July 17, 2018, to August 21, 2018
Beauty brands are adopting artificial intelligence technologies, including augmented reality, to create personalized marketing. With 70 percent of American women beauty buyers claiming being overwhelmed by product choices in a May 2018 survey by marketing firm Automat, beauty marketers see the need to provide consumers with product recommendations tailored to their needs. Beauty retailer Sephora’s Virtual Artist, for example, lets users upload photos in Messenger to virtually try on lipstick shades recommended by bots. However, marketers need to convince consumers to try and be comfortable with AI-enabled initiatives, with about a third of respondents saying they were unsure about using a virtual beauty advisor.
Facebook has announced plans to allow advertisers to display their products on its Messenger and News Feed platforms using new technologies, including augmented reality. Facebook VP for product marketing for global marketing solutions, Ty Ahmad-Taylor, introduced AR-enabled ads that let consumers virtually try on sunglasses and makeup products. Beauty brand Michael Kors was the first advertiser to try AR ads, which include a “Tap to try it on” option.
Beauty retailers’ adoption of technology to create personalized marketing has helped them avoid the bankruptcies affecting the rest of the retail market. Data from the timeline released by CB Insights in March 2018 showed beauty retail is growing faster than the apparel and footwear segment of the retail market. Marketing technology investments made by beauty retailers include L’Oreal’s acquisition of ModiFace, a company that integrates augmented reality into apps operated by several beauty brands, including retailer Sephora. Department stores, including Target and Saks Fifth Avenue, are implementing AR-enabled apps and platforms.
June 19, 2018, to July 17, 2018
Beauty brands are increasingly trying a more direct approach to reach their consumers rather than relying solely on traditional retailer relationships. In an attempt to gain a better understanding of consumer preferences, many are opening stores, using digital technology and offering a more experiential destination, including classes and treatments. Eyelash extension business Glad Lash recently opened its first retail location in California, and skin-care brand Osea, once only available in spas, is planning to open a store. CoverGirl is aiming to launch a tech-focused store in New York’s Times Square later this year.
Beauty brand Morphe, based in Los Angeles, said it plans to open a retail store at the Mall of America in fall 2018. Established by brother and sister Linda and Chris Tawil, the company makes and sells budget-friendly, professional-quality beauty products and tools. For example, its Jaclyn Hill Eyeshadow Palette includes 35 unique colors for only $38. Its founders started the company by selling directly to consumers through it online store morphe.com. It has achieved a cult-like status on social media, with 6.4 million followers on Instagram.
US beauty brand Glossier is using digital technology to establish and maintain a direct relationship with its customers. Henry Davis, president and chief operating officer of the company, said his company strongly believes in the value of owning the relationship with the customer. After launching its online business in 2014, Glossier has gained a niche status in the global beauty market by selling its collection of 26 skincare and beauty products. It also operates a content division and physical stores across the country.
June 05, 2018, to June 19, 2018
Finnish beauty tech firm Revieve is introducing a tool for brands and retailers to allow their customers to try on the full range of their products. Revieve AR Virtual Try-on is part of the company’s Digital Beauty Advisor integrated suite of white-label tools. It uses selfies to analyze faces to provide personalized product recommendations and advice. It will be available in e-commerce, in-store and social media channels.
Dutch beauty online retailer Cosmania now offers customers a more personalized shopping experience through a new digital consultant. It has partnered with Finnish startup Revieve and its Digital Beauty Advisor platform to provide users with personalized skincare advice, skin analysis and product recommendations, using a selfie. Cosmania said the partnership is a response to growing consumer demand for a more interactive, personalized shopping experience. Revieve's technology is just one of many applications trying to replicate the work of in-store consultants by machine-learning and AI.
After going viral, an app developed by Chinese software firm Meitu that altered the user’s selfie image hit up against privacy concerns. The company is now trying to commercialize its software by employing its various selfie apps and virtual reality to offer real-world benefits. Meitu is partnering with a hospital to develop MeituBeauty, an app that assesses skin condition through a selfie to recommend products. It also allows users to try virtual makeup and then buy it.
