SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—Radiance Medspa, a new national medical franchise based in Scottsdale, recently named Randal D. Haworth, M.D., featured plastic and reconstructive surgeon from the hit FOX TV show “The Swan,” as the organization’s chairman and chief medical officer.

“Dr. Haworth is an innovator in the practice of plastic and reconstructive surgery as evidenced by his impressive credentials,” says Chuck Engelmann, president and CEO of Radiance Medspa. “Radiance Medspa is happy to have Dr. Haworth on board as we continue to grow the franchise.”

Haworth practices in Beverly Hills, Calif. Radiance Medspa is a medical facility that provides non-surgical aesthetic skincare procedures. The company has sold nine franchises in Arizona, Florida and Texas, and has closed 11 franchise agreements in six other states. For more information, call (866) 6MEDSPA.

CLEARWATER, Fla.—John Melville and Peter Lewis, new owners and managing directors, announce their acquisition of Biddiscombe Laboratories, based in Clearwater. Biddiscombe is a manufacturer and marketer of tanning and spray-tanning products, and has made inroads into developing high-quality skincare products. The company is an active provider of contract product development, manufacturing and packaging services. Its brands include Claire Biddiscombe skincare lotions and the recently acquired Maximum Percentage skincare and cosmeceutical lines of products.

The staff and management of Biddiscombe are upbeat about the company’s new direction and look forward to continued growth in the coming years. For more information, call (800) 258-3313.

Action Bag Supports Breast-Cancer Fight

WOOD DALE, Ill.—Action Bag & Display, a women-owned company having been personally touched with breast cancer, actively participated in Lee National Denim Day® to support the fight against the disease. Employees donated $5 to wear denim on Oct. 8, or $10 to wear denim for every Friday in October. Nearly all of the company’s 25 employees combined to raise about $400.

The company also has a new line of breast-cancer retail items for sale, which are used to promote awareness throughout spas and salons. Many items also can be imprinted with a spa’s personal message or logo, with a portion of the sales supporting The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

For more information, call (800) 383-7392 or visit www.actionbag.com.

Kimbaks Opens New Online Store

SAN FRANCISCO—In June 2004, Kimbaks created an online store to help busy spa/hotel managers purchase spa robes, spa wraps and massage blankets online 24 hours a day, seven days week.

“We’ve seen an amazing increase in sales since adding our online store,” says Mike Latham, sales manager. “We never realized so many spa managers would place orders during off-peak business hours. One reason is that it’s much more convenient for our East Coast customers to place their orders early without having to wait for us to open our office in California, and they love the ability to view past orders as well.”

Kimbaks also has added three new robe colors to its online store. In addition to white and natural, the spa robes now are available in sunshine yellow, soft rose and soft blue. Custom embroidery is available on all Kimbaks products to reinforce spa/hotel brand identity.

For more information, call (800) 951-9411 or visit www.kimbaks.com.

SAN FRANCISCO—Telegraph Hill robes were recognized in August 2004 as being the best overall and best value in the industry by The Wall Street Journal. The company supplies embroidered bathrobes and wraps to some of the nation’s most-exclusive spas and resorts, including Auberge Du Soleil, Ojai Valley Inn and Spa, Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spas and Stonewater Spas.

For more information, call (888) 398-7010 or visit www.telegraphhill.com.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—The 9th Annual ABBIES Awards are set for February to recognize innovation, creativity and overall excellence in marketing by member companies of the Professional Beauty Association (PBA).

Ann Mincey of Redken 5th Avenue NYC is expected to serve as the emcee for the event,which is Feb. 5 at the Renaissance Hotel in Long Beach, Calif. The ceremony will be held in conjunction with the International Salon & Spa Expo, Feb. 5-7 at the Long Beach Convention Center.

The American Beauty Association (ABA), a manufacturer association, created the ABBIES—America’s Best Beauty Industry Efforts for Salons—in 1996 to reward the efforts of manufacturers in reaching salons and their clients with the best advertising and marketing communications. The ABA joined forces with the Beauty & Barber Supply Institute, a distributor association, and The Salon Association, a salon/spa owner association, to form the nonprofit PBA in July 2004. In recognition of the new association, ABBIES categories have been expanded to include honors for distributors and salon/spa owners as well as manufacturers. Existing categories also were reformatted and reduced to make the entry process easier.

For more information, call (877) 557-5340 or visit www.abbies.org/abbies.html.

International Dermal Institute Offers Two Free Classes

TORRANCE, Calif.—The International Dermal Institute has arranged two free half-day business classes to help current or would-be skincare business owners boost their bottom lines.

The Learning To Market Yourself And Your Services class will address clarity of vision, treatment-room configuration and all marketing aspects. The Implementing Your Retail Road Map class challenges skin therapists to act upon sales opportunities.

Each three-hour business class is free to licensed therapists. The next scheduled classes are Jan. 10 at the Torrance, Calif., IDI location.

For more information, call (888) 29-CLASS or visit www.dermalinstitute.com.

The Nailco Group ‘Making Strides’ In Fight Against Breast Cancer

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich.—On Oct. 16, nearly 600 employees, family and friends of The Nailco Group gathered at Belle Isle Park in Detroit for the 7th-annual American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk. As an ongoing flagship sponsor of the event, The Nailco Group raised $158,000 to benefit the American Cancer Society Breast Cancer Research Fund. The non-competitive walk raised funds for research and united those who share a passion for curing breast cancer.

