Retail roundup: Sephora x Sol de Janeiro; Elemis; Superdrug; Lookfantastic; Holland & Barrett x Next
Sephora x Sol de Janeiro tag-team with popup
The LVMH-owned beauty retailer Sephora is launching a summer-themed pop-up in partnership with Gen Z-favourite body care brand Sol de Janeiro in London this weekend.
‘The Summer SOL-cial Club’ activation will take place in London’s Westfield White City shopping centre between 11 - 14 July and “aims to encapsulate the feeling of summer and adventure.”
The all-star duo both continue to grow and attract new beauty consumers, and so the decision to invest budgets into an experiential beauty popup is likely to be a big marketing win for both brands.
Superdrug sales continue to grow
The UK health and beauty retailer Superdrug has reported that its sales for 2023 rose by 11.8% compared to the previous year. Up to £1,528m from £1,367m in 2022.
It also said that it has increased its market share for the third consecutive year – reaching 10.6% compared to 8.9% back in 2020.
The retailer, which is owned by Chinese company AS Watson, has attributed this growth to a strong retail store performance, increased sales volume, and continued expansion of its own brand products.
It noted that its volume sales for total revenue increased by 4.2 % year-on-year thanks to its ‘Made by’ Superdrug products, which gave the company a USP and a means to showcase its NPD innovation.
As an example, it highlighted that its Superdrug’s Optimum Collagen Night Cream “flew off the shelves in the first half of the year after amazing reviews by beauty fans and twice sold out due to demand.”
Its own brand cosmetic range, Studio London, also continued to grow.
In 2023, Superdrug also opened 14 new stores and updated 45 of its existing stores to improve the bricks-and-mortar experience for its customers.
CEO Peter Macnab commented: “As inflation continued to put pressure on households, at Superdrug we’ve invested heavily to keep our prices competitive and help families keep costs down.”
Macnab explained that in May 2023, the retailer had reduced its prices by 20% (equivalent to UK VAT) across its own Solait sun protection range to “help make products more affordable for families and rolled out additional members-only pricing across own brand ranges.”
Elemis opens first standalone store
The L’Occitane Group’s Elemis brand has just opened its first-ever standalone store in Covent Garden’s Seven Dials.
The new bricks-and-mortar flagship includes interactive features such as a product play table and a sensorial scent experience, where customers can immerse themselves in the Original, Rose and Green Fig aromatics of the brand’s bestseller: Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm.
General manager Susan Harvey called it: “a multi-faceted space where even more people can experience our holistic approach to skin wellness and innovation.”
An LED kinetic wall surrounding the treatment area at the rear of the store features a bespoke organic pattern evoking the vibrational frequency of plants.
Customers can also enjoy facials, view exclusive products, and get a first preview of new launches from the brand.
Lookfantastic to open first physical store
THG’s Lookfantastic is set to open its first physical ‘concept’ store in September 2024 where it will stock over 90 brands, and it has made the decision to house it in Altrincham, Cheshire.
THG Beauty CEO Lucy Gorman said of the decision: "This innovative retail space goes beyond products, offering a unique and immersive beauty destination. It perfectly complements our omnichannel strategy, bridging the gap between our established online community and the success of our pop-up events.”
And the pureplay beauty retailer is not the only one to look to the north for brick-and-mortar store expansion.
Space NK is planning to open two new stores in Manchester this sumner. One at Arndale shopping centre and the other at Trafford Centre.
While LVMH’s Sephora has just opened a store in Manchester’s Trafford Centre and is set to open another two in Newcastle in autumn 2024.
Holland & Barrett x Next partner for store-within-a-store model
Health and beauty retailer Holland & Barrett plans to open three store-within-a-store locations in fashion retailer Next’s stores this summer, where it will offer a curated selection of around 1,000 bestsellers and offer shoppers personalised in-store advice.
The first concession will open Next’s Ipswich store, the second in North Shields, and the third location will be announced later this year.
Holland & Barrett’s property and format director Nick Gerrard said the retailer has “an ambitious three-year transformation strategy to become our customer’s first choice for wellness products, advice services and solutions.”
Gerrard shared that to help achieve this its “investing in revitalising the store experience, taking a flexible approach to space planning and piloting new locations and store footprints.”