May 29, 2018, to June 05, 2018
Macy's Beauty is aiming to provide customers with an enhanced shopping experience online and in physical stores. For example, customers in some stores can use the YouCam Makeup magic mirror kiosks to try on makeup virtually, using selfies. Other aspects of the retailer’s drive include Beauty Playground, a program to keep its beauty advisors up to date on tips and products, and Macy’s Beauty Box, a $15 per month subscription service that provides samples and freebies. This is complemented by Macy’s Beauty’s new online campaign, the “Deeper Beauty”, aimed at helping women feel empowered and more confident.
In celebration of its 190th anniversary, French perfume house Guerlain has set up a pop-up shop in one of Paris’s prized department stores, Le Bon Marché. The pop-up serves to honour Guerlain's legacy as the oldest French perfume house and is showcasing 110 fragrances, categorized according to Guerlain's 14 favourite natural ingredients. Store visitors will be able to identify the scent best suited to them by using the digital “perfume organ”, a program that uses an algorithm to match users' personal olfactory profile with the perfect fragrance. Guerlain also allows customers to personalize the perfume bottle, including its shape, color and engraving.
Hyundai Department Store launched an upgrade to its online mall in the form of a virtual make up try-on service powered by augmented reality (AR). The virtual service, offered via Meitu's Makeup Plus app, allows customers to try on more than 20 products across eight beauty brands without visiting a physical store, with plans to extend it to 20 brands. Hyundai said the AR approach is their way of differentiating themselves from other online retailers, which they said still focus on prices and delivery speed. Meitu's app has been downloaded more than 200-million times since its 2015 launch.
May 22, 2018, to May 29, 2018
Glossier, a direct-to-consumer beauty brand, is to open its first physical outlet on the West Coast, in the hope of repeating the success of its pop-up store in San Francisco, which opened for a month in March, and what is described as a shoppable ‘showroom’ in New York. The brand has also tried one-week pop-up stores in both London and Toronto. The new 1,500 square foot store will be on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. The brand has proved popular among millennials in both the US and the UK, and the company attracted over $50 million in Series C finance earlier this year. Emily Weiss, founder and CEO, says that the new store doesn’t signal a change in the brand’s predominantly online focus, and also confirmed that the brand will continue to prioritize selling directly to the consumer. Online, it relies on social media and influencers to drive sales.
Ginza Stefany, a Japanese subsidiary of LG’s Household & Health Care (LG H&H) business, has agreed to acquire Avon’s Japanese operation, Avon Japan for 10.5 billion yen (approximately US$96 million). Direct-seller Avon Japan was established 50 years ago and is ranked 21st in the country in terms of retail sales. LG H&H, which has built its Japanese operation with two local acquisitions, Ginza Stefany Cosmetics in 2012 and Everlife in 2013, has been developing its business presence in Japan, which Euromonitor International estimates is the third largest beauty and personal care market in the world, with 2017 sales of US$ 36.1 billion.
Direct-to-consumer premium haircare brand, MONAT has been awarded the Direct Selling Network's BRAVO Growth Award for topping the growth charts of all direct sales companies between fiscal years 2016 and 2017. It was also ranked 52nd on the DSN Global 100, its first appearance on the list. The brand is owned by Alcora Corp., a direct sales company focused on the US and Latin America.
March 13, 2018, to May 22, 2018
Coty seeks to provide the "next generation" of personal consumer experience with its new Magic Mirror, which combines virtual reality and physical products in a blended reality makeup try-on service. The new technology was unveiled during the relaunch of Coty's Borjois Paris boutique. Shoppers can pick a makeup product and watch the Magic Mirror "apply" it to their reflection. Visitors can use the Magic Mirror with lipsticks, eye makeup, and brushes that the Mirror "matches" with their skin tones thanks to computer vision and augmented reality technology. Magic Mirror can also take selfies of customers with the virtual makeup, which it can then e-mail to its users or print in-store.
Clairol is using Snapchat’s shoppable augmented reality platform, Lens, to allow users to “try-on” the brand’s Color Crave hair color products. The lenses will run through June 30, and users can also share and buy the products from the app. Clairol, a Coty brand, said the initiative is part of its effort to merge beauty and technology by creating a seamless shopping experience that bridges the gap between content and commerce.
