Waxing The City has smoothed a path to success with a service-only approach to beauty, opening its 100th storefront in August 2018. But the company began a shift to becoming a more product-oriented retailer two years ago by capitalizing on its extensive storehouse of customer data.
By communicating with clients in-store and collecting their data, the company was able to develop and introduce carefully formulated private label product lines that target clients’ specific challenges, from skin irritation to bumps to quick hair regrowth.
Mindy Gray, Senior Product Manager of Waxing The City, joined the company in September 2016 as it repositioned itself to focus more on product.
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“We’re still in the beginning phases as we grow faster,” said Gray in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “Our first strategy was getting private label products off the ground and in the consumer’s hands. As we evolve, we’ll move more toward segmentation and localization of products. We have a great data source where we can track our products and understand what regions sell most. We definitely see it now in what scents certain people like over other scents. In these scenarios, we’re just tracking data, gaining more feedback and fine-tuning our assortments. “
Waxing The City developed a one-on-one communication strategy with clients during in-store consultations, enabling the retailer to gather data that has helped in the development of products that met specific needs such as body butters, sugar scrubs and pre- and post-wax serums. The store’s Cerologists are trained to educate every client on precisely what to expect during and after their waxing experience.
“It’s been about connecting with all the Cerologists in our studios, our franchisees and even our clients out in the field to really understand what their needs are,” Gray said. “If they’re waxing, ‘What is that big issue that keeps coming up? Do they do a brow wax and we didn’t have brow product at the time? Was it painful to wax, and is there a product that we can use to help reduce that pain?’ Listening to them is what steers our product assortments, whether it be clean ingredients or pampering in general.”
The retailer also leverages social media and guest surveys to crowdsource product ideas and gather honest feedback from shoppers about what products work best for them.
“Once we have our full private label line rolled out, we do want them all to have the same thing as a baseline for brand cohesion,” said Gray. “If a client is traveling or on vacation and they stop at a Waxing The City in another market, they will see all the same products.”
On its climb to 100 studios, Waxing The City has seen significant revenue growth at the store level, backed by a robust pre-open marketing program that has increased pre-studio opening appointments by nearly 75% in the past year. New studio owners now typically have a full appointment book in the days and weeks after a location opens, according to a company statement.
Waxing The City plans to open another 15 locations by the end of 2018, plus 30 to 40 more studios in 2019. In addition to the 100 studios now open, another 150 franchise territories already have been sold. Within the next five years, the Waxing The City team hopes to operate more than 300 studios, and the company is actively pursuing more franchisee partnerships.
