The proliferation of celebrity-backed brands in recent years has led to a saturation of the market, resulting in a diminishing impact on audience engagement. Celebrities, acknowledging this shift, are now exploring the realm of in-store experiences as a strategic approach to revitalizing their brands. By venturing beyond the virtual realm and into physical retail spaces, they aim to reconnect with their existing customer base while simultaneously attracting new ones.
In early May, PYMNTS learned that LolaVie, the haircare brand founded by Jennifer Aniston, formed its first strategic retail partnership with Ulta Beauty, offering customers the opportunity to discover and buy the entire range of LolaVie products at over 1,350 Ulta Beauty stores across the country, as well as online at Ulta.com.
“The idea for LolaVie started years ago,” said Aniston at the time of the announcement. “We launched in 2021 and since then, the brand’s success has exceeded my wildest expectations! Now, we’re launching into Ulta Beauty, the largest beauty retailer in the U.S.”
Since its debut in September 2021, LolaVie’s flagship product, the Glossing Detangler, quickly gained recognition and earned numerous prestigious beauty awards. Building on this success, the brand celebrated its first anniversary by introducing the highly acclaimed Restorative Shampoo and Conditioner, which has become one of its best-selling products to date.
During its quest for the perfect retail partner, LolaVie placed great importance on aligning strategic product launches and shared company values, deciding that Ulta Beauty resonated with its brand philosophy and objectives.
As a result of this partnership, LolaVie’s complete product lineup, including the Glossing Detangler, Perfecting Leave-In, Lightweight Hair Oil, Restorative Shampoo, and Restorative Conditioner, can now be found at every Ulta Beauty store nationwide and can also be purchased online at Ulta.com.
In a bid to gain a larger market share in the Sephora customer base, Haus Labs by Lady Gaga is set to make its debut in the U.K. next month. The brand is already available to Sephora customers in the United States and Canada. The partnership with Sephora U.K. will offer customers in the region the opportunity to access the range of Haus Labs products.
“I’m extremely excited to announce that we are bringing brand-new, supercharged, clean artistry makeup to the U.K. through a place that has inspired me for years, Sephora,” Gaga said in a statement. “At Haus Labs, artistry is for everyone, and no one should have to damage their skin or sacrifice their principles and values to be self-expressive with high-performance makeup.”
The launch is expected to coincide with the opening of Sephora’s new store at Westfield White City, offering customers both in-store and online access to Lady Gaga’s brand.
Back in January, PYMNTS reported on Sephora’s decision to discontinue two brands, Item Beauty and Selfless by Hyram, despite their association with social media figures boasting a combined following of nearly 10 million users.
See: Addison Rae’s Item Beauty Flops While Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty and Katy Perry’s De Soi Thrive
While this move might have raised eyebrows initially, Sephora’s decision proved to be a prudent one, ultimately offering valuable lessons for other brands and retailers to learn from.
The failure of TikTok personality Addison Rae to effectively promote her own product line became evident through her final post about Item Beauty on her personal Instagram feed on Sept. 29, 2022. That lack of effort ultimately led to a decline in consumer interest, resulting in a decrease in the brand’s social media following. For its part, Selfless — by another TikTok star, Hyram Yarbro — encountered significant backlash in September 2020 for its failure to amplify black voices in the beauty industry, leading to the brand becoming inactive on Twitter.
Sephora’s choice to discontinue the brands, however, was not directly related to the reasons mentioned above, but rather on mixed results observed over the years.
Despite Item Beauty and Selfless having a combined social media following of over half a million, both brands experienced a decline in their follower count starting in November 2021. Item Beauty witnessed a decrease in its Instagram followers, dropping from 355,000 to 333,000, while Selfless saw a decline from 196,000 to 169,000 during the same period.
The significance of securing shelf space and undertaking effective brand-building efforts cannot be underestimated, especially for the brands partnering with Sephora, particularly those owned and operated by influencers. Jeffrey Ten, the president of Global Indie Brand Development, emphasized the distinction between Sephora as a retailer and a manufacturer. Sephora serves as a platform for brands to sell their products, but the responsibility of brand development ultimately rests with the brands.
It is crucial for brands to view retailer distribution as a growth channel rather than relying solely on it for success. Simply securing a partnership with a retailer does not automatically guarantee sales and profits. To leverage the channel effectively, brands need to continuously promote the retailer relationship to their audiences, ensuring they are aware of the additional avenues through which they can access these products.
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