Cosmetology students practice creative merchandising skills, earn extra credit

Coshocton County Career Center Cosmetology seniors Anisha Seitz and Paige Hamilton teamed up to create the winning spa pedicure display basket for a recently held merchandising contest in their program. 

Several juniors and seniors in the Cosmetology program at the Coshocton County Career Center recently took part in an optional challenge to show-off their product merchandising skills.  Teams of two and three put together a spa pedicure display basket designed to entice salon visitors to book a spa pedicure and purchase related products. 

“This was an optional contest I decided to do this year to coincide with our unit of study on spa pedicures,” explains Cosmetology program instructor Darla Wagner.  “It gave my students a chance to practice their creative product merchandising skills and also their product and service up-selling skills.”  , Wagner says that product sales is a huge part of salon operations, typically contributing up to 10% of overall salon income.  Up-selling is a term used to define a sales approach where the cosmetologist will through creative sales efforts convince their clients to purchase the next step up, in terms of product or service, resulting in a more lucrative sale than originally planned.

In addition to creating the basket which had to be kept within the size and dimension range assigned for the project, entries were judged on originality, content and overall appeal.  In addition to creating their basket, each team was required to give a three minute presentation discussing why they chose their theme, how they decided upon that theme, what products were used and how those products supported their theme.

In total, 14 students participated and put together five contest entries.  Wagner invited one Career Center staff member and one outside judge to evaluate each entry.  Judges included Becky Dovenbarger and Alisha Gatten.

Prizes were awarded to first, second and third-place finishers.  Coming in first were the team of Paige Hamilton and Anisha Seitz, who created a ‘Pink Paradise’ basket, complete with candles, fresh-cut flowers, pink rose petals and pink slippers.  Second place went to Jadison Nys, Andi Lambert and Ali McCloskey, with their ‘Peppermint Spa’ basket.  Taking third, were Carley Walton and Courtney Miller.  They created a mini-basket with a vanilla scented theme.