Beauty is a big — and ever more competitive — business, but gather together 400 or so industry leaders and the secret sauce for success is clear: It’s the love of the game.
“I used to think that work breeds work. Now, I think that passion breeds happiness,” said Courteney Cox during a fireside chat at the 2024 WWD Beauty CEO Summit, held May 13-15 at the Ritz Carlton in Key Biscayne, Fla.
Cox, who describes her home fragrance and cleaning line Homecourt as beauty products for the home, was one of 46 speakers at the event, which included top founders, leading retailers and C-suite executives, and experts from areas like neuroscience and biotechnology that are outside of the realm of beauty but have a direct impact on the business.
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In addition to passion emerging as a key theme (“You have to be passionate to be able to keep doing what you love, because business is difficult today — it’s a lot harder than it was 20 years ago,” said Anastasia Beverly Hills founder and chief executive officer Anastasia Soare), common themes included the power of community, the importance of culture and the growing connection between health, medicine and beauty. Here, the top 10 takeaways from this year’s Beauty CEO Summit, and on the pages that follow a deep dive into the insights shared by the leaders who are shaping the future of beauty.
Change Is Good: As Sephora marks its 26th year in the U.S., it is about to embark on its biggest capital expenditure project to date: a revamp of its entire store fleet. The project is expected to start this fall and take five to seven years. Why now? To reflect how consumers themselves are changing in terms of shopping habits and categories. “This is not a design project. It is a merchandising-driven project,” said Artemis Patrick, president and CEO of Sephora North America. “It’s very much: How does the consumer shop? How do they navigate? How are the products laid out?”
The X Factor: Sandwiched between Baby Boomers and Millennials, Gen X is often called the forgotten middle child of demographics. But as speakers like Brooke Shields, who is launching a hair care line called Commence geared toward women 40+, Trinny London’s Trinny Woodall and Circana’s Larissa Jensen made clear, this is a cohort ready, willing and able to spend on beauty. ”Gen X has increased their spend on prestige beauty at a faster rate than any other age group,” said Jensen.
It’s About Growing Market Share, Not Stealing It: “Many of us grow up thinking that taking market share is the best way to grow, but what happens when you take market share from someone else?” said Marc Pritchard, chief brand officer of P&G, during his opening keynote fireside chat. “They’ll do anything to get it back, which takes value out of the market.” Ulta beauty chief operating officer and president Kecia Steelman emphasized the point during her fireside chat with Space NK CEO Andy Lightfoot. “We’re all focused on share,” she said, “but wouldn’t it be fantastic if we can grow this business all the way around.”
Healthspan Is the New Lifespan: Scientific advancements have ushered in a new approach to self care that’s impacting everything from skin care to supplements and beyond. “It’s not just living longer. It’s living, feeling good and healthier,” said Muriel Gonzalez, president of the Vitamin Shoppe, noting the goal is not just to live longer, but to be active and healthy for a longer period of time.
Opportunity Abounds: From Tower 28’s laser-like focus on makeup for eczema-prone skin to Maesa’s disruption of the mass market fragrance scene, big opportunities exist in beauty despite the exponential increase in launches. You just have to know how to create it. “Six years ago, when everybody was focused on DTC and Millenials, we realized there was a big gap when it came to the younger generation,” said Shai Eisenman, founder and CEO of Bubble. “This is the most advanced generation that’s ever existed when it comes to skin care, though they still use exactly the same stuff as I did when I was a teen. We realized we had to change that.”
Sex Sells. Still.: Gen Z might say they’re not driven by the desire to be sexy, but their actions prove very different, as demonstrated by neuroscience marketer Oliver Tjon.
AI Isn’t About Answers — It’s About Questions: “AI is a probability engine. It’s not an answer engine,” said Nick Howard, director of global strategy at EveLab Insights. That was echoed by Dermalogia’s Aurelian Lis and HelloBiome’s Elsa Jungman, during a panel moderated by Oliver Chen. “AI has helped democratize technology across the organization,” said Lis. “We believe, very optimistically, that this is an assistant for every body, every department, in the company.”
Bigger Isn’t Always Better: From micro content creators to building a brand for the long haul, slow and steady wins the race.
Join the Culture Club: The best brands don’t reflect culture. They’re part of it. “We’re a fine functional fragrance brand that is steeped in wellness and cultural storytelling,” said Tai Beauchamp, cofounder of Brown Girl Jane. “We want to tell stories that reflect our experiences as Black women and create fragrances that elevate your mood — that can take you to a place outside of yourself.” Creating such cultural collections has been a winning strategy for MAC, which has become the number-one global makeup brand in the 40 years since its inception. “I never considered MAC a makeup brand — it’ s a culture brand,” said Drew Elliott, global creative director. “That’s what’s allowed us to be ahead of trends and build our own trends.”