Tremendous Nail Market Down Under

 

Australia and New Zealand are tremendous markets for the professional nail care business. Though nail care professionals are not required to be licensed in Australia, nails are serious business “down under,” according to industry speaker and nail salon owner Paula Gilmore, who attended last year’s Key to Beauty Expo in Melbourne, Australia, sponsored by the Australian Beauty Association. “Technicians do beautiful nails there and they really dress up for shows. The academies in Australia have instructors who really know and love nails. Students get better training there than in the United States because the instructors care about nails,” says Gilmore.

Joey Brown, a member of OPI’s International Design Team, held a seminar at this year’s Key to Beauty Expo in Sydney, Australia, July 9-10. (The show location alternates year to year between Melbourne and Sydney.) Brown’s topics were “Progress of the Nail Market.” and “Future Product trends and Techniques.” She completed a series of educational workshops in Australia and then embarked to New Zealand where she was a judge at the 1994 OPI Nail Competition. Says Brown, “Australia and New Zealand have experienced incredible growth in the entire beauty industry, and they are starved for styles, trends, and products from the United States. These professionals want to learn and be the best.”