John Michael Bain

Circana reported that while US beauty sales slowed overall, the prestige beauty market grew by 9% in Q1 of 2024. Spending as a whole has slowed. Inflation prices have people restructuring their financial priorities, cutting out unnecessary expenses. Prestige's resilience is partly due to financial capacity - affluent people buying premium products. But, it's something else too. It's natural to want to indulge, even when money is tight. With beauty, that indulgence is a bit more accessible. One purchase will pay off for weeks or even months, depending on the product. Consumers' perception is that they can trust these investments, thanks to the quality and reputation of the prestige brand. They're often returning to a product they've been loyal to for years. Prestige brands can build on that perception for sustained success. The tricky part is differentiation. Competition is hot. Prestige brands need to make sure that they're offering an experience like no other. That goes for all aspects, from product development to branding. #Beauty #PrestigeBeauty #MarketTrends #Sales

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Guess appoints Andrew Rosen as CEO of Rag & Bone. The appointment comes nearly two months after Guess Inc. and WHP Global will complete the acquisition of the New York-based brand. In February, Guess and WHP Global announced a final deal to acquire Rag & Bone, which was completed in April. Under the terms of the agreement, Guess paid more than $57 million for the purchase, in addition to contributions from WHP Global, according to a press release. OptimaRetail.eu: Experts in worldwide #Retail #maintenance and #repairs - SMART FACILITY MANAGEMENT  #RetailInnovation #FutureTrends #OptimaRetail #facilityManagement #PreventiveMaintenance #ReactiveMaintenance #NewsOptimaRetail #NewsRetail #OptimaRetail

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Which mass brands sell skincare products suitable for younger shoppers? CeraVe, Bubble, Cetaphil and tbh Skincare, according to a poll of dermatologists. “We don’t formulate with any ingredients considered controversial,” Shai Eisenman, founder and chief executive officer of the fast-growing Bubble brand, tells Drug Store News. “We choose ingredients that are the absolute safest. We simplified the routine—there are only three steps—cleanser, moisturizer and sunscreen. We developed it like a prestige brand sold at mass prices.” Get the full story here: https://lnkd.in/ebS-Udu2

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As they say: ‘The riches are in the niches.’ With its fourth acquisition in just over a year, FULLBEAUTY Brands is rapidly advancing on its mission to establish a plus-size fashion empire. The current market dynamics in direct-to-consumer brands have presented FullBeauty with a unique opportunity to not only enhance its existing business but also to actively target diverse shoppers in the $81 billion women’s plus market. Full Beauty’s niche-focused strategy is evident through the acquisition of plus apparel specialist Avenue, strategically positioning their brands to cater to a wide range of consumer demographics. From younger shoppers at Dia & Co and ELOQUII to a more mature audience at Catherines, FullBeauty is covering the full spectrum of the market with precision. It’s refreshing to witness such a clear brand strategy in action, especially during a time when many companies are aiming to broaden their appeal to a wider target audience. Kudos to FULLBEAUTY Brands for their focused approach in the ever-evolving fashion landscape. #fashion #retail #dtc #sales #plussizefashion #inclusivity #marketplaces #readytowear #linkedinpostsbymariopace Read more: https://lnkd.in/e_pEijEZ

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After posting double-digit revenue growth, Mytheresa CEO Michael Kliger speaks to Drapers about the impact of FARFETCH’s and MATCHES’ fallout and the German luxury retailer's plans to drive future growth. Read the full story below. #fashion #retail #retailnews #mytheresa #luxury

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For the past 5 years, the textured hair care market has experienced a significant boom. Large legacy brands had been under-serving this market with basic offerings and segmentation. Small indie brands saw an opportunity to step in with more sophisticated products tailored to the diverse range of textured hair types. These brands played a crucial role in making textured hair care a mainstream topic and fueling trends like the social acceptance of natural locks and curls. The success of these indie brands has not gone unnoticed, with major retailers and investors quickly showing interest, further fueling the trend. Now is the time when celebrities are leveraging their influence and resources to launch their own textured hair care brands. This move confirms the great potential for expert brands catering specifically to textured hair needs. Exciting times lie ahead for the textured hair care industry! #texturedhair #haircare #indiebrands #celebritybrands #skinification

