| British beauty industry ignoring Asian women consumers
The strength of the 'brown pound' - the term referring to the purchasing power of British Asians - is growing exponentially. But the multi-billion pound British beauty industry largely ignores this important segment of consumers. Shop owners in areas with large minority of Indian origin such as Southall, Ealing, Harrow and Wembley in London, Leicester, Birmingham and Bradford continue to stock favour beauty products that are imported from the Indian sub-continent. Few prefer to buy mainstream British beauty products. Products imported from India are endorsed by film stars such as Aishwarya Rai and others and are popular among women with roots in the Indian subcontinent. Recently, a men's beauty product produced in India and endorsed by actor Shah Rukh Khan proved popular in Southall.
Ann Taylor offers new product line
Ann Taylor Stores is launching a line of beauty-care products at all 350 of its Ann Taylor stores and through the AnnTaylor.com Web site. The New York-based retailer of women's clothing said the new collection, Beauty, includes a fragrance named Possibilities and other products. The company plans to expand its presence in the beauty-care market over time, including a line of products to be sold at Ann Taylor Loft stores in 2008. Czech model Petra Nemcova was named "the face" of Possibilities, according to Ann Taylor Stores. The company said it will donate $2 from each sale of the fragrance through Dec. 31, up to a maximum of $50,000, to the Happy Hearts Fund. Nemcova founded the charity, which aids children who have suffered from a disaster, after being stranded in Thailand during the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004.
The direct selling industry is expected to grow four fold. Which are the segments driving the boom?
Primarily growth is being driven by segments like health, wellness and personal care. IDSA says the boom will be a result of good fundamentals, including large population and high purchasing power. The fastest growing segments in India in order of size are nutrition, kitchen, education, personal care and beauty products. Insurance also contributes around 10% to revenues coming from direct selling, as per the statement made by IDSA.
The success of direct selling is often attributed to the fast-paced life in the metros and large cities, but with majority of Indians living in smaller cities and rural India will this model work here as well?
Most of our growth has been happening in Tier-2 and smaller towns primarily because we are more visible there than larger towns.
British beauty industry ignoring Asians
LONDON: The strength of the 'brown pound' - the term referring to the purchasing power of British Asians - is growing exponentially. But the multi-billion pound British beauty industry largely ignores this important segment of consumers.
Shop owners in areas with large minority of Indian origin such as Southall, Ealing, Harrow and Wembley in London, Leicester, Birmingham and Bradford continue to stock favour beauty products that are imported from the Indian sub-continent. Few prefer to buy mainstream British beauty products.
Products imported from India are endorsed by film stars such as Aishwarya Rai and others and are popular among women with roots in the Indian subcontinent. Recently, a men's beauty product produced in India and endorsed by actor Shah Rukh Khan proved popular in Southall.
Stolen Insulin Could Pose Major Health Risk on Black Market
PLAINFIELD, Ind. - Indiana State Police are looking for some stolen cargo that could be dangerous in the wrong hands.
In the dark, early Thursday morning, thieves took two trailers from Daum Trucking in Plainfield. They backed up a couple of trucks and hauled them away.
Inside the trailers were health and beauty products, but a lot of medicine too. Specifically, insulin that needs to stay refrigerated. Perhaps headed to the black market.
Sgt. Rich Myers of the Indiana State Police said the thieves must have known what was in the trailers. Myers also says that by not maintaining the medicine properly, the thieves could be selling a toxic product.
"If this insulin is not maintained at a proper temperature, it can go bad, and if someone does take this insulin it can cause very bad sickness and even death."
Trucker Ronnie Williams says onboard computers keep drivers informed of thefts like these.
Documentary on Navajo pageant, traditional values
ALBUQUERQUE -- When young women head off to compete in the weeklong Miss Navajo Nation pageant, they bring along their evening gowns, jewelry, high heels, public speaking skills -- and butcher knives. This is no ordinary pageant. On the nation's largest Indian reservation where tradition reigns, contestants are required to speak their native language, make fry bread and butcher a sheep, an animal that represents life to the Navajos. "The pageant really gets people's interest because they say, 'Oh my gosh, a pageant where you butcher sheep.' That's really the grabber," said Billy Luther, a documentary film maker. "But I think people walk away learning the Navajo way of life and how much the Navajo people respect women." Luther, whose mother was crowned Miss Navajo in 1966, offers a different take on what it means to be beautiful in his first feature-length documentary, "Miss Navajo," which airs Tuesday on PBS's Independent Lens.
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