Show Notes:

In this episode of Unleashed, Will Bachman interviews Bart Sayer, an expert on the beauty industry. Bart worked for nine years at the Estée Lauder Companies, most recently as the International General Manager for one of its largest brands, Clinique, managing the $1B P&L. Previously, Bart was a partner at Booz & Company (now Strategy&, part of PwC), focused on strategy and commercial transformation in the Consumer & Retail sectors. The conversation focuses on understanding the structure of the beauty market and the main drivers of value creation.

The Beauty Industry Explained

Bart explains that the beauty industry is divided into four main categories: skincare, makeup, hair, care, and body. The market is divided into luxury and mass segments, with luxury beauty expected to grow between six and 8% in the foreseeable future. Taking the example of the United States, mass brands are more likely to be found in drugstores, such as Walgreens and CVs. Premium brands are more available in department stores or specialty multi, such as Sephora and Ulta, and a third channel being direct to consumer. At Estee Lauder they believed that distribution defines your equity, so prestige brands are careful about where they appear, hence the careful consideration and strict conditions associated with entering a channel like Amazon. Looking beyond the NA market, Travel Retail has been an important growth vehicle for luxury beauty brands over the past decade, though this growth has tempered in the past few years. Future growth of the beauty industry will remain defined by its two largest markets, the United States and China, while up-and-coming middle market countries will also represent attractive opportunities (e.g., India, Mexico, Brazil).

Manufacturing, Testing and Ingredients

The ingredients in mass and prestige products can differ in terms of the scarcity or rarity of the actives, including use of proprietary ingredients and formulations. Formulation philosophies vary widely across different entities. Many brands, for example, put extra protections in place to ensure product safety for sensitive skin and/or to conduct rigorous allergy testing. Bart discusses the importance of clinical testing in product and research development, highlighting that it is a high barrier to entry for indie brands. He also discusses the evolution of more nimble production models, including the prevalence of contract manufacturers that can manufacture the latest ingredients and bespoke formulations in quicker and more cost-effective ways than many of the brands themselves. This approach is not binary, as L'Oreal has over 40 different manufacturing facilities worldwide. Before leaving the manufacturing discussion, Bart quickly hit upon another topic, that of the evolution to more earned media-led marketing models, whereby companies seize organic market buzz before amplifying these messages with paid media.

Local vs. Global Adaptation

The concept of local versus global adaptation is crucial in the beauty industry. Brands must find a locally relevant articulation of their brand essence. Large media companies often have global ambassadors who can speak for the brand, but if a local face is not available, the brand may not get the traction needed. To succeed, brands must be more reactive to local market trends, deploying local influencers, tailored messaging and selecting locally relevant forums for generating PR, both online and offline.

Indie and Newer Brands

The conversation turned to the shift towards indie and newer brands in the beauty retail industry. The reasons behind the growth of the indies include lower barriers to entry on social media channels, an agile marketing model, the wide availability of contract manufacturers, and channel partners like Sephora that are focused on curating exclusive collections of the next “it” beauty brands. Often for these indie brands, the problem is not the launch itself (recruitment), but the stickiness (retention). Many of these companies struggle with repeat purchases, which are the key to success.

Sales and Distribution in the Beauty Industry

Bart discussed several high growth channels, including Sephora, a leading premium beauty retailer owned by the LVMH group, travel retailer and beauty e-tailers such as Zalando and Notino. Traditional points of distribution, such as department stores and perfumeries, have seen slower growth, especially in the West (and far less so in the East). Whatever the channel, the importance of constructing good “self-navigating experience” for prestige consumers is key. Across many of these newer retailers, clean beauty is a key theme, as is green and sustainable, free of parabens, sulfates, certain ingredients and fragrances. This raises the bar for brands to prove their bona fides in terms of ingredient publishing and sourcing. The conversation then pivoted to challenges in the supply chain, including shelf life of products (especially for consumers in the East) and SKU proliferation.

Demand Forecasting

Robust demand forecasting is crucial for brands to succeed to avoid out-of-stock situations and, conversely, the proliferation of excess. This can be particularly problematic when trying to create buzz and excitement with limited edition collections such as those sold over the holidays. Given profit, brand equity and sustainability concerns, rands have increasingly tried to err on the side of caution in their forecasts (FOMO). SKU periphery proliferation is another issue that brands are constantly fighting, seeking a balance between getting new out there while staying consistent and building out their portfolio.

Store Design and Staffing Models

In department stores, cosmetics brands often have significant control over the design of their stores, including all signage, key visuals and other elements of visual merchandising (e.g., gondola design, planogram setup). Done correctly, these can be huge differentiators. Unsurprisingly, prestige beauty brands have armies of store design, visual merchandising and staff (beauty advisor) education teams. Cost sharing with retail partners – CAPEX, staffing, promo – vary by channel and partner, thus representing a critical point in commercial negotiations (along with other topics like trade margin).

The Lucrative Nature of the Beauty Industry 

The cosmetics industry is a highly lucrative business with operating profits ranging from 10 to 25%. Gross margins can be 65% or more, depending on the brand and the type of product. Highest gross margin categories include skincare and luxury fragrances. However, there is no room for complacency, with many waging a constant war to lower the cost of goods through a combination of gross to net improvements, price increases, mix optimization, promo efficiencies and, of course, manufacturing savings. A hero-product focus is needed to get scale, thus providing ballast for marketing investments. Premiumization trade trends are continuing across categories and subcategories, with no sign of these trends abating.

 Timestamps:

03:30: Structure of the Cosmetics Industry and Market Segments

05:26: Specialty Channels and Distribution Strategies 

07:58: Differences Between Mass and Prestige Brands

10:06: Analyzing the Cosmetics Industry: Product and Research Development 

13:44: Marketing and Consumer Insights

18:33: Sales and Distribution Channels

22:49: Operations and Supply Chain 

31:57: Gross Margin Analysis and Financial Performance 

Website Links:

#1, Beauty Market Outlook:

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/the-beauty-boom-and-beyond-can-the-industry-maintain-its-growth

#2, FDA Regulations of Cosmetics:

https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetics-science-research/product-testing-cosmetics

#3, Risk of Indie Beauty Brands:

https://cosmeticsbusiness.com/how-indie-beauty-brands-can-break-america#:~:text=Indie%20brands%20are%20greatly%20influencing,and%20most%20likely%20through%202025.

#4, Beauty and Travel Retail:

https://wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/beauty-features/tackling-beautys-travel-retail-conundrum-estee-lauder-loreal-clarins-bulgari-dfs-heinemann-1236682262/

#5, Green Beauty:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2023/12/22/green-glamour-12-clean-beauty-brands-leading-the-eco-revolution/

#6, Beauty & Supply Chain Challenges:

https://www.voguebusiness.com/beauty/new-ingredients-higher-prices-reformulating-beauty-in-the-supply-crisis

#7, QVC and Beauty:

https://entm.ag/1wEfOci

#8, Love, Indus (company referenced by Will and I during the discussion):

https://loveindus.com/collections/shop?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAkJO8BhCGARIsAMkswyiVNdA36DRltbku4DqHeLj-dAbZxAfsVOWmkyEP6Ah9bsxaNi3L4g4aAqP4EALw_wcB

Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com.