FIT Capstone Graduates Predict Beauty’s Future

Today’s Millennials’ will shape tomorrow’s retail, beauty, fragrance and management structures.

Written by Steve Katz, Associate Editor

(L-R) Chris Hacker, Rochelle Bloom, Michele Serro,Joyce Brown, Carlotta Jacobson, Lezlee Westine and Stephan Kanlian

This year’s Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) Capstone graduates took a look into the proverbial crystal ball when they made their presentations during the evening of May 19 on the campus of FIT in New York City. These graduates of the school’s master’s program in cosmetics and fragrance marketing and management delivered multimedia presentations that were as thought provoking as they were entertaining.

The event also marked the 10th anniversary of the program itself, and the evening began with a video of FIT Capstone alumni offering their heartfelt gratitude as to what the program meant to them, and the role it has played in their individual careers. Prior to the presentations, Joyce Brown, president of FIT, welcomed the audience and introduced keynote speaker Chris Hacker, chief design officer at Johnson & Johnson, the event’s sponsor. “We are delighted to sponsor this 10th anniversary program, which helps people develop as senior leaders. My colleagues and I believe in the value of this program,” he said.

But the highlights of the night were the four presentations delivered by groups of graduates. Using video accompaniments, they shared with the audience their visions for the futures of retail, beauty, fragrance and management. Here’s some of what they had to say:

The Future of Retail

“Retail as we know it has failed.” This quote from Marshall Cohen of NPD served as the introduction to the group presentation from graduates Maura Cannon, Jennifer Marino, Yumiko Nishikawa and Denee Pearson. Michele Serro, IDEO New York, served as the group’s mentor. They presented this observation: “For the first time in more than 20 years, we watched U.S. retail take its largest decline in 2009, decreasing by 7%. Last year alone, a staggering 10,000 retailers closed their doors while unemployment soared to 10%.” How to revive retail was the group’s underlying theme.

(L-R) Yumiko Nishikawa, Maura Cannon, Denee Pearson and Jennifer Marino

The generation known as the Millennials will play a pivotal role in bringing back retail, the group said, referring to those consumers born between 1980 and 1995. The presentation broke down just how this group of tech-savvy consumers will change the world of retail, and underscored how understanding the Millennials is paramount. They deduced that these consumers are impatient–they change tasks every three minutes, they crave authenticity, need validation, do not have boundaries, and are ultimately in search of tangible products and real experiences to balance their digital lives and keep them grounded.

“In order to engage these consumers, the shopping experience must be an emotional journey. Every moment should be designed to engage Millennials; however, it’s no longer as simple as ‘click or brick.’ We must engage them through an integration of touch points.”

Addressing the Millennials’ needs and wants, the group concludes that there needs to be a move toward a more consumer-centric approach to target this generation; otherwise, “they may stay away from traditional retail forever.”

“Millennials do not like to be told how they should feel. Therefore, imposing a brand on them would definitely turn them off. Retailers should provide the tools for them to figure out how they feel based on their own experience,” one of the graduates said.

“Honesty and transparency communicate authenticity. Retailers should be accountable for their actions. Millennials also consider vulnerability as a sign of authenticity. Therefore, if there are any problems or flaws in their products or services, retailers should be able to show the consumers that they can immediately fix them rather than hide them.”

For these consumers, it’s all about community and technology. “Retailers need to help them connect and validate their choices through their network. It is critically important to be a part of their community,” it was said, and “the essence of retail experience needs to be delivered as a smartphone application. Mobile phones are the most important touch point for Millennials.”

To sum up, the group emphasized, “Change is the only constant. Embrace the change, and evolve with the consumers.”

The Future of Fragrance

(L-R) Shiri Safati, Monika Ziobro, Rochelle Bloom, Jessica Wolfe and Lisa Negrelli

“Fragrance sales have been trending downward since 2001, despite a brief peak in 2006 due to celebrity fragrances entering the market. Companies have launched new fragrances as a desperate attempt to engage the consumer. The recent recession only made a bad situation worse, as consumers began opting out of the category altogether.” Graduates Shiri Sarfati, Lisa Negrelli, Jessica Wolfe and Monika Ziobro offered this sentiment, and their presentation detailed just how to reverse this trend. Rochelle Bloom of The Fragrance Foundation served as the group’s mentor.

The group provided some startling statistics: In 2009 there were over 1,100 fragrance launches globally, and more than 300 of those launches were in the U.S., where the mass and prestige fragrance category was down nearly 8% (global sales were down nearly 4%). The industry had entered into a launch-frenzy, yet sales continued to decline.

“Consumers are confused, overwhelmed and frustrated, resulting in them going back to familiar brands they trust. Seven out of the top ten prestige fragrances are classics, having launched ten or more years ago. The strength of the connection the consumer has with these brands is unfazed by the industry’s insistence on newness,” said one of the group members.

The presentation explored four concepts designed to connect the consumer to fragrance—Eau Share, connecting emotionally through education and storytelling; Eau Juice, connecting tangibly through quality product and compelling ingredient stories; Eau Space, connecting creatively through an interactive retail experience; and Eau Tech, connecting daily through technology.

Education is key. “The sense of smell is being under-utilized in early education,” one of the presenters said. “All other senses are incorporated into elementary education, except the sense of smell. Smelling ability reaches a plateau at eight years of age. By incorporating scent education in primary education classes, by 2020, students will be able to identify scents that occur in nature, develop a scent language and understand why they prefer certain scents.

