Online beauty and hair care store RY.com.au (or Recreate Yourself) has acquired skincare store and once major competitor, FacialCo.com.au.
The FacialCo.com.au acquisition includes an online and dedicated retail store plus a clinic in Brisbane where customers can try and buy products at discounted online prices in addition to receiving salon services through a range of customised beauty treatments.
The acquisition brings a flush of new brands into RY.com.au, including Ultraderm, Skindinavia, and Dr. Hauschka, and is step towards the vision of directors, Bradley Carr and James Patten’s to position RY.co.au as market leader in Australia’s $4 billion beauty market.
Patten said the business will focus on the Australian market, but has not ruled out going global in the long term.
“It’s no real secret that Australia does have some of the most stringent cosmetic compliance and safety standards in the world and we do get a lot of interest from international consumers because of this, but if we can be the online retailer of choice for Australian and New Zealand consumers by offering the very best brands at the very best prices here, we will be more than happy to achieve that first,” Patten said.
RY.com.au stocks more than 8000 products from more than 200 brands and is the 75th largest online retailer in Australia.
“We have always been very ambitious and are really pleased with how we are tracking with our strategic expansion. In saying this, we also have plans to challenge a top 20 position in the next three to five years, so growth underpins every focus in the business currently, from enhancing our customer buying experience to developing existing and new brand partners in order to consistently add more products to our range,” said Patten.
Carr said along with the vast collection of skincare brands RY.com.au has not stocked before, FacialCo also has a very strong customer loyalty bonus scheme with an emphasis on expert advice that shoppers really appreciate.
“A unique, Australian first ‘shop by skin type’ function also allows online visitors to receive product suggestions based on personal skin needs – a service we are excited to be able to offer to further improve our customer experience,” he said.
RY.com.au has an annual business turnover in excess of $12 million and services more than 250,000 customers.
