direct-to-consumer

Over the last decade, an avalanche of brands with public-facing founders emerged. While a prominent founder can propel growth, customers use other factors to assess whether a brand is suited to their needs, according The State of Fashion: Beauty Volume 2.

The Italian cosmetics giant has deftly engineered a premiumisation strategy, and has elevated its distribution, product selection and points of differentiation, heavily reducing discounts and promotions in the process. Chief executive Simone Dominici explained how it deployed its strategy in The State of Fashion: Beauty Volume 2.

Based on a proprietary survey of fashion shoppers across the EU5 — those in the UK, Germany, France Italy and Spain — and BoF Insights intelligence, this new report, developed in collaboration with Amazon Fashion & Sports in Europe, reveals how fashion brands can meet rising customer expectations and nurture long-term loyalty in an increasingly competitive online retail landscape.

Back under the ownership of founder Gregg Renfrew, the beauty label will relaunch on June 25 as Counter, keeping its clean formulations and giving up its MLM-style compensation model in favor of “community commerce.” Renfrew talks exclusively to The Business of Beauty about her vision for the new brand.

Digitally native brands that were once known for rampant social media ads — from Rothy’s to Everlane — are going all in on storytelling that boosts loyalty and creates long term sales growth.

The DTC e-tailer announced The Beauty Atelier by Quince, which will sell skincare products from brands like Augustinus Bader and 111Skin, and reflects an industry-wide effort for beauty stores to open marketplaces of their own.

Tourists have their pick of suitcases at every price point, thanks to low barriers to entry and a travel boom that’s inflated the category’s sales year after year. But amid signs demand has peaked, it’ll take more than a Shopify storefront and slick branding to succeed.

A challenging wholesale environment is pushing more fashion brands to sell on marketplaces where they directly fulfil customers orders. But the model requires a higher level of collaboration between brands and retailers to make it a mutually beneficial investment.