“Scent is part of nature and triggers one’s olfactory memories. It enlivens the taste buds and it ignites desires. It is the industry’s responsibility to excite and re-engage consumers. The time is now to embrace tomorrow’s dominant cohort–the Millennials. They love scent, and fragrance needs to connect with them through storytelling, quality product, interactive retail space and innovative technology. ”

The Future of Leadership

Graduates Carly Guerra, Lea Koussoulis, Caroline Ornst and Marixsa Rodriguez made the case that the leadership structure in the beauty industry today is in need of major changes. Carlotta Jacobson, of Cosmetic Executive Women, mentored the group.

“The current state of leadership and organizational model are outgrowths of the Industrial Revolution. There are multiple layers establishing power through rules and processes. People report to the office, sit at their desks, and take direction from the leaders at the top. Not much has changed through the years because today’s organizations continue to be too hierarchical. This type of structure is rigid and does not foster creativity and passion from all members of the organization,” the group said.

The digital age that we live in, they said, will continue to enhance communication and business interactions. However, the current organizational structure does not support this movement and will not work in the future. “This model is becoming outdated because it was designed for the industrial economy, not the information economy,” said one of the speakers, adding that companies need to create a new social contract with their employees that puts people first and acknowledges the needs of its changing workforce.

“Seventy-six million Millennials are coming into the workforce, and they bring with them a new set of values and digital knowledge that will transform our communities and the way we do business. If companies could better inspire their employees, people would be more productive and creative,” a group member added.

The group’s solution is a new corporate “Ecosystem,” which functions with three main attributes–Community, Agility, and Sustainability. They said:

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“The top-down hierarchy will transform into a boundless environment where work is executed through conversation. Company structure will not go away completely, it will only change from the way we know it today. There will be no layers of hierarchy to break through in order to share ideas. It will be an environment of constant information flow. With this new work structure, we will see co-creation where the leader has to ask, ‘What do you think we should do?’ Her co-collaborators, who will be working with her, not for her, will surround the leader. This new leader does not necessarily have to be a woman, but needs to demonstrate feminine traits of empathy in order to manage successful teams in 2020.

“Transparency leads to trust. Trust is about relying on others and having faith. Through our research, we found that among the Millennials today there is a lack of trust. They have grown up during a time with no real role models and no true leadership. They have been let down by organized religions, financial institutions have crumbled, and they have watched their parents lose their life savings. The heroes to this generation are their parents and best friends because this is whom they see as authentic leaders. A corporate title no longer equates to leadership. An important characteristic of this new agile tribe will be comfort with working remotely.

“Teleworking has been described as the new face of the agile workforce, and the employee of the future is morphing into a ‘work-anywhere warrior.’ Gartner Dataquest estimates that over 14 million workers currently are teleworkers, spending at minimum 20% of their workweek outside the office. Within the next four years, about one third of the U.S. workforce will demand to telework. Tomorrow’s organization will be unbound and limitless. Companies will need to think of creative ways to adopt new ideas from other industries into the world of beauty.

“The current leadership model is broken and a new way of thinking is emerging. Do not be afraid to challenge the traditional structure. Companies need to innovate, inspire passion, foster trust, and embrace agility with their employees in the workplace.”

The Future of Beauty

(L-R) Mariangela Gisonda, Marta Cammarano, Lezlee Westine, Nichole Kirtley, Jennifer King and Beatriz Loizillon

“There are the obvious trends such as an increasingly aging population, globalization, technology innovation, and environmental concerns. These are already here and will definitely continue to impact beauty. However, the biggest change in 2020 will be redefining the communication with consumers. In 2020, women will no longer want to be told what to look like. The narrow Western beauty ideal of ‘young, thin, and blond’ will no longer hold true. Instead, women will want and will require being part of the conversation, rather than just the recipient of the message.”

The above served as the introductory theme for graduates Marta Cammarano, Mariangela Gisonda, Jennifer King, Nichole Kirtley and Beatriz Loizillon. Lezlee Westine, of the Personal Care Products Council, mentored the team.

“Beauty will be real in 2020,” declared one group member. “Increased complexities and pressures of life will call for pragmatism rather than perfection. This new woman will no longer obsess over little things. She will be more likable, more reliable, and more real than previous generations.”

In addition to being real, beauty will also be reciprocal, the team added. “In 2020, the shift from telling the consumer what she needs, to servicing her, will have occurred. Brands will communicate authentically as the 2020 consumer is looking for real beauty aspirations. This reciprocal relationship and new form of interaction will enhance her shopping experience and abide to her practical and sensible rules,” a speaker said.

Responsibility will also be an integral component of beauty brands, as the group cited Dove’s Real Beauty campaign that launched in 2004, which started the conversation by “challenging the definition of beauty through its use of non-models in their advertisements. The campaign continues to educate young girls to counteract the limiting and unattainable beauty set forth by advertising and the media.

A future “Beauty Cares” campaign was then presented. Here, a group member said, “The future will not just be about responsible self-image but also about responsible social image. It is time for the beauty industry to communicate its position and commitment towards a safer, more socially responsible and sustainable tomorrow. As individual brands, we are all linked to the reputation of our industry, and our collective image must resonate with the images our companies and brands are trying to build.”

Part of the campaign is the EDUCARE program, which will be an in-school initiative designed to educate students ages nine through twelve on the value and impact of beauty wellness on health. “During these years, students are mature enough to be exposed to these concepts and yet impressionable enough to develop healthy habits. The program will consist of three modules—Personal Care, Responsible Consumption and Holistic Health—starting in the fourth grade and concluding with the sixth grade. EDUCARE will be an extension of traditional in-school health programs and build upon their physical and nutritional lessons,” it was explained.

To sum up, one of the graduates said, “Conversations must be more real while maintaining aspiration. The dialogue must be reciprocal, and the brand must listen to the consumer to keep her engaged and loyal. Finally, the conversation must be more responsible. If, as a collective of brands, the hope is truly for a more prosperous tomorrow, future consumers must be more grounded in the benefits and possibilities of beauty.”