Vikash Singh, Clicks managing executive says the event has grown over the past two years as more beauty enthusiasts find out about it.
“From the first year to now, we have a lot more exhibitors. We can see a lot more engagement from the brands who want to engage in the Beauty Playground and what we are also seeing in terms of consumers is that the word gets around and the event gets bigger, which is why this year we used the CTICC. The first time we had the event in Cape Town we had it in Century City and we outgrew it,” he says.
Singh says a key focus on highlighting Black SMMEs over the next five years. Some of the SMME brands that were showcased include Masodi Organics, Portia M and Native Child.
He adds: “Small businesses are very key to our businesses, particularly Black-owned female businesses. We have partnered with the likes of Portia M and Ethnogenics from Gail Mabalane. Just this past year in terms of our purchases we spent R1bn with small black entrepreneurs and our plan is to grow to R4.5bn over the next five years.”
Singh says the event is important to differentiate Clicks in the competitive beauty market. “From a brand perspective, we always wanted to differentiate ourselves because we are a health and beauty brand. We wanted to cement that in the mind of the consumer, hence the Beauty Playground was born,” says Singh.
Today has been a blast!
The festive atmosphere and lekker vibes have made this #ClicksBeautyPlayground the BEST EVER.
Let's bring more heat tomorrow! �� pic.twitter.com/2uA9KzLe0x
— Clicks (@Clicks_SA) August 12, 2023
“For us as a business we wanted the event to convey excitement over beauty while being approachable, you come into this environment and it’s fun and relaxed. You get to know the brands and see what the new trends.”
Dove was the most popular exhibition among the visitors with thousands of people lining up to get a goodie bag. Attendees also received a goodie bag valued at over R2,000. Singh says in the future the event which has been held only in Cape Town and Johannesburg will also be taken to KwaZulu-Natal.
“Customers say two days are too short, so we are looking to have a three-day event, in the future we want to regionalise the event and KwaZulu-Natal is next. We want to get bigger and bolder and have more brands on board," concludes Singh.
