Glossier

Glossier is a beauty company founded by Emily Weiss that sells skincare, makeup, fragrance and branded apparel directly to consumers. The brand grew out of Into the Gloss, a beauty blog Weiss started in 2010, and launched in 2014 with four products: a moisturiser, a face mist, a skin tint and a lip balm. It was built as a digital-first, direct-to-consumer business that emphasises two-way communication with customers and involves them in product development.

The product range is deliberately narrow, oriented around a small number of repeat-purchase "hero" items rather than broad assortments; by January 2020 the company offered 36 products across skincare, makeup and fragrance, and its current online catalogue lists roughly 51 items, of which 38 are makeup. Recognisable products include Boy Brow brow pomade, Balm Dotcom lip balm, Cloud Paint cream blush, Lash Slick mascara, Futuredew (a skincare-makeup hybrid launched in 2019), Perfecting Skin Tint, Stretch Fluid Foundation, Stretch Balm Concealer and the Glossier You fragrance line (You, You Doux, You Soie). Prices in the US range from about $5 for a keychain accessory and $16 for a lip balm to $116 for a 100 ml fragrance, with multi-product sets and a subscription option offering 10 percent savings.

Alongside e-commerce, Glossier operates physical retail, including a flagship store on Lafayette Street in New York's SoHo district near its headquarters, where the emphasis is on product trial and in-store experience rather than transaction volume; staff take orders on tablets and there is no cash register. The company also sells merchandise such as an embroidered pink hoodie, part of a line introduced as GlossiWEAR in 2019.

Founding story

Emily Weiss started the beauty blog Into the Gloss in 2010 and, through advertising and sponsorship work with large beauty conglomerates, concluded that incumbent brands were failing to engage a new generation of consumers who looked to peers rather than brand authority for beauty inspiration. She framed the opportunity around whether a beauty brand's sweatshirt would be something consumers actually wanted to wear, and decided to build a digital-first, direct-to-consumer brand that would communicate with and involve its customers. After an initial seed round, she launched Glossier in 2014 with four products.

Business model

Glossier develops and sells its own branded beauty products directly to consumers, primarily through its website, supplemented by company-operated retail stores and branded apparel. Purchases can be made one-time or via a subscription that ships selected products at intervals of one to five months at a 10 percent discount.

Revenue comes from product sales of skincare, makeup, fragrance and merchandise at set retail prices, with discounted multi-product sets, a student discount, promotional gifts-with-purchase and recurring subscription orders.

Traction

More than 3 million customers and more than 200 employees as of late 2019; in 2018 the company said it sold the equivalent of one Boy Brow every 32 seconds; 10,000 people joined a waiting list for the pink GlossiWEAR hoodie in 2019; 36 products offered as of January 2020 and around 51 items listed in the current online catalogue.

Latest developments

Current merchandising centers on a New York-themed collection, including a limited-edition "I ❤️ NY" Balm Dotcom flavor, an In A New York Minute makeup set, an Applebaby keychain and exclusive merchandise, alongside newer items such as Boy Brow Arch, Cloud Paint Plush Blush, Stretch Fluid Foundation, Stretch Balm Concealer, The Skincare Icons set, the Glossier You Soie fragrance, an engraving service for selected products and a "24H with Glossier" campaign video.