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The topic of innovation is top of mind in the performance running shoe market – especially if you ask Nike, which has been widely criticized for having a lackluster product pipeline by analysts and the Street in recent months. But for Deckers chief executive officer Dave Powers, this isn’t an issue for its star running brand Hoka. Indeed, on the product front, Hoka is driving growth and consumer acquisition through innovative updates and new introductions across a diverse assortment of footwear. Footwear News Deckers Brands HOKA Nike Dave Powers #running #hoka #runningshoe #earnings #sneakers #nike #marathon

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The brand houses of VF, PVH, Deckers, Pentland, Kontoor, Amer, Wolverine and Boardriders featured in these insights own, or manage, a who’s who of global fashion and sports brands. Several weeks back I posted about the major sports brands and how their most popular sources of talent are each other (see link in comments). The brand houses are quite different: they barely recruit from each other. They do recruit from the major sports brands: Nike, adidas and lululemon are predictably the most popular. Despite the challenging trading conditions all these businesses have increased their total number of employees over the last year except for Boardriders (-3%) and Wolverine who were pretty close to flat. The rate of attrition varies from Kontoor at just 8% (great in any market conditions) to 17% for PVH. With the number of lay-off activities over the last year it’s not possible to draw any conclusions from this statistic about the impact of culture and leadership on employee retention. There is one notable absence from this list - Authentic Brands. After looking at the data for AB we concluded that recent acquisitions skewed the available data. Linkedin currently only makes it possible to link some of AB’s brands to the parent company and misses others that should be included for any insights on them to be meaningful. The data used for this analysis does not include part time employees but does full time store level employees. These will impact the data differently depending on the different proportions of direct operated retail (VF and PVH have much larger retail estates than Boardriders for example). See the bottom of the post for some key points on how this data was put together. Total Employee Trend FY23: 📶 VF +3%  📶 PVH +2% 📶 Deckers +15%  📶 Kontoor +5%  📶 Pentland Brands +1%  📶 Amer Sports +10% 📶 Boardriders -3% 📶 Wolverine +0.4% Attrition insights FY23: 🏃🏻‍♂️‍➡️ VF 13%  🏃🏻‍♂️‍➡️ PVH 17% 🏃🏻‍♂️‍➡️Deckers 9% 🏃🏻‍♂️‍➡️Kontoor 8% 🏃🏻‍♂️‍➡️Pentland Brands 13%  🏃🏻‍♂️‍➡️Amer Sports 10.5% 🏃🏻‍♂️‍➡️Boardriders 14% 🏃🏻‍♂️‍➡️Wolverine 14.5% (proportion of employees who left in last 12 months) Head to Head insights 🥊 PVH v Abercrombie +10 (for every one employee goes from PVH to Abercrombie, 19 go from Abercrombie to PVH)  🥊 PVH v Hunkemöller + 8  🥊 Deckers v Nike +14 🥊 Kontoor v Hanes Brands +6 * Source: Linkedin Talent Insights Note: this only tracks movements recorded on Linkedin, and only people who use the correct company for the role (sometimes folk add employer ‘entities’ that don't exist or aren't associated) Note: this is Global data Note: we only included full-time employees so it was not skewed by part-time retail employees Note: Where there were related businesses we included them i.e PVH and Calvin Klein / Tommy Hilfiger 

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Jewelry has outshined other #luxury goods, becoming the top performer from late 2023 to early 2024, according to Bain & Company's latest report. With consumers viewing pieces as #investment opportunities, #jewelry sales have soared, surpassing watches. Despite global #economic uncertainties, the luxury market hit a record $1.6 trillion in 2023! Read Rapaport's full story here: https://ow.ly/xYSJ50SoMNB #LuxuryGoods #GlobalEconomy

