Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) stores

have a signif icant stock as-sortment featuring numerous feminine hygiene and hair care products to make their female customers feel good all around.

Buyer Christle Martin, who handles feminine hygiene and hair care products in the headquarters-based Merchandising Directorate (MD), noted that although four key areas have posted fiscal 2014 sales through December that were down from activity from a year ago, these areas are still bring-ing in significant sales to the Exchange (see chart at right).

TRENDSMartin said that the goal for these subcategories

during fiscal 2015 is a 3-percent increase in sales, a growth target that she expects will follow trends.

“In hair appliances, big flowing curls are still the trend, so any type of specialty curling irons such as Curl Secret by Conair are hot sellers,” she noted. “In hair care, the Exchange has added multiple brands of ethnic products that help transition from wearing hair chemically straightened to wearing it naturally curly. It seems to be a very popular trend and has increased sales in that category. A few of the new brands are Shea Moisture, Curls, Taliah Waajid, and Camille Rose.”

NEW PRODUCTS“In hair care,” Martin said,

“all the Shea Moisture items added in 2014 have been doing extremely well,” she noted. “In feminine hygiene, Always Infiniti was added back to the planogram in 2014 after being removed a few years ago due to supplier issues. Those items jumped back to the top in a very short amount of time.”

PROMOTIONS, PLANOGRAMSMartin said that AAFES

uses weekly promotions, coupon books, beauty books, and online promotions to alert customers about its feminine hygiene-hair

care assortment. “Customers have shown they are willing to

pay more for a professional product that they al-ready know works well for them,” she said. “The only difference in the assortment between stores is the size of the planogram that the store carries. The smaller the store, the smaller the planogram, and only the very best sellers are on the small planograms.

“Thus, store personnel should follow the plano-gram and keep fully stocked.”

—E and C NEWS

Personal Readiness …With a Female Touch

Martin

AAFES YTD Fiscal 2014Feminine Hygiene-Hair Care Sales

Subcategories Fiscal Fiscal Percent 2014 Sales 2013 Sales changeHair Care $21.4 million $21.8 million -1.83%Feminine Hygiene $7.4 million $7.6 million -2.63%Hair Appliances $4.5 million $4.6 million -2.17%Hair Color $3.8 million $4.3 million -11.63%Total $37.1 million $38.3 million -3.13%

Note: Fiscal 2014 sales from February 2014-December 2014. All dollar figures are rounded off and percentage changes are approximate.. Source: AAFES

AAFES Fiscal 2014Top Sellers By Category

HAIR COLOR 1) Clairol Nice ‘N Easy 4 Root Touch Up (dark brown) 2) Clairol Nice ‘N Easy 3 Root Touch Up (black) 3) L’Oréal Excellence #5 (medium brown) 4) Clairol Natural Instincts (nutmeg) 5) L’Oréal Excellence #4 (dark brown) 6) Clairol Nice ‘N Easy Touch-Up (medium brown) 7) Clairol Nice ‘N Easy (natural black) 8) Clairol Nice ‘N Easy Touch Up (medium gold) 9) L’Oréal Preference (dark brown) 10) Clairol Nice ‘N Easy Natural (medium brown)

HAIR CARE 1) Unilever Dove Intense Moisture Shampoo 2) Procter & Gamble Head and Shoulders 2-In-1 Shampoo 3) Idelle Labs Pert Plus Classic Clean 2-in-1 Shampoo 4) Unilever Dove Moisture Conditioner 5) Procter & Gamble Pantene Classic Shampoo 6) Unilever Axe Styling Aid-Refined 7) Mixed Chicks Leave-In Conditioner 8) Vogue International OGX Moroccan Argan Oil 9) Procter & Gamble Head and Shoulders 2-in-1 Dry Scalp 10) Procter & Gamble Head And Shoulders Refresh Shampoo

FEMININE HYGIENE 1) Church & Dwight Co. First Response Pregnancy Test (2 count) 2) Exchange Select Pregnancy Test (1 stick) 3) Procter & Gamble Always Ultra Maxi with Wings (18 count) 4) Clear Blue Digital Pregnancy Test 5) Tampax Pearl Super Fresh (18 count) 6) Always Ultra Thin Jumbo Wing (32 count) 7) Trojan Magnum Lubricated Condoms 8) Always Long with Wings (32 count) 9) Monistat 1 Triple Action Combination Pack 10) U By Kotex Tampons Regular (18 count)

Note: Fiscal 2014 sales from February 2014-December 2014. Source: AAFES

The Exchange experienced $3.8 million in fiscal 2014 hair color sales through December, including activity on the assortment at Fort Belvoir, Va.

AAFES PHOTO

EXCHANGE and COMMISSARY NEWS34 | MARCH 2015

AAFES Hair Care and Feminine Hygiene