Nowadays, it can be difficult to keep up with trends in the fashion and beauty industry.
Thanks to the popularity of beauty brands and social media influencers, consumers' likes and dislikes seem to disappear as quickly as they appear.
Related: Ulta CEO Sounds Alarm About Growing Trend
And the push largely falls on stores to keep up with these trends. That means they have to be aware of what's hot right now, what consumers might want next, and be agile enough to anticipate those changes.
This can also be a risky game when it comes to pleasing customers. Underestimate the popularity of a brand and risk running out of inventory prematurely. If you overestimate it, you'll be stuck with excess inventory that you'll likely have to cut your profits from.
But customers are increasingly demanding more options; So everyone from boutiques to large corporations are integrating more exclusive beauty brand partnerships to attract them.
Walmart (WMT) For example, it recently launched an exclusive agreement with cosmetics giant L'Oreal, through which it will now market the L'Oreal Paris Elvive Hyaluron + Plump hair line, which focuses on a popular new trend on TikTok: hair care and the balance of the skin of the scalp.
Related: amazon adds another luxury brand to take on Sephora
amazon (AMZN) continues to expand its premium beauty section, adding beauty giant Clinique and Kiehl's to its storefront this spring.
In 2022, goal (TGT) agreed to put mini versions of Ulta (ULTA) stores within their own stores. And in 2021 Kohl's (K.S.S.) agreed to do something similar with Sephora, something it regularly hails as one of its smartest business moves in the company's recent history.
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Beauty stores are revolutionizing the shopping experience
Few companies have gotten the brand anticipation game right better than LVMH (LVMHF) -property of Sephora. With more than 2,700 stores in 35 countries worldwide, the beauty giant helped reinvent the in-store beauty shopping experience.
It used to be that people looking for cosmetics had to go to the mall to purchase supplies at a beauty counter inside a big box corner store. This usually meant driving a fair distance to the local mall, locating Macy's, Nordstrom, or another big-box store once inside, and then running from counter to counter to guess what her favorite lipstick, perfume, or foundation would be.
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- Ulta CEO Sounds Alarm About Growing Problem
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- amazon launches a cool new subscription product
How times have changed. Instead of having to pass between brightly lit glass displays and ask associates for help every time they want to try something (or avoid being upsold on a product), customers can simply walk into their local Ulta. (ULTA) or Sephora and help themselves. Products are laid out for display, where customers can try out all the colors, fragrances and products they want without needing any help.
Sephora continues to grow
Just because the beauty industry is growing more every year doesn't mean success is divided equally. Retailers must expand wisely to avoid market saturation and strategically locate where they can capture the most traffic (and sales).
Hence Sephora's decision to expand into Tanger Outlets (SKT) It's so tempting. According to the two corporations, Sephora will expand into Tanger Outlets with the opening of five new stores in the popular outdoor shopping areas. Each location will be approximately 5,000 square feet and will begin in the following areas:
- Charleston, South Carolina
- Deer Park, New York, USA
- National Harbor, Maryland.
- Palm Beach, Florida.
- Phoenix/Glendale, Arizona.
Deployment is actually an expansion of a pre-existing presence; Sephora currently operates a store at Tanger's Bridge Street Town Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and has seen considerable success.
Related: Sephora Is Suddenly Leaving a Major Market
Tanger, for his part, says that incorporating more Sephora is part of a broader strategy to diversify its clients' offerings and lean more into new areas such as beauty. The Outlet estimates that approximately 120 million customers shop in Tangier each year and seeks to attract more young shoppers to its market by introducing new brands and stores that are popular online.
“As the category-leading prestige retail brand, Sephora will bring an elevated, aspirational beauty experience to our centers and allow us to offer our guests a full suite of pricing and products in the beauty category,” said Justin Stein, executive vice president. rental for Tangier. “We believe this will be a very successful partnership for both of our companies as Sephora continues to expand its presence with Tanger.”
Tanger expects the five new Sephoras to begin opening later in 2024.
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