This issue concludes Skin Inc. magazine’s 20th anniversary celebration, and it’s so exciting to be able to draw the party to a close with yet another important milestone for the publication’s history books. Both Skin Inc. magazine and associate editor Cathy Christensen have won prestigious Eddie Awards in the 2008 FOLIO: Awards competition, which recognizes editorial excellence in magazine publishing. Cathy, who has been a dedicated team member for six years, brought home the gold in the category Best Single Article in a Business-to-Business publication in the Recreation/Sports/Outdoor category for her article, “The Stomach and the Soul: Incorporating Food and Drink in the Spa,” from the January 2008 issue of Skin Inc. magazine. Her prize-winning article focuses on how the spa industry is incorporating cuisine into its offerings. If you haven’t yet read this article, you can check it out. Hats off to Cathy for this amazing accomplishment.
The good news doesn’t stop there … the February 2008 issue of Skin Inc. magazine, which featured the theme “All Things Organic,” won the silver in the category Best Full Issue in a Business-to-Business publication in the Recreation/Sports/Outdoor category. Congratulations to every single person on this publication’s hard-working staff who make it their job day in and day out to put out such a quality publication.
To give you just a little bit of background, the FOLIO: Awards is one of the largest award competitions in the magazine publishing industry, and this year it drew more than 2,800 entries. More than 100 expert judges spent weeks evaluating the entries and selecting the winners, and more than 350 finalists across nearly 120 categories were included. It is an honor to be recognized by one of the publishing industry’s foremost prestigious award competitions for our strength as a magazine and a team. We truly are proud of this accomplishment.
New set of challenges
It has been interesting to watch the industry change and grow during the years, and most definitely, today’s spa industry is facing different challenges than it was 20 years ago. We surveyed our readers to find out what challenges they are currently facing, and following is what they had to say:
- State of the economy 62%
- Supply costs 39%
- Increased competition/pricing 33%
- Finding employees 25%
- Maintaining adequate cash flow 25%
- Insurance costs 18%
- Retaining employees 17%
- Government regulations 8%
As we move forward into the new year, Skin Inc. magazine will work to address issues such as these that are affecting your business, as well as the lifestyle and livelihood of your clients. You can even pass some of your best business practices and policies down to your fellow colleagues—drop me an e-mail at [email protected], and let me know how your spa is dealing with the current economic situation that is affecting most of the industry.
Until Next Time,
Melinda Taschetta-Millane
