This case study demonstrates the power of innovation and how it can help turnaround a business even in a commoditized category. All it takes is vision and the desire to better understand consumer need gaps. Remington Products women's haircare business exploited new opportunities in very mature markets and this helped to turn their business around. Rick Steinbrenner - The Global Brand Guy

1. 1
Women’s Haircare Business
Differentiation Marketing In Commoditized Categories

2. 2
 Background: Victor Kiam of Remington bought the Clairol women’s haircare
business in the mid 90’s (without the Clairol brand)
 Haircare business eroded from ~$40MM to <$25MM (1998) (post-Clairol
acquisition)
 Market ranking: # 5 player - #5 player in hair dryers, #2 player in hot rollers,
no presence at all in curling irons (source: NPD).
 Conair and Helen of Troy (#1 and #2) had 100% distribution due to full line
of haircare products and strong brand equity.
 Remington products were essentially “me-too” with the exception of some
key sku’s in Hot Rollers. Could only compete on price.
 Consumer understanding of haircare purchase behavior not well
understood – by Remington or the competition.
Women’s Haircare Business Situation

3. 3
Haircare Business Actions
Consumer
Segment
Frustrated/Skeptical
Users
46% of Users
Appearance Driven
Users
29% of Users
Self-Reliant Users
25% of Users
Consumer
Profile
 Problem hair
 Not confident about
getting salon-style results
 Haircare appliances
rarely “work”
 Willing to get it right,
but
easily frustrated
 Hair enthusiast
 Invests lots of time
styling
 Will pay premiums for
new ideas/solutions
 Changes hair style to
match latest trends
 Uninvolved – low fuss
 Low maintenance
styling
 No time for styling
 Looking for good value
 Doesn’t change hair
style much
Positioning Tools for Problem Hair Tools for Today’s Hair
Styles
Tools for Style N’ Go
Hair
Salon-style results
despite problem hair
Professional salon
results at home
Get fast stylesConsumer
Benefit:
Haircare Market Segmentation
Source: 2000 Haircare A&U Study
 Women had differing attitudes about their hair and how much time/effort they were willing to spend to get
the results they wanted.
 Most competitive products focused on appearance driven users – only1/3 of the market.

4. 4
Women’s Haircare Business Actions
Consumer Problem:
 Conventional 1875W dryers blew hair everywhere leaving “problem hair”.
 Result:
 Takes a much longer time to dry
 Potentially damages hair due to overheating
The Vortex Jet Speed Dryer solved this problem:
 Patented cyclonic airflow technology lifted up hair at the roots and dried
it from the “inside-out” vs. blowing from the “outside-in”.
 Result:
 Dried hair in ½ the time
 Made hair more manageable
 Protected hair from overheating/damage

5. 5
 The Vortex became the #1 hair dryer for two years in a row in the single
largest category in Haircare (over 400 SKU’s).
 The Vortex forced the exit of Applica, Inc. from Haircare.
 Doubled sales/profits (15% ROS, 10% $ share) to $45M restored Remington
to Clairol pre-acquisition sales levels.
 Moved overall Remington haircare share from #5 in the category to #3.
 Haircare study also resulted in new insights in other new products and
merchandising.
 New planogram consistent with study was tested at Wal-Mart for potential
rollout nationwide.
Women’s Haircare Business Results

6. 5
 The Vortex became the #1 hair dryer for two years in a row in the single
largest category in Haircare (over 400 SKU’s).
 The Vortex forced the exit of Applica, Inc. from Haircare.
 Doubled sales/profits (15% ROS, 10% $ share) to $45M restored Remington
to Clairol pre-acquisition sales levels.
 Moved overall Remington haircare share from #5 in the category to #3.
 Haircare study also resulted in new insights in other new products and
merchandising.
 New planogram consistent with study was tested at Wal-Mart for potential
rollout nationwide.
Women’s Haircare Business Results