Global beauty company L'Oréal has announced the acquisition of its first Korean beauty company, Nanda Co. Ltd. Stylenanda, which started as a fashion brand, is now dominated by the 3CE cosmetic brand, which contributed over 70% of total 2017 turnover of 127 million euros. L’Oréal aims to expand the brand internationally. The company currently has operations in Korea and Japan, and also does business in overseas markets, such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. It uses multi-channel online and offline distribution, including its own flagship physical locations in Seoul and Tokyo. L’Oréal said the brand is well placed to address the growing demand for makeup by millennials, especially in Korea and China.
January 16, 2018, to March 13, 2018
L'Oréal recently showcased two technology products from the La Roche-Posay brand designed to advance skin safety in the sun. Introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in February, UV Sense is a battery-free wearable -- on the thumbnail -- electronic UV sensor that provides crucial information about individual ultraviolet (UV) exposure levels. A limited-edition variant of My UV Patch was also on display. Both technologies, designed by Yves Béhar’s fuseproject design studio, will be available from the La Roche-Posay brand this year. The company launched My UV Patch, a stretchable skin sensor to monitor UV exposure, in 2016.
An online survey conducted by Harris Poll has found that 65 percent of participants believe the winds, low temperatures, hot showers, and warm houses of January contribute to dry skin. The poll, sponsored by skincare company CeraVe, found that 42 percent believe dry skin in the winter is one of the things they dislike most – more than going to the DMV, filing taxes, and shoveling snow – and wish there were a “quick fix” for the problem. Many of those polled (25 percent) said they are neglecting a skincare routine that could bring them the fix they're seeking. Fifteen percent admitted they never moisturize their skin at all. CeraVe announced the poll results in conjunction with its declaration that January 8 is Winter Skin Relief Day, a good time to start moisturizing with products like CeraVe Healing Ointment.
Personal care company ESN Group has entered the ceramide skincare market with its Ceramedx line of formulations, including a cleanser, moisturizing cream, and body lotion. The products feature a “plant-based ceramide technology” known as Riceramide-3 Complex. They are fragrance-free and made without parabens or petrolatum. Ceramide-based skincare products entered the market with the launch of Nestlé subsidiary Galderma’s Cetaphil product line, which now includes formulations for men. Another major competitor for California-based ESN Group is L’Oréal, which paid more than a billion dollars to acquire the Valeant skincare brands, which include CeraVe. In the Ceramedx press release, a dermatologist noted that the new product line offers “a more natural alternative for patients of mine with dry skin who need a therapeutic product.”
November 21, 2017, to January 16, 2018
L’Oréal has opened a $51 million research and innovation center in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro designed to develop products targeted at Brazilian consumers. The new center is one of seven operated by L’Oréal globally. The company also confirmed that its Episkin skin reconstruction model will be available to the Brazilian scientific community beginning this month.
L’Oréal New Zealand, which began marketing in the country only three months ago, has introduced a line of La Roche-Posay on-skin sun protection products that measure UV exposure. At the launch of the Anthelios XL range, executives said the product range generally focuses on solutions for sensitive skin. Skin concerns, including rising incidences of diseases, encompass lifestyle conditions such as obesity, genetic conditions, and cancer. Suncare offerings from La Roche-Posay include My UV Patch, a temporary transparent adhesive containing photosensitive dyes that change color when exposed to UV rays to indicate varying levels of sun exposure. The patch was inspired by electrocardiogram (ECG) technology, according to the company.
L’Oréal operates on all five geographical continents, and on one that is conceptual but still real and large. The travel retail segment comprises airports where stores sell a wide range of L’Oréal makeup, fragrances, and cosmetics between flights. After four decades, travel retail continues to thrive, driven by Millennials taking advantage of low-cost flights and by Chinese consumers – a market set to double in size by 2023. Digital technologies are also at work in travel retail, along with “retailtainment,” a strategy of transforming points of sale into spaces where women can get their make-up done, or pop into a lip bar. At one of nine airport dermacenters, L’Oréal customers can consult with a specialist who performs skin analyses.