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Skincare newbie Current State is recentering the consumer experience around intuitive rituals that aren’t restrictive or narrow-minded. Their Zinc Oxide + Blueberry Daily Sunscreen🧴Broad Spectrum SPF 30 blends UVA/UVB protection with soothing botanical extracts for maximum versatility. It’s “Sunscreen, Supercharged” with powerful antioxidants to keep your skin protected and glowing 🌟 According to Current State, your skincare should be intuitive, just like cheffing up a well-balanced meal 🍽️ in the kitchen. At least for the cooking-inclined, it is…Toast people, you know who you are 🥂 The skincare industry is heavily saturated, and marketing is constantly trying to group consumers into explicit skin types with standardized ingredient solutions… But what if that’s too linear? 🤔 What if skincare is more fluid? Your skin is always adapting to a plethora of environmental factors and Current State believes your skincare should be just as versatile and flexible. The concept of confining consumers to one regimen and one skin type is outdated 💽📼 They’ve isolated the skin diet down to 6 CURRENT CORE™ food groups: - Exfoliation - Vitamins - Non-Fragrant Plant Oils - Antioxidants + Plant Extracts - Cell Communicating Ingredients - Skin-Identical Hydrators & Strengtheners You can rest assured that by taking a fluid approach to your skincare, you touch on each food 🫐 group with their mix & match product line. And if you miss a group, no stress, get your fill tomorrow! Stay tuned for the full debrief - written by guest writer Grace Becker 💕 Xoxo, The Beauty Brief Co-founders, Bethany Paris Ramsay and Shiri Feldman #currentstate #skincare #beauty #beautybrands #beautyproducts #beautyblog #beautybloggers #skincarebrands Walmart

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Men's grooming is booming 🧖‍♂️Mintel experts Lauren Goodsitt and Carson Kitzmiller were featured in articles in both CosmeticsDesign and Cosmetics Business, weighing in on the transformative shift happening across the industry. Read more: https://bit.ly/3V9ZH8C 💫 https://bit.ly/4bKnem4 And check out our Men's Grooming reports for even more insights: https://bit.ly/3WXIMY2

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#Transparency comes first for #authentic #beauty supply chain. Here are products arrived this morning: #BeautySupply #BeautyIndustry #SupplyChain #BeautyProducts #Cosmetics #Skincare #Haircare #Makeup #BeautyRetail #BeautyBrands #BeautyDistribution #BeautyLogistics #SalonSupplies #ProfessionalBeauty #BeautyBusiness #RetailSupplyChain #BeautyTrends #BeautyInnovation #BeautyLogistics #GlobalBeautySupply

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Beauty industry experts at the recent Dealmaker Summit and Uplink Expo New York weighed in on what it takes for brands to create legacy and prepare for a possible lucrative exit. Click below to read their insights, and let us know your thoughts in the comments. #beautyindustry #beautybrands #strategics #expertinsights #acquisition #founderstories #leadership

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Aloha Friday 🤙🏼 Here are some interesting stories from the world of retail for Friday, May 31: 👖 Gap shares rallied more than 20% in the extended session Thursday after the retailer reported first-quarter earnings and sales well above investors’ expectations, raised its guidance for the year and pared down its inventory. 🏬 Kohl's shares plunged as much as 25% on Thursday after the retailer reported a surprise first-quarter loss and lowered its forecast for the year. The department store chain saw a 5.3% drop in net sales. 🥫 Costco Wholesale reported fiscal third-quarter profit, revenue and same-store sales that all beat Wall Street forecasts, but shares of the membership-based warehouse retailer pulled back from a record high. 💄 Ulta Beauty earnings that showed the effects of a slowdown its CEO had previously warned about. Comparable sales increased 1.6% year over year, a stark slowdown from the same period a year earlier. 👗 Nordstrom shares fell 5.6% in extended trading Thursday after the company reported a wider-than-expected first-quarter loss of $39 million, although revenue topped analysts’ estimates. 📺 Best Buy has reported the 10th straight quarter of same-store sales declines, a reported 6.1% drop for February, March and April. Its total revenue of $8.85 billion was a little lower than Wall Street anticipated. 👟 Foot Locker’s turnaround is starting to bear some fruit.  The sneaker giant saw comparable sales decline 1.8% during its fiscal first quarter, far better than the 3.1% drop-off that analysts expected. 💵 Dollar General reported better-than-expected profit, sales and same-store sales for its first-quarter as more customers shopped its stores for groceries and other essentials. 🥡 Amazon customers in the US can now order takeaway deliveries from Grubhub without leaving the tech giant’s app. The deal is part of a deepening relationship between the tech giant and Grubhub. 🚫 Illinois set to end grocery tax. Legislators have approved a state budget for 2025 that eliminates the 1% tax, paving the way for Governor JB Pritzker to sign it into law. 👓 Innovative Eyewear has released an Eddie Bauer Smart Eyewear collection. The collection includes four styles and features voice access to ChatGPT. The glasses have built-in Bluetooth microphones and speakers for music and calls. 🥖 Subway, the restaurant chain with the most locations in the US, has sold $3.35 billion of asset-backed bonds to help fund its buyout by Roark Capital Group, in what is the largest securitization of its kind on record. 📦 The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)is giving Prime Air additional permissions that allow it to operate drones for more deliveries in a wider area. ��🇷 Pharmacists in France have gone on strike for the first time in a decade, closing around 90% of pharmacies across the country. #retail #retailnews #economy #DailyRetailNews

