Thursday, September 09, 1999
New hair line from P&G
Physique comes with beauty salon prices
BY RANDY TUCKER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Procter & Gamble Co. worked the mass market hair-care industry into a lather Wednesday, announcing the launch of a new line of products the company says delivermuch more than clean hair.
But you'll have to spend at least twice as much as you did on your old bottle of shampoo to enjoy the added benefits of Physique, P&G's line of products with beauty salon prices.
The 24-product line, which ranges in price from $7 to $10 a bottle, represents P&G's first new hair-care launch in more than 10 years.
The planned rollout of Physique shampoos, conditioners and other products in January is consistent with P&G's focus on introducing more premium-priced brands to boost sales and profits.
In addition to new products, the Cincinnati packaged-goods giant has pursued top-line growth with the recent acquisitions.
They include the purchase of Recovery Engineering Inc. in Minneapolis, which sells high-end household water-pu rification systems, and Iams Co. of suburban Dayton, Ohio, which sells premium-priced pet food.
But some analysts question whether consumers will be willing to pay top dollar for hair-care products such as Physique that are sold in supermarkets and drugstores.
“It's going to be real interesting to see what the demand looks like for that type of product,” said Lyle Schonberger, an analyst who follows P&G for Olde Discount Corp. in Detroit. “Obviously, the price point is something that's going to make a few people bristle.”
Even low-end Physique products are double the price of the leading mass market shampoo, Pantene, another P&G product with a base price of $3.50 for a 13-ounce bottle.
Jane Wildman, general manager for Physique worldwide, said she's confident consumers will be willing to spend a few extra dollars on Physique because of “the science that goes into the products.”
She said the Physique line has been formulated to solve what consumers have told P&G is their biggest hair-care problem: styling their hair.
“People simply can't get their hair styled the way they want it,” Ms. Wildman said. “It's the No.1 unmet need in the (hair-care) category, and that's where Physique comes in.”
Physique products — sold in sleek sliver-and-bronze packaging with images of a sigma and an ellipse — are designed to work together to help consumers achieve their desired hair styles.
During the line's advertising launch in January — which is being handled by one of P&G's lead agencies, Saatchi & Saatchi of New York — P&G will set up “Style Zones” in stores. There, specially trained stylists will help consumers select the right Physique products for their hair and show them how to use them.
Physique also will have its own in-store displays when it hits shelves, also in January.
Despite the price and the upscale image that P&G hopes Physique will portray, Ms. Wildman said the line is not intended to compete with the salon industry.
She said Physique doesn't have to rely on salon clientele, based on P&G's research and the results of the line's initial market test in May 1998 in Wichita, Kan.
The market test showed significant demand for Physique in supermarkets, drugstores and other mass market outlets, more than doubling overall sales of P&G hair-care products in the market, Ms. Wildman said.
P&G is rolling out Physique at a time when sales of mass market hair-care brands have slumped, industry analysts say.
But sales of professional-only products continue to soar, and an increasing number of mass market chains are making room for products formerly sold only in salons, such as Aveda, Sebastian and Paul Mitchell — likely to be Physique's chief competitors.
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