Consumer Choice Drives Personal Care
BY HÉLÈNE DEGRYSE

DA promotes its new Bad & Douche product with a special 1/2-price offer.

Dutch retailers offer an impressive range of inventive PL personal care products that are designed to meet the needs of all consumer groups.

EMA is a more than a Dutch warehouse, it is an institution. Born in 1926 in Amsterdam, HEMA sells only PL products in various ranges, food as well as non-food.

HEMA belongs to the Vendex group, along with the Bijenkorf and the V&D. With 260 stores in the Netherlands, more than 30 in Belgium and three in Germany, HEMA employs over 10,000 Europeans.

The bath and body care range of HEMA is very broad. The shelf space devoted to the articles and the amount of articles is impressive.

The first striking element of the whole personal care range is the sober design with clear lines of the HEMA products. The HEMA PL hair range offers eight variations.

The products for "thin and dull hair" with orange extract, keratin and panthenol are: a 300ml shampoo, a 300 ml conditioner, a 150 ml leave-in conditioner and a 150 ml styling lotion. All products are contained in beautiful transparent bottles, the liquid is orange and the label is a yellow that shades off. The Dutch and French (for the Walloon client) texts are on the reverse of the bottle as well as the ingredients used in the products.

The "dry and damaged hair" range is green and contains seaweed, keratin and panthenol. The range is composed of a shampoo, a conditioner, a leave-in conditioner, a styling lotion as well as a creamy treatment in a 150 ml tube.

The line for "colored or permed hair" is called the "Henna range". It contains the usual products; shampoo, conditioner and leave-in conditioner as well as a cream treatment in a 150 ml tube. The whole henna range is pink.

The range for "greasy hair" with nettle extract is green. The line consists of only three products: shampoo, conditioner and leave-in conditioner.

The "anti-dandruff" range with peppermint and panthenol counts three items: a shampoo, a conditioner and a leave-in conditioner.

HEMA also sells a range especially for gray hair with gingko biloba. This range consists of a shampoo, a conditioner and a strengthening lotion with seaweed extract.

The "swim, sun range"(in English on the label) proposes a 2-in-1 shampoo, a conditioner with walnut extract, a creamy conditioner as well as a leave-in conditioner and a hair gel in a 150ml tube.
The last range is one for normal hair (with apricot); it gives shine and vitality to the hair. It contains a 500ml shampoo bottle, a conditioner and a leave-in conditioner.

The HEMA bath foam is available in two versions: fresh (green letters) and cool (blue letters) both in a 1 liter bottle. The body lotion for both versions comes in a 500ml bottle. The shower gel, the shower/shampoo 2-in-1 gel and the separate shampoo are sold in a practical 300ml bottle equipped with a plastic rope. All products are contained in a white bottle with green/blue letters. The HEMA logo appears discreetly in relief on the bottle. Those products are meant for all skin types but the marine smell caters for the masculine client.

HEMA's main target consumer is the woman between 25 and 50 and the whole body range devoted to them is impressive. While seeing this range, the boundaries between A-brands and PL range are blurred. The whole range consists of luxury and quality products for a low price.

The women range is declined in three lines: one with spirea for sensitive skin, another range with seaweed extracts called the vitality range and the last with almond extract for dry skin. Each line includes the following products: a shower cream (300ml tube), a shower gel (200ml tube), a scrub (150 ml tube), a bath foam (500ml), a 2-phases bath oil (150ml), a body lotion (250ml), a body spray (150ml), a body moisturizer (150ml jar) and a body splash.

HEMA also proposes a special targeted range for women. This range contains the following products: body contour cream, anti-cellulite cream, slimming gel, contour gel for the belly, a bust gel as well as cream for heavy legs. All products cost less than 6 euros.

HEMA also sells 130g soap bars for sensitive skins (with horse chestnut extract), one with seaweed and the last one called sport.

There is also a special HEMA bath and body range for children. It offers fun products such as bath salts, bath confetti's, banana and cola scented bath gels with Jip and Janneke, Annie MG Schmidt's world famous characters pictured on the packaging. Those products are more expensive than the PL range for adults.

The DA Approach

DA is a 60-year-old Dutch drugstore. It started as the association of 5 drugstores and now counts more than 800 shops under different names: 600 DA stores, 70 DA d'Attance (the luxury store version), and 150 "Stip", a drugstore with a smaller retail surface.

The retail activities are run by Dynadro, which offers promotional support and is in charge of the DA store brand development. The DA brand (only sold in the DA shops and DA D'Attance) contains about 600 PL products and is 25 years old.