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How is the economy impacting the luxury market? 📈✨ Forbes features insights from our Zeta Economic Index (ZEI) as it dives into the "lipstick effect." According to the ZEI, the US economy is 'active' with robust consumer behavior and positive sentiment. However, there's a shift towards value, with consumers prioritizing essentials and seeking the best prices. Get more insights in this Forbes article! #ZetaEconomicIndex #ZEI #EconomicInsights

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Paraphrasing from Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises, going bankrupt happens slowly, then all at once. The warning signs are always there. In 2022, the BeautyMatter Deal Index tracked eight brands that announced they were shutting down or filing for bankruptcy. That increased to a record-shattering 28 bankruptcies and shutdowns during the year, more than those tracked in 2020, 2021, and 2022 combined. For beauty, Q1 2024 has seen a significant increase. Click the link below for a running tracker of closures and bankruptcies across the beauty and wellness landscape, compiled by BeautyMatter. #beautybusiness #beautyindustry #finance #shutdown

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THE SAKS-NEIMAN MARCUS MEGA-DEAL AND AMAZON'S UNDERGROUND PATH TO LUXURY Maghan McDowell for Vogue Business 💥 HBC, the parent company of luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue, has confirmed reports that its long-awaited deal to acquire rival Neiman Marcus Group — owner of Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman — for $2.65 billion is finally here. And as a pending investor in the merged company, Amazon has found a new path (or underground tunnel) into luxury fashion. 💭 “We’re thrilled to take this step in bringing together these iconic luxury names, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman,” said Richard Baker, HBC executive chairman and CEO, in a statement. “For years, many in the industry have anticipated this transaction and the benefits it would drive for customers, partners and employees. This is an exciting time in luxury retail, with technological advancements creating new opportunities to redefine the customer experience, and we look forward to unlocking significant value for our customers, brand partners and employees.” 💥 An interesting development is Amazon’s involvement. Amazon will be an investor in and work with Saks Global “to innovate on behalf of customers and brands partners following the close of the transaction”, a release issued by HBC reads. This will give Amazon discrete access to luxury products, stores, sales associates and data. At the same time, the retailers stand to gain access to more sophisticated technology and logistics; Salesforce, which has been steadily rolling out generative artificial intelligence tools for retailers, will also become an investor. 👔 Amazon, the largest clothing retailer in the US, has for years worked to expand into luxury fashion, which has higher margins but is somewhat at odds with Amazon’s efficiency-over-style ethos. During the pandemic in 2020, it brokered deals with the Council of Fashion Designers of America and the British Fashion Council to start a new luxury stores division, recruiting brands including Oscar de la Renta, Jonathan Cohen and Adam Lippes. In 2022, it expanded that effort to include Europe, with brands including Christopher Kane and Elie Saab. It sponsored the CFDA awards in 2023. LEARN MORE: https://lnkd.in/eau7A69j #fashion #metaverse #ai #metaversefashion #investment #web3

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