Glossy

Glossy 50 2024: Grace Ray, CÉCRED It’s easy to see why Beyoncé tapped Grace Ray to be CEO of Cécred, the star’s highly-anticipated hair-care brand that launched in February of this year. Conversely, it’s easy to see why Ray accepted the role. At the end of 2021, Ray joined the team at Cécred, which is independently held. With her, she brought experience including CEO of Milani Cosmetics and Living Proof, Inc., and roles at L'Oréal and Smashbox Cosmetics. Read the full profile: https://lnkd.in/eC8K5JBu

According to Macy's CEO Tony Spring, the core Macy’s customer is “more of the middle income consumer,” with a household income of $75,000 or under. But, the middle class has experienced a lot of financial pressure this year leading to less discretionary spending. So, Macy’s is looking to cater to more affluent customers who shop at Bloomingdale's’s and Bluemercury. Macy’s plan now is to open 15 Bloomingdale’s and 30 Bluemecury stores within the next three years, as well as remodel 30 existing Bluemercury stores. Zara owner Inditex also missed earnings expectations for the third quarter, with analysts saying a strong dollar and a weak euro hurt the company’s results.  Inditex has had a good start to the 2024 holiday shopping season, although not as strong as last year. In 2023, Inditex experienced a 14% increase in sales in the five weeks leading up to Dec. 9. This year, that same period only saw a 9% sales lift. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dHVHPNVG

According to Dash Hudson, in May 2024, 38% of the brands examined posted at least one flat-lay visual, compared to 30% in April 2024. From April 2024 to May 2024, flat-lay visuals increased by 43%. On average, flat-lay images — both carousels and single-image posts — saw an engagement rate of 0.6%, which is 100% higher than the average engagement rate of posts by beauty brands during the same timeframe.

Glossy 50 2024: Negin Mirsalehi, Gisou by Negin Mirsalehi This year, the 9-year-old Gisou brand made strides this year by focusing on product expansion, community and creative marketing, said founder Negin Marsalehi. Read the full profile: https://lnkd.in/ese_jQXU

Glossy 50 2024: Pia Mance, Heaven Mayhem If you’ve noticed seemingly everyone wearing chunky gold earrings that look plucked from your grandmother’s jewelry box, you have Pia Mance, founder of Heaven Mayhem, to thank. Read the full profile: https://lnkd.in/e4-yYtZ3

URBN (Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie Group, Free People & Nuuly), the parent company of Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie, among other brands, announced a record earnings quarter. The company posted a new high net income of $109 million for the third quarter. But it was at Nuuly, URBN’s rental business, which offers products from all of its brands and others outside its portfolio, that saw a real shot of growth. Nuuly’s net sales increased by over 48% to $97.2 million during the quarter. That was driven by a 51% increase in average active subscribers, putting its total number of active users at over 300,000. It’s a significant growth spike for a company that’s only five years old and reached profitability late last year. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eAt6W5Kd

Glossy 50 2024: Francis Kurkdjian, Parfums Christian Dior When Francis Kurkdjian was named the in-house perfumer for Parfums Christian Dior in 2021, the veteran perfumer was intimidated by the prospect of leading such a storied brand. Naming Kurkdjian to the post wasn’t a big risk on the part of Dior’s parent company, LVMH, however. Maison Francis Kurkdjian, the niche perfume brand Kurkdjian founded in 2009, was acquired by LVMH in 2017 and has emerged as one of the most influential fragrance houses of the past decade. Read the full profile: https://lnkd.in/e-92w8fp

Every brand Glossy spoke to for this story is already divesting from TikTok and reallocating resources to Meta platforms like Instagram and Facebook, as well as Google-owned YouTube and its burgeoning Shorts feature. According to Dash Hudson, audienceship has grown by 150% on YouTube Shorts in the past six months. According to Coresight Research analyst Sunny Z., the ban will primarily hurt small, indie beauty brands and content creators. 

Glossy 50 2024: Jocelyn Gailliot, Tuckernuck During this big election year, all eyes were on Washington, D.C. For Tuckernuck, a brand known for dressing women in politics, it made for a major organic marketing moment. But, according to co-founder and CEO Jocelyn Gailliot, the brand had already been in rapid growth mode, with its last three years averaging sales increases of 80%. Read the full profile: https://lnkd.in/edmwMiPa

This week, we talk about the complications around the ongoing merger between Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus Group that would put almost every major American luxury department store under one company. Later, we talk about interesting tidbits from Inditex’s earnings and offer a preview of who’s showing and when at Paris Men’s Fashion Week.