COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Limited Inc. and Japanese cosmetics giant Shiseido have opened the first of what is to be a chain of specialty stores designed to challenge department-stores for cosmetic sales.

        The first Aura Science opened Friday in Columbus' Easton Town Center. The store targets women by pampering them with spa-like treatment while they shop and creating custom skin-care programs for them.

        Aura Science will be different from other retailers because it will cater to each woman's individual needs, said Robin Burns, Aura Science's president and chief executive.

        “Two same-aged women — say a 25-year-old woman who smokes and gets a lot of sun exposure versus one who doesn't — may not have the same skin-care needs,” she said.

        At the door, customers are offered a hot towel to freshen up.

        They are then escorted to a computer to answer a questions about their skin condition before being whisked to the section of the store that offers a variety of cleansers, lotions and moisturizers designed for their skin type.

        Each section of the store has products that fight the damages of blemishes, stress and aging. The store also has makeup, nail polish and accessories.

        The Limited, based in Columbus, said personal-care and beauty products are a huge potential market. The products generated $29 billion in sales in the United States last year.

        About $5 billion in face-care products were sold in the United States last year, but sales are expected to increase as the baby boomer generation ages.

        Kline & Co., a Little Falls, N.J.-based marketing firm, said specialty stores selling beauty products eventually will overtake department stores. Specialty stores have an annual sales growth of 5 percent to 6 percent through 2006, compared with 2 percent to 3 percent for department stores.

        The Limited and Shiseido said they hope their products will be less expensive than competitors such as Estee Lauder and Lancome, whose products are sold in department stores.

        The companies plan to open 10 Aura Science stores nationwide this year, including a store in Chicago, Schaumburg, Ill., Paramus, N.J., Arlington, Va., and Bethesda, Md. The companies hope to expand the chain to 500 stores.

        The Limited and Shiseido announced the venture in 2000.

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