From Happi.com:
CVS OPENS BEAUTY 360 ONLINE
Offers more beauty brands for retailer’s 6 million monthly online visitors.
Beauty 360 is now operating online. The new site—like its brick and mortar counterpart operated by CVS—sells prestige cosmetic, skin care, hair care, fragrance and grooming brands.
There are currently eight Beauty 360 locations in the U.S., and the Woonsocket, RI-based retailer says it will continue to grow that business with additional locations throughout 2010.
"CVS/pharmacy has always been a leader in beauty and launching the Beauty 360 concept was a milestone for us in being able to provide our customers with greater access to the prestige beauty products they love," said Mike Bloom, senior vice president of merchandising and supply chain for CVS/pharmacy. "With the introduction of ecommerce for Beauty 360, we are making shopping for these luxury beauty products more convenient for everyone—especially the nearly six million customers who visit cvs.com each month."
Brands at Beauty 360 include Vincent Longo, Philip B, Canyon Ranch, Freeze 24.7, Cargo, Bioelements, Neil George, Jack Black, Anthony Logistics for Men, Laura Geller, Paula Dorf and Borba Cosmetics.
Do you live in a city that already has a CVS "Beauty 360" location in-store, and if so, have you visited one? Do you think you'd purchase a high-end product from the online "Beauty 360"? You can check it out here: CVS Beauty 360. I poked around and noticed that they have some unique GWP (gift-with-purchase) deals, but what I'm REALLY wondering is if you can use CVS Extra Bucks when making a purchase. Now THAT would really seal the deal for me. Does anyone know about that? Please leave a comment and tell us what's up!
I browsed it a few months ago and I do believe you can't use your Extra Bucks, but then again I could be incorrect. lol
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should contact CVS and get futher information on that.
If we could use our Extra Bucks, it would be love! I'd be there all the time, lol.
ReplyDeleteI haven’t any input on the beauty360 stores as I live close to Toronto, Ontario. I do have experience with drugstores introducing “prestige” brands. In Ontario there are stores named Shoppers Drug Mart who began (several years ago) selling department store brands. They usually have an entire department devoted to this (that is separate but joined to the drugstore) and you usually walk through this area to get to the drugstore. They also have purses, jewellery/watches and a very large perfume area.
ReplyDeleteI’m of two minds about it as I guess it’s more convenient to get the products without a trip to the mall but in most of these stores, the other brands take a back seat – literally. In some stores brands like Maybelline, L’Oreal, Revlon, etc are small while other brands are relegated to the back of the store with not very much available. There are not many sales on any lines (drugstore or prestige) so I am envious when I read about the BOGO’s etc that you have.
I guess I have to wait until this summer when I do my once a year shop-a-thon in New York to check out the deals and maybe just maybe there will be a beauty 360 store for me to have a nosey through.
I live in Boston and we don't have these stores, however, I found out about this a few weeks ago as 360 Beauty is advertised on CVS receipts.
ReplyDeleteI don't really like the site design. All it does is take you to product listings on the main CVS site. I'm also not seeing much there that I can't find elsewhere online.
I visited several weeks ago and didn't see any GWP deals. Maybe I just didn't look hard enough.
I'm with Elocina! The site is a little bit of a snore. The store-within-a-store concept obviously has potential (Sephora inside JCP for example), but so far this doesn't scream "special" to me! I hope this is just a case of a poorly designed site. In this day and age where everyone is trying to cash in on the beauty biz to make up for what's in the red on the rest of their books, they have to bring it! Who knows? They might hit it out of the park with the convenience factor, but it might be stiff competition. I'll be keeping my eyes open!
ReplyDeleteI've been to one of the Beauty 360s in DC. It was attached to an existing CVS and they just opened the wall between stores. The CVS beauty section stayed the same. The Beauty 360 had a nice collection of makeup and skincare. It had some brands you don't find at Sephora. They have a lot of in store events. Last time I went in to browse, they were featurng a nail polish line (I forget which) and they offered me a free manicure without any push to buy the product.
ReplyDeleteRai: OK, if you can't use Extra Bucks then what's the point, right? That is a total deal-breaker for me. :( Thanks for the info and I'll do my best to find out for sure! xo
ReplyDeleteDee: Exactly! I neeeed to find out! :)
blisstear: Oh, it would be horrible if CVS paid more attn to the high end brands and not the drugstore stuff. I really hope that's not the case! Thanks so much for your insights! :)
Elocina: I'm with you on the site design for sure. It's pretty darn bare-bones at this point. Sure hope they work on it and give it a bit of a wow-factor in the future. And I agree--you can find these brands elsewhere, although I've heard that Sephora is phasing out Cargo so I guess it's nice to have another site that carries this brand? :)
Amber: I totally agree. If they feel they have to bring it, then they REALLY need to bring it and entice us to start getting our high-end fix there and not elsewhere. The convenience factor, from an in-store perspective, might be great, but that's only if we don't have to drive miles and miles to get to a 360 location, right? xo
Steph: Thanks for this report. It's great to hear from people who have actually visited a 360. In-store events are always fun, ESPECIALLY when they don't put the hard-sell on you to make a purchase. Thanks for the scoop! xo
This is the first I've heard of Beauty 360, and I got really excited at the thought of being able to use my Extrabucks there! So I googled and found this CVS press release:
ReplyDeletehttp://investor.cvs.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=99533&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1221000&highlight=
...With this paragraph of particular interest. YAY:
Beauty 360 customers will also reap the benefits of the CVS/pharmacy ExtraCare program, the largest retail loyalty program in the world, with more than 50 million cardholders. ExtraCare members earn 2% back on all purchases in the form of "Extra Bucks," which can be used at either CVS/pharmacy or Beauty 360. Additionally, Beauty 360 customers will earn "Beautiful You" rewards which can be redeemed for free signature services at Beauty 360 locations. Customers can also take advantage of the 'Best of Beauty, Guaranteed,' which offers 100% money back on all returns, ensuring a risk-free shopping experience.
Nora!! Thank you SO much for this! You just totally made my day! I'm going to post about this right now! You're the best!! :)
ReplyDeleteSince Beauty 360 is owned by CVS/pharmacy you can use your CVS Extra Care card and earn your rewards. You can use your extra bucks rewards for both Beauty 360 products and facial services.
ReplyDeleteDid you know that about half of the staff at Beauty 360 are licensed estheticians? They offer professional facials and peels by lines such as Bioelements and B. Kamins.