“The spirit of the event this year was amazing,” says Larry Gaynor, president and CEO of The Nailco Group.“I’m truly proud our staff. The number of walkers from The Nailco Group grew by almost 200 over last year’s participation—and even the rain couldn’t keep them away. Together, we are making great strides to find a cure.”

Making Strides is the No. 1 breast-cancer fund-raising program in the United States. The Nailco Group joins with the American Cancer Society by participating in the ACS at Work program to fight cancer on multiple fronts—as a sponsor of Making Strides and by instituting the Salons for a Cure program.

HOUSTON—Karl-Heinz Pitsch recently was named Farouk Systems’ new chief operating officer. He brings more than 20 years of experience in the beauty industry, having served in several key positions at manufacturers including Wella, Sebastian, Graham Webb, Belvedere and Kadus. In his new role, he will oversee marketing, sales, education and new-product developments as well as administration and finance.

According to Farouk Shami, chairman and founder of Farouk Systems, the decision was easy. “With Karl-Heinz at the helm, my company can better serve the professional salon industry and help accomplish our future missions,” Shami says.

For more information, visit www.farouk.com.

Medical-Spa Group Formed

GARDEN CITY, N.Y.—A new organization recently was launched to help physicians in the start-up and ongoing management of medical spas. The new venture, Aesthetic Centers of Excellence (ACE), helps physicians and practice administrators with cost-effective development and addition of medical spas to existing practices. Through its group purchasing power, ACE is able to offer members pre-negotiated discounted pricing through its many vendor partners, which include companies such as INAMED, Canfield, Palomar and Caligor.

ACE is comprised of leaders in plastic surgery who have already implemented successful medi-spas in their practices, as well as experts in the field of practice-building with years of experience in helping physicians increase revenue.

“Medi-spas are proving to be the best alternative revenue source for plastic surgery practices today, and we know that there are currently a great many physicians who may be considering the addition of one to their practice as a way to grow their business and offer today’s patients what they are looking for in terms of value-added services,” says Dr. Rick Crici, ACE founder and president.

The organization offers initial and ongoing medi-spa staff training programs, development of fee schedules, and customized branding, marketing and advertising plans that are critical to building a strong patient base for the added facility.

For more information, call Lucy Rosen at (516) 222-0236 or visit www.aestheticcentersofexcellence.com.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—Tony Quist recently joined the Professional Beauty Association (PBA) as director of sales. He brings more than 12 years of experience in sales, management and production of local, national and international trade shows and conferences.

In July 2004, members of the Beauty & Barber Supply Institute, American Beauty Association and The Salon Association joined forces to create the PBA, a nonprofit trade association representing the professional beauty industry in North America.

For more information, call (800) 468-2274 or visit www.probeautyassociation.org.

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif.—The Pacific Waters Spa at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa recently tapped Michelle Frye as new spa director. The resort offered guests a $25-off coupon for a future treatment for stopping by the spa to meet Frye and simply shaking her hand.

Frye is an 11-year hospitality veteran, holding many management positions with hotels and resorts in Canada and Hawaii. She has been with Hyatt Hotels since 1999 and previously was the assistant manager at the 25,000-square-foot Anara Spa at the Hyatt Regency Kauai Resort and Spa.

For more information, call (714) 698-1234 or visit www.huntingtonbeach.hyatt.com.

MILWAUKEE—European Touch introduces new corporate branding. The new image consists of a clean, bright company logo, a new trade-show booth display and updated Web site and e-mail domains. The Web site (www.europeantouch.com) also has received a face lift and offers more information than ever.

The company also announces the addition of Jeff Grueneberg as senior product manager to its growing marketing team. Grueneberg brings 10-plus years of business experience, which has focused on the key elements of marketing. He will actively be involved in the company’s new-product-development process.

For more information, call (800) 626-6912 or e-mail info@europeantouch.com.

M’LIS Celebrates With Japanese Partner

SALT LAKE CITY—M’LIS celebrated with its business-development partner in Japan at the grand opening of Doctor’s Cosmetics Selections by The Face & Body Spa during the first week of November 2004. The retail store is in the new Herbis Ent commerce complex near the Japan Railway Osaka Station in Osaka, Japan.

“Our partnership and progress with Japanese distributors represents an important step in the expansion of our products and programs in the Japanese market and the enthusiastic Asian health and beauty markets,” says Jeff Beal, M’LIS’ international vice president. “We have enjoyed great success in the professional health and beauty markets and look forward to tremendous reception in the retail business as well.”

For more information, call (800) 548-0569 or visit www.mliscompany.com.

SANTA ANA, Calif.—Luxuriant is slated to move to a new 15,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Santa Ana, Calif., effective Jan. 20.

“We are growing very quickly, right along with all the natural/anti-aging market, and will now be able to house all operations in one central location,” says Melinda Clark, founder and CEO.

The company address will be 2205 S.Wright St., Santa Ana,CA 92705. Other contact information will remain the same.

Brett Maiser will take over as head of operations for Luxuriant.

For more information, call (800) 589-9509 or visit www.luxuriantonline.com.

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