Global Investing

Who said cosmetics are recession-proof and would be the last to be hit in the economic downturn? (I, at least, thought so.)

But whoever said so seems to be wrong. The Professional Beauty Association‘s three main tracking indices for the salon and spa industry extended a decline in the third quarter of 2011 to hit their lowest level in two years. 

The Salon & Spa Performance Index (SSPI) is a quarterly composite index that tracks the health and outlook of the U.S. salon and spa industry. It fell 1% from the second quarter to 101.9, posting the second consecutive quarterly decline.

However, the SSPI and the two remaining indices (Current and Expectations indices) remain above a base level measurement of 100 (above 100 indicates expansion), so the situation is not that bad.

“While the third quarter is typically slower for many salons and spas due to the summer holiday season, the trend results from the Salon & Spa Performance Index are discouraging,” said Steve Sleeper, Executive Director for the Professional Beauty Association.

Business bosses, it seems, are as much in the dark as the investors who buy stocks in their companies.

That is the worrying conclusion of a new survey from Booz & Co. 

After quizzing more than 800 senior managers, it found 40 percent doubted that their company’s leadership had a credible plan to address the economic crisis and an even higher number – 46 percent – were not sure that their top management could carry out the plan, credible or not.

Alarmingly, even at the CEO and board level, one third of those responding were sceptical of their own plans.