YARDNYC’s Post

Tower 28 Beauty, Inc. Strategically leverages collaborations to foster community growth and narrative development. Tower 28's recent collaboration with Universal Pictures ' "Kung Fu Panda 4" stands out, featuring products available at SEPHORA . CEO emphasizes the importance of collaborations for cross-promotion and audience access, contributing to the brand's remarkable 3x sales growth in 2023. Notably, Tower 28 engages in around 20 collaborations yearly, with a focus on major partnerships, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and emphasizing clean and healthy aspects. These collaborations serve as storytelling opportunities, reflecting @Liu's AAPI identity and supporting related causes. Tower 28's collaborative approach extends to DEI initiatives, showcasing products for sensitive skin, and aligning with like-minded brands. The article highlights the success of collaborations, such as the rapid sell-out of earrings from a partnership with the Black-owned sustainable jewelry brand Yam. Ultimately, Tower 28's collaboration strategy extends beyond sales, aiming to build relationships, drive awareness, and convey its brand story effectively. https://lnkd.in/d-WjQwRt #Brand #Strategy #collaboration #beautyindustry #Fashion #Retail #Marketing #cmoinsights #Sephora

How to Scale a Black Beauty Brand - Sheena Butler-Young (The Business of Fashion) Most brands, especially at retail, will inevitably face a crucial decision: whether or not to identify as “Black.” To grow, scale and garner critical investment, Black beauty brands (and most brands) often need to demonstrate “broad appeal,” or that they can sell their wares to customers outside of a small or singular demographic[...] While securing a retail partnership is often seen as a major milestone for beauty founders — a sign they’ve “made it” and are poised for growth [...]. Partnering with a retailer brings a host of new challenges, from the logistical complexities of launching in hundreds of stores simultaneously to scaling up supply chain infrastructure and carving out a marketing budget.

Keeping up with culture is everything

Mission Not Accomplished: the radical transformation endorsed by Victoria’s Secret & Co. new leadership is no more. The turnaround strategy the lingerie behemoth set in motion over the last few years to evolve from the bombshell, hyper-sexualized image of the Angels era towards inclusiveness, diversity and, ultimately, relevance with the GenZ customer, ended back where it began. With a daring triple-twisting double back flip Greg Unis, brand president, announced: 'Sexiness can be inclusive.' You can't just wipe out years of transformation of the market, brought about by changing consumer behaviors and wants, new cultural models, formidable competitors (just think of Rihanna's Savage X Fenty, or SKIMS or some of the nimbler, more relevant DTC brands in the space, like Knix, ThirdLove or Parade). Transformation is inevitable. Bad turnarounds aren't. #lingerie #transformation #brandstrategy #retail #intimates #business #inclusivity #dtc #apparel #leadership

In the past, having The Body Shop as a long-standing client, I was saddened yesterday to hear of its demise and the knock-on effect on all employees. In 1976 the late Dame Anita Roddick, its founder, opened her first store. Her vision was inspiring, believing in business being a force for good. She was a pioneer, a passionate leader, ahead of her time. She redefined beauty using ethically sourced natural ingredients and created cruelty-free skincare and cosmetic products. In addition, Anita Roddick relentlessly campaigned for environmental and social change. Under her leadership, a global retail brand was built with around 2,500 retail locations in more than 80 countries. ❌ So what went wrong? In 2006 The Body Shop was acquired by L’Oréal. At this point, the heart and soul of The Body Shop began to fade. As a result, losing its appeal to the younger generation. Switching ownership twice since then, its strong brand values and sustainability efforts haven’t been a sufficient differentiator in a tough market. The changing preferences of consumers and shopping habits impacted the retailer.  With criticism over its pricing, quality and formulations, customer loyalty was affected. LEARNINGS 🔸 Stay relevant 🔸 Understanding the changing needs and preferences of buyers 🔸 Keep ahead of market trends 🔸Retain a unique position in the market These are the very principles that the Late Dame Anita Roddick developed so exceptionally well over for over 30 years. What are your thoughts on why The Body Shop lost its way? -------------- I help clients deliver solid revenue growth, it's more than sales. #leadership #thebodyshop #management #business

Arcature has come out with a new article discussing the recent poor performance of Levi Strauss & Co. and why they ended up here. Give Arcature's newest article a read and see how you can avoid their mistakes for your own brand: https://lnkd.in/ehNWJ9Fu

Victoria's Secret, (VSS) CEO, Martin Waters is known for his strategic leadership and commitment to positive corporate culture and has a background in retail management with a Bachelor of Arts in Retail Marketing from Manchester University. He is facing challenges in steering the women's lingerie company through a turbulent period where his tenure has involved addressing various struggles, including the resignation of CEO Amy Hauk. With its 8.5% drop in North American sales, the retailer has faced criticism for its lack of inclusivity and its failure to adapt to changing beauty standards. Competing with new brands like ThirdLove and Savage X Fenty, offering a wider range of sizes and styles, Victoria's Secret aims to regain its market share.   Under Waters leadership, VSS is undergoing significant changes to adapt to evolving consumer preferences and challenges in the lingerie market! Waters is implementing strategies for inclusivity, expanding the brand's reach, and diversifying its portfolio to ensure future success in a dynamic retail landscape. Despite ongoing challenges, Waters is leading ambitious expansion plans, opening 15 new off-mall stores and launching a tween line called PINK for younger consumers. In response to changing consumer preferences, VSS is rebranding efforts towards inclusivity, introducing plus-size additions to its catalogs. The company is diversifying its portfolio through acquisitions like Adore Me, partnerships with size-inclusive brands like Elomi, and investments in brands like Frankies Bikinis. While these efforts signal a step in the right direction, questions still persist over the brand's overly provocative image.   Read more on how Water’s is implementing these significant changes in the linked article below. #amsterdamassociates #victoriassecret #ceonews #retailsnews #retail

SEPHORA TALES FROM THE CRYPT. EP 9. PARTNERSHIP IS A 2 WAY STREET. Principles. Are you prepared to stand up for them? Even if there is short-term pain. Partnership. In order to work it has to be a win-win. Otherwise it feels like going the wrong way down a 1- way street. In the early days SEPHORA desperately needed ‘dept store’ brands (read L'Oréal, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.) to attract, well, dept store (read Macy's, Nordstrom) customers. To say the brands were reluctant is an understatement. More like they were highly resistant to our overtures. We succeeded in getting an important one to ‘try us’ (name withheld to protect the guilty). Roughly a dozen stores. After a few months we had a honcho meeting- their execs and ours. Felt like the OK corral. Good news- results were off the charts. Make that great news. They came in prepared to add more stores. Even better news. Looking at the list of their store adds there was only one problem- there were zero mall stores. Only street locations. They were tip-toeing around the dept stores. No malls-no conflict. This was a major problem for me and my concept of partnership. I said “I will give you a list of mall stores. Pick one. Any one. ONE! And we have a deal.” Cupla weeks later they came back and said…No. No mall stores. At which point we asked them to leave. Sephora. Altogether. As painful as that was we simply could not live with 100-0 partnership. 95/5 we’d tolerate. 100-0 no. They didn’t really believe it, but within 2-3 months they were gone. It cost us $. But the lesson for our teams was priceless. We are not helpless. We believe in winning together. And we practice it. These kinds of decisions ultimately define who you are as a leader. Being true to hugely important principles in the face of adversity is perhaps the ultimate test. You are your principles. Or you are not. There is no inbetween. #partnershipistwo #youareyourprinciples