Beauty Store Business magazine this month has a feature article on nail implements and their use and effectiveness past and present. If you're in the salon business, then you may already know a great deal about these must have tools, but for many owners, knowing exactly "how" to sell the tools may be a mystery. Almost as much of a mystery as describing the first nail clipper was for its inventor. Here's a clip from the article by Kathy Kirkland:

Chapel Carter, the inventor of the nail clipper, couldn’t begin to explain today’s nailcare implements. Can you? The simple nail file has been around for centuries and is so important to our beauty-oriented culture that one was included in the 1939 New York World’s Fair time capsule. In 1896, Chapel Carter devised the nail clipper. Since those early days of nailcare implements, the improvements, variety and importance of these beauty tools have grown exponentially.

In September 2006, Information Resources Inc. reported that consumers spent $150.3 million on nail implements and accessories in the preceding 12 months, an increase of 3.6% from the year before. While this is a definite indication that the nail-implement business continues to grow, unit sales declined by 4.3%. Fewer implements were sold, but the per-unit price was higher. Thus, the industry has taken nail implements to the next level of high-tech construction, style and functionality for even greater profits for all stakeholders.

Today, there are multiuse tools and new innovations that Chapel Carter himself wouldn’t recognize or be able to explain to a prospective professional or nonprofessional customer. Can you? Knowing nail implements means being able to sell them. If you want to tap into that $150-million market some more, this product category is worth more of your attention.

For the full article, click here.