Indie Beauty Retailers to See the Spotlight at Cosmoprof North America

In an oversaturated beauty market, specialty retailers are burdened more than ever with delivering new and standout products to consumers who’ve seemingly seen it all. But how do specialty stores break this barrier in a market with different versions of the same products?

 

At the 2014 Cosmoprof North America show, executives from leading indie retailers will share their insights on what it takes to make these specialty brands and stores resonate with the customer in the evolving, ultra competitive indie space. From what products have landed on their shelves and why to merchandising stock, each will share the journey from product discovery to purchase, and what staying power means for brands within each of their respective outposts.

The conference entitled “Specialty Retailers: Gateway to Discovery” will be moderated by Faye Brookman from Women’s Wear Daily (WWD), and it will be held at Cosmoprof North America on Monday, July 14, 2014 from 11 am to 12:30 pm. It will include the following panelists:

  • Ian Ginsberg, president, C.O. Bigelow—Ginsberg is the president of C.O. Bigelow, described as "the oldest apothecary in America." Ginsberg’s history with C.O. Bigelow began when his grandfather bought the business in the late 1930s. He has helped C.O. Bigelow Apothecary become a mecca of hard-to-find favorites from around the world, and hailed by WWD as “The Apothecary Guru,” Ginsberg’s historic and constantly evolving knowledge of what a true apothecary should be is unrivaled. He is also the current chairman of the Board of the Independent Cosmetic Manufacturers and Distributors (ICMAD) association and is also involved in many philanthropic activitie,s including Food Bank of New York, Lollipop Theatre Network, and Pink Promises, a charity he founded with his wife Stephanie to benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
  • Lori Silverstein, chief beauty officer, Peninsula Beauty—Silverstein, chief beauty ifficer of Peninsula Beauty, is a retail visionary who took her family’s two-store beauty supply business and grew it into 13 stores and a thriving Internet business. Silverstein got her start working side-by-side with her dad when they opened the second Peninsula Beauty store in 1975. Over the past 40 years, she and her team have been on a mission to expand Peninsula Beauty’s offerings throughout the Peninsula, Silicon Valley and San Francisco region, making major investments in the growth of the company. And throughout the company’s growth, Silverstein has retained the brand promise of delivering the personal service that is the hallmark of a family-run business.
  • Shawn Tavakoli, CEO, Beauty Collection—Tavakoli is CEO of Beauty Collection, a prestige beauty retailer with several brick-and-mortar locations in Southern California and an online store. Tavakoli had an early start in the beauty industry. His parents built and managed a successful store in Los Angeles where Tavakoli worked through high school and college. After five years of working as a CPA, Tavakoli returned to the business and in 1997 opened his first store in Calabasas, California. The first store was launched in 2005, making Beauty Collection’s unique selection of brands available to customer’s nation and worldwide. In an effort to improve on its success, a newly designed Beauty Collection website was launched in 2008. Beauty Collection currently represents over 350 prestige and salon beauty brands with over 30,000 unique products chosen for their quality and distinctiveness.
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