CosmoBiz Magazine November 2015 | Page 16

Editor’s Note ARE YOU READY FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON? A s the holiday season is approaching, retailers must be getting down to planning their holiday sales; strategizing sale items, hiring more employees to cope with the influx of shoppers, decorating stores with a holiday theme, etc. Recently, consulting group Deloitte came out with some good news for retailers in regard to holiday sales projections. A 3.5 to 4% increase is expected in November through January holiday sales over last year’s shopping season (excluding motor vehicles and gasoline), which is approximately between $961 and $965 billion in sales. Another optimistic stat was released by eMarketer that projected 5.7% sales growth this holiday season, the biggest jump since 2011. As the two studies suggest, although there is a slight difference in projected numbers, a sales growth is likely to happen this winter. So don’t let the next few months slip by. Try to establish an effective sales and marketing strategy. In that sense, “Make the Holidays Count for Your Beauty Business” (page 62) will be a good starting point for your holiday business planning. In this article, beauty industry experts weighed in with tips on how to boost holiday bookings for salons and sales for beauty supply retailers. We wish you all the best in your business this holiday season! Soon your weekends will be quickly filled up with holiday parties and family gatherings. If you want to wow the party crowd with your rocking hairdo, look no further. Our feature stories, Holiday Party Hair & Makeup (page 41), suggest five easy, fast, fun hair transformations using hairpieces and wigs. You will see how Nicole Richie’s ballerina bun, Beyonce’s ponytail, Melissa Rauch’s bang, and Julianne Hough’s chic, short 16 COSMOBIZ SALON NOVEMBER 2015 hair can be recreated with the help of hairpieces and wigs. It took only five minutes or less to complete each look, so you can easily try one without commitment. Also, don’t forget to check out our Holiday Gift Guides (page 24). You will find great gift ideas for your loved ones. Lastly, I would like to thank professor Michael Meyer at University of North Carolina School of the Arts and the faculty and students of its wig and makeup department for their time and hospitality during the interview (the interview and the students’ amazing class work are featured on page 70). UNCSA is one of few universities offering a degree program in wigs and makeup, and its alumni work in various production settings such as Broadway, theaters, operas, movie sets, TV shows, and many more. We are especially grateful that they allowed us to attend one of the wig making classes on campus and meet the students who shared their thoughts and excitement on wig making and makeup design. I believe these young students’ passion for this industry will bring them success not only in their careers but also in their artistry. Cheers to those young artists!