The World of Cosmetics Expands...Yet Again

Shopping for cosmetics and skin care products has never been easy for women. We can flip through countless Mary Kay and Avon catalogs, brave the mall or wander the aisles of Target--all in search of the right look. But any way you slice it, there are just far too many choices out there. I mean, have you been to Sephora lately? I get dizzy the minute I step inside. It's lip gloss overload.

Well, things are about to get much busier. CVS Caremark Corp. recently announced its plans to join the high-end beauty store concept this year. "Beauty 360" (do you think it's meant to reference the vertigo you'll feel upon entering the store?) will allegedly carry 32 lines of skin care, cosmetics and fragrances. Thirty-two lines? There are already far too many lines available as it is! How will we ever know what to buy with all of these purchases?  I swear, soon, I'll look like an over-made-up clown.

According to Reuters, Beauty 360 stores will open next to existing CVS locations, first on the East Coast and then over on the West Coast. When asked why (for the love of god why??) the company, long known for its health focus, would open a beauty concept store, CVS spokeswoman Eileen Howard Dunn had this to say, "Beauty has always been a core part of our front-of-store offering, so this is the next evolution."

Okay, Eileen, I'm with you there. And I'm not too proud to say that I've purchased Maybelline mascara from a CVS store. Mascara is one thing, but a freestanding retail chain filled with more makeup and skin care? Is this really what the world needs?

Perhaps it is.

While I couldn't uncover any identifiable data on the need for more cosmetics stores, I'm sure CVS has thoroughly done their research. I'm just ready for a new retail concept. Maybe a sarong retail chain? 

What are your thoughts on yet another option for purchasing cosmetics? Leave your comments here.

--Heather Strang

Comments

[Keith Anderson]

CVS (and their friends to the north at Shoppers Drug Mart) have been winning in beauty for a long time. They know their shoppers exceedingly well--what categories matter to them, what drives value (price/quality), and how they prefer to shop--and both retailers have managed their assortment and shopping experience accordingly.

Between the high-end dept stores, Sephora, and these new formats from CVS and Shoppers (Google "Murale" for more on their new format), retailers are catering to shoppers across the price/value scale and in convenience- & destination-oriented formats.