Roaring ‘20s Rebound

I read the other day about the French cosmetics group L’Oreal’s expectations about life in the not-too-distant future.

But first let’s go back in time about 100 years.

Let’s go back to the historic, freewheeling, happy-go-lucky Roaring ‘20s.

That decade didn’t only mean The Untouchables and the mob in major American cities but it also was a period of time from 1921-1929, following the First World War, that offered economic prosperity with a distinctive cultural edge. The period was marked by mass consumerism, as Jazz-Age flappers and speakeasies flouted prohibition laws and the Harlem Renaissance redefined arts and culture.

The 1920s were called “roaring” because of their exuberant, carefree popular culture. It was a time when many people defied Prohibition, indulged in new styles of dancing and dressing, and rejected many traditional moral standards. The nation’s total wealth more than doubled between 1920 and 1929, and this economic growth swept many Americans into an affluent but unfamiliar “consumer society.”

Just to further stoke memories, it was a period when people said: elephant’s adenoids, cat’s meow, ant’s pants, tiger’s spots, bullfrog’s beard, elephant’s instep, caterpillar’s kimono, turtle’s neck, duck’s quack, duck’s nuts, monkey’s eyebrows, gnat’s elbows, oyster’s earrings, snake’s hips, kipper’s knickers, elephant’s manicure, clam’s garter, eel’s ankle, leopard’s stripes, tadpole’s teddies, sardine’s whiskers, canary’s tusks, pig’s wings, cuckoo’s chin, and butterfly’s book.

What did those words mean, who knows but they sounded like fun and the people wanted to have fun.

Now flash forward to 2021. We’ve been enduring the COVID-19 pandemic and on-again, off-again lockdowns for almost 12 months. Everyone is fed up and stir crazy. Men, women and kids of all ages have just about had it. And now word comes along from officialdom that slowly we’ll be opening small businesses, restaurants and bars, and sports venues. Are we beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel?

L’Oreal thinks so.

L’Oreal forecast on February 11 a strong rebound in makeup sales when the COVID-19 pandemic gives way to a “roaring 20s” when people get dressed up and go out again to socialize.

Buoyed by this optimism, shares in L’Oreal, rose after the group reported higher than expected fourth-quarter sales growth, broadly outperforming a cosmetics market hit hard by the pandemic. The cosmetics company that profits on consumers’ emotions and desires said with many hair salons still closed and millions of consumers in lockdown, it was cautious about prospects for the market. However, it forecast that the 4.8 % comparable sales growth seen in the past three months of 2020 would continue into the first quarter.

L’Oreal CEO and Chairman Jean-Paul Agon was quoted as saying sales would accelerate sharply as COVID-19 vaccines are distributed and levels of infection subside.

“People will be happy to go out again, to socialize,” he said at a presentation of the company’s results. “This will be like the Roaring ‘20s, there will be a fiesta in makeup and in fragrances,” he said, referring post-war economic boom, when people wore daring fashions and partied.

This may also send hopeful signals to many distressed small business owners across all markets, hankering to open their doors and greet customers. Indeed. Consumers and businesses deserve a reprieve after a very stressful year filled with death and disease. If the prognostications are accurate, then before you hang the “Open” sign on your door, prepare, plan and promote your intentions. Get your supply chain involved. See guidance, advice and knowledge.

However, let’s keep in mind that if we’re not careful and we go overboard with exuberance then the coronavirus can return with a vengeance.

To be the cat’s meow on Main Street, you gotta use your noodle and don’t take any wooden nickels.