critical to get right. I was at a meeting recently where the marketing director of a major product company had our Big Book heavily tabbed with Post-It notes and was referencing it frequently in her marketing plan. When I see something like that, or I hear from a nail technician who's thinking about opening her own salon and wants to know how much commission to pay her technicians, I want to provide the absolute best information possible so both of those professionals can make data-driven decisions. So not only does everything have to add up (literally), we want to provide context for the information. It's interesting to note, for example, that 88% of you buy your nail supplies from a full- service professional-only dealer, but what makes that information useful in addition to interesting is the fact that that number has remained flat while other outlets — like online distributors — have grown. It will come as no surprise to most of you that the roller- coaster that is social media shows no sign of calming down. A social media platform that two years ago was indispensable to your business might this year be outright useless. Keeping up with those changes is hard for salon professionals, on top of the challenges of demanding clients (and in some cases, a dwindling number of clients), technical skills, business regulations, staffing issues, taxes, and juggling a family and personal life. I feel for you and want to provide you with resources that help, that reassure, that verify. Thank all of you who responded to our request to answer the often personal questions on our annual survey. I enjoy seeing your responses in the "fill in the blank" sections especially. Your responses are the basis of all this vital industry data. If there is any way I can return the favor to you by responding to YOUR questions during the year, write to me directly at Cyndy.Drummey@bobit.com. Working directly with our readers is definitely the "love" part of my love-hate relationship with this issue. — Cyndy Drummey, group publisher/NAILS METHODOLOGY How do we get this data? > We did an online survey of our NAILS readership, online users, and social followers. > We surveyed the readers of VietSALON, our Vietnamese language publication for salon professionals. > We conducted monthly polls of online users of NailsMag.com. > We gathered the wisdom of our NAILS team, who travel regularly visiting salons and seeing nail technicians in their natural habitats. > We pulled third-party data, including from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Census Bureau, the state boards of cosmetology, business license databases, and others. $9 billion $8 billion $8.51 $8.53 $8.54 WHAT IS SPENT ON NAIL SERVICES? 2014 2015 2016 We thank the team at OPI for their devotion to the Big Book. Although OPI does not participate in the survey or the analysis, it is their underwriting of this project that allows us to do such deep research and present it in such an expansive way. We appreciate their support and we thank them for their vision. These are the only statistics of their kind in the professional nail industry and we salute our long partnership with OPI in maintaining this critical data. We first published this report in 1990 (under the name the NAILS Fact Book) and we celebrate the ways that the industry has changed and the ways it is enduringly, wonderfully the same. THANKS TO HOW MUCH DOES IT MATTER TO YOU IF PROFESSIONAL NAIL PRODUCTS ARE SOLD EXCLUSIVELY TO PROFESSIONALS AND NOT THE GENERAL PUBLIC?* It matters a lot. I think professional brands should sell only to nail professionals. 81% When manufacturers sell their products at consumer outlets, it hurts my business because the products aren't considered "special." 41% I only buy products from companies that I know are committed to nail professionals. 32% It bothers me a LOT. Our business is so competitive and we need every advantage we can get, including having exclusive products. 31% It makes me very mad when I see so-called professional brands in drugstores and other stores. 29% My services are professional and I offer a unique service, so it doesn't bother me if my clients can get the products themselves. They still can't do nails like I can. 20% There are so many places to get "professional" nail products that it doesn't matter that much. 5% I don't think it matters that much. 4% It doesn't matter to me at all where products are sold. 3% CREATING THE BIG BOOK IS [MOSTLY] A LABOR OF LOVE