Cosmetics is a fashion business, and nothing sells fashion better than showmanship. That is why promotions are so important to the category.

Promotions, designed to move product, call attention to innovative products. They create excitement within a store. They encourage women to sample something new. They stimulate consumers to spend money.

As competition in the category intensifies, manufacturers are reacting by beefing up their promotional activities.

For stores that carry ethnic cosmetics, this is especially important because without the fashion and excitement of promotional events, many women might not even realize that their local drug store sells ethnic cosmetics.

With so many chains now expanding their ethnic cosmetic planograms to include or give more space to such lines as Posner, Zuri, Shades of You, Almay, Black Radiance, Tropez, Simply Satin and Revlon, it’s more important than ever for ethnic neighborhood stores to tie into the new promotional programs that venders are developing.

In-store strategies

As John Paul Jones, vp-sales for Posner Laboratories points out, “Timing, consistency, coordination and the proper placement of displays within a store are the in-store strategies that insure successful retail movement of the products featured in an ethnic cosmetic promotions.

“By tying in with these promotions, giving them visibility in the stores and participating in co-op advertising whenever possible, stores make customers realize something exciting is going on here. It is that awareness that generates traffic and insures successful sell-throughs,” he said.

Here’s what some ethnic manufacturers are planning for this year.

Leader backs chain

promotions

Posner, a category leader and one of the oldest ethnic cosmetic lines, was one of the first companies to introduce promotional events to the ethnic cosmetics category. The company times promotions to coincide with major national advertising breaks, and works with retailers on a local or regional basis to help them take full advantage of their co-op activities.

In March, Posner will launch a new line of Ultra-Creamy Lipsticks. Double-page four-color ads supporting the launch will appear in the March issues of Ebony and Essence, as well as the rap magazines Black Beat and Right-On. The ad will be adapted to in-store displays.