November 14, 2017, to November 21, 2017
The death of heiress Liliane Bettencourt, whose family owns 33 percent of L’Oréal, will likely force key investors to address the company’s ownership structure. Nestlé SA, which owns 23 percent, agreed with the Bettencourts not to increase stakes in L’Oréal, but this agreement expires in six months. Nestlé could then purchase a controlling share in L’Oréal but is more likely to sell its stake, a move that would force L’Oréal to accept wider (and potentially hostile) ownership or opt to invest further funds in the company, boosting earnings per share but reducing funds available for acquisitions. For Nestlé, the resulting 24 billion euro windfall brings a dilemma. It could payout funds to appease shareholders and especially its activist investor, Third Point, or use the funds to double down on its currently lackluster food and nutrition business.
A L’Oréal Active Cosmetics study, ‘Health Is The Future Of Beauty,’ explores links between health and beauty and finds that 93% of survey respondents say taking care of health allows you to remain beautiful and fit for longer. L’Oréal Active Cosmetics sees this as a “radical shift in consumer expectations.” The study also found that more than 75% of respondents believe beauty can boost self-confidence and 64% claim that being in good health is their top priority in life. Skin protection is the main skincare goal, cited by 94% of French women and ranked before preservation (90%), treatment (57%), and transformation (19%). Last, an average of 21% of women think it’s important for manufacturers to collaborate with health professionals in developing products such as skincare. The study was based on online interviews with 5,000 women in USA, Germany, France, Brazil, and China.
L`Oréal released its sales results to September 30, 2017 with Chairman and Chief Executive, Mr. Jean-Paul Agon, saying
: “there was an acceleration in the third quarter with growth at +5.1% like-for-like. Overall, the Group outperformed the market and strengthened its position.” The company says its Active Cosmetics Division is continuing to accelerate, with sales up by +11.3% and by +5% like-for-like in the third quarter, reflecting the good performance of American brands SkinCeuticals and CeraVe in North America. La Roche-Posay also saw growth in all Zones and launched Lipikar Stick AP+ anti-itch for sensitive skin, while skincare brand Vichy saw success with its Minéral 89 product in the markets it was rolled-out, and is launching Liftactiv anti-oxidant and anti-fatigue fresh shot. Also, L`Oréal says its Active Cosmetics Division had good third quarter performance in Asia, driven by successful launches and e-commerce expansion.
October 17, 2017, to November 14, 2017
Sales of prestige skin care products in chain drug stores grew six percent in the second quarter to $1.4 billion, thanks to newer brands and products, and innovation from smaller players that meet a consumer desire for “discovery and uniqueness," according to NPD Group. Mass market skin care grew as well, albeit slightly slower than premium offerings. Facial cleansers and moisturizers – favorites of Millennials – have supplanted anti-aging products. L’Oréal’s CeraVe line of facial cleansers benefited from social media-generated word-of-mouth buzz, as sales bumped up 12.8 percent. Other facial cleansers performing well included Biore (up 13 percent), Olay (up 8 percent), and Garnier's Skinactive line, whose volume rose 65 percent.
L’Oréal is looking for a brand manager to handle the launch and marketing of facial cleanser line CeraVe in Romania and Bulgaria. The successful candidate will be able to grow the brand using tools such as consumer research and analysis, developing brand strategy, collaborating with other departments, budgeting, sales forecasting, etc. The candidate will have five or more years of experience in a similar position with a large consumer product brand in a multinational company, and have strong communication skills in Romanian, English, and possibly French.
Chinese consumer demand for Australian-made beauty and personal care products is strong, thanks to the country’s clean and green reputations, strict regulations, and quarantine control. Demand for Australian products will remain strong, according to Euromonitor, because they are more trusted and perceived as higher quality, with consumers willing to pay a premium. Australian companies can expect increasing sales, including via direct-to-consumer channels like Chinese e-commerce sites Tmall and JD.com. Australian companies and retailers have opened their own sites through these channels as well.