The DA bath & body range consists of the following products: a shower gel for sensitive skin (300ml purple bottle with dark blue top), a 2-in-1 soft shampoo in a light green bottle, a shower gel in a yellow bottle, a fresh shower gel in a light blue bottle and blue top, and an exotic shower gel in an orange bottle.
The range also offers a bath and shower gel in a 1 litre bottle. The fresh version is light blue; the sensitive is purple and the exotic orange.

DA also sells a luxury PL aromatherapy range. The range is divided into 3 categories adapted to the actual mood one wants to achieve.

The Perfect Harmony line (with green tea and green coloured) is aiming for balance and bears a yin yang symbol on the packaging.

The High Spirit line (red) gives extra energy and has a clover on the products.

The Inner Peace line (lavender coloured) presents a round signs on the bottle and helps relaxing.
Each line offers the following products: a 200 ml shower gel, a 150 ml body scrub, a 250 ml bath foam, a 200 ml bath oil and a 200 ml body lotion. This range gives an impression of luxury, but no product costs over EUR5.

In the general range, DA also offers 3 different body lotions. A shea butter lotion for dry skin, a lotion for normal skin and a lotion for dry and sensitive skin.

The DA PL hair care range contains the following items: a shine shampoo for normal hair, a balance shampoo for dry and damaged hair, a shampoo for greasy hair, a conditioner as well as a mild shampoo.

Etos: A Modern PL Approach

The Etos PL Bath and Body range occupies an important shelf space and is strategically located in each Etos shop. At eye height, more accessible than A-brands and with a very attractive design and bright colours, the Etos brand is definitely eye catching!

The PL hair assortment is very compact and contains all the essential items for every hair type. There are 5 different Etos shampoos: one for thin hair, one for dyed or permed hair, one for normal to greasy hair, one is an anti-dandruff shampoo, and one a shampoo special for dry or damaged hair.

All products are presented in a 300 ml transparent bottle with a blue top and coloured liquid. Each shampoo contains specific elements adapted to the nature of the hair and they all give extra body.
Etos also sells four conditioners (for thin hair, dyed hair, normal hair and dry and damaged hair), they all come in a 300ml transparent bottle with a blue top.

The Etos PL hair range finally contains 2 hair masks: one for dry or damaged hair and the other for dyed hair. The masks are sold in a 150ml bottle with a pump. The blue "energy" Etos logo is of course strategically located on the products of the PL hair range.

The most important Etos PL body range is called the soft and caring range. It contains the usual bath & body articles: a shower foam in a 200ml bottle with a pump, a bath foam with moisturising lotion in a 1 litre bottle, a shower gel in a 300 ml bottle, a body lotion available in both 250ml and 500ml bottles with pump, a body milk with shea butter and aloe vera (250ml and 500ml) and a hand cream.

This range also contains more elaborated items such as a massage milk with aloe vera in a 500 ml bottle, a scrub gel in a 200 ml bottle, a toning lotion in a 200ml bottle, a slimming cream in a 200ml bottle.
This Etos range has a stunning design with round and soft shapes and a sharp and energetic orange color and blue letters! The theme of the range is energy and the key element is vitamin E which is present in important quantities in all the articles.

Two products exist in a version specially made for sensitive skins: a 300ml shower gel and a bath foam sold in a 1 litre bottle. The design is unchanged but the vivid orange color is replaced by a white bottle and a pastel green top. Two articles are available in the range called M for man: a 1 litre bath foam and a 300ml shower gel. The smell and design specially caters for men: a fresh and sportive scented gel contained a metallic grey bottle!

Etos also sells a moisturising cream for the whole family in a 100 ml blue jar.

5 oils are available in the PL Etos body range: 2 skin oils (an oil with various herbs and an almond oil for dry skin in a 100ml bottle) as well as 3 bath oils (lavender, almond and eucalyptus in 200ml bottle).
The star of Etos PL body range is the aromatherary range. Launched 2 years ago, this innovative range is a serious competitor for cosmetic brands. The products are adapted to 3 different moments of the day: the morning (wake-up sub-range), during the day (take it easy sub-range) and the evening (sleep tight sub-range). Each sub-range consists of the following items: 200 ml bath oil, 200ml shower gel in a tube, 100 ml body spray and 250ml body scrub in a jar. The design of the range is a true success and transforms a bathroom into a spa!

Most of Etos PL bath and body products are also sold in deluxe sample sizes.