‘Not just another beauty store’: Adore Beauty CEO on entering a crowded market

Transitioning one of Australia’s leading beauty retailers from a pureplay e-commerce operation to a truly entrenched omnichannel business has been “a really positive experience,” Sacha Laing, Adore Beauty CEO, told Inside FMCG.Becoming an integrated omnichannel retailer meant that a lot of the business’s back-end processes had to be re-engineered with its brand partners and internal teams. And while the official opening of the first store on February 1 is now complete, Laing said there will undoubtedly be some learnings over the coming weeks and further tweaks to the back-end operations required. However, a smooth store opening was executed by investing time with the internal team and engaging with brand partners in the lead-up.Omnichannel operational structureAdore Beauty’s executive team has been reshaped to ensure the business has the right structure to execute and manage the opening and operation of its bricks-and-mortar stores – transforming the beauty retailer into an omnichannel one. “A lot of people’s job descriptions had to be reshaped, so we’ve spent a lot of time focusing on the back-end to make sure that what we’re able to do so seamlessly online translates offline, into the store environment,” Laing said.“We’ve brought in a very experienced omnichannel retailer by the name of Jacq Vuleta as the chief customer and merchandise officer,” Laing said.“And within that space, physical retail reports through to Jacq, and she’ll have a head of retail and a retail structure under her as we open more stores.”Sarah Mullen will continue to be the business’s COO and her role will “focus on delivering fantastic service to our online customers, but also focusing now on rolling out more stores and that’s a big part of her role moving forward,” Laing revealed.The Adore store experienceJars of Tim Tams and free samples with purchase are a staple in the new stores, a nod to the beauty retailer’s signature perks, but the in-store customer experience will offer much more than a brief sugar rush.“I think it’s really important for everybody to get a strong feeling when you walk into the store and that it’s deeply connected with our online ecosystem,” Laing said.“We’re not creating a separate channel with a separate business model, the online and offline channels, will be working seamlessly together.”Adore Beauty’s educational value proposition has also been translated in-store through its beauty experts. For example, customers can get a detailed analysis done on their skin using Adore Beauty’s digital face-scanning technology, and store staff will provide bespoke solutions from a product perspective.“The store itself does feel like an extension of our online ecosystem,” Laing said, referring to the brand’s popular media channels in its educational Beauty IQ Podcasts and blogs.DifferentiatingThe bricks-and-mortar beauty retail market in Australia is becoming crowded, with Wesfarmers’ new beauty offering Atomica joining Chemist Warehouse’s Ultra Beauty, homegrown cult-favourite Mecca and international import Sephora.All of these retailers have differentiated through their store design and customer experience, and Adore Beauty is no different.“We’ve consciously made choices in terms of the way that we’ve designed the store,” said Laing, noting that, “It genuinely feels warm and inviting.” He said the space is “not just another beauty store” and that the decision to place the store in the middle of the fashion precinct at Southland shopping centre was intentional. “We know our customers love to shop fashion and spend their recreational time with friends, and the store is placed right in the middle of those fashion precincts,” he said.“We want people to come in, share and discover what’s going on in their beauty world, and allow our beauty advisors to help them, perhaps with the best solution.One thing that’s different about Adore Beauty, according to Laing, is its brand-agnostic approach.Adore Beauty’s customers “allow us to recommend products based on what is going to work, regardless of what brand that is, whether that’s right at the top end; expense wise, middle or bottom end, it doesn’t matter. That’s very unique in the beauty space,” Laing said.“If you listen to our podcasts and through our video and other channels, they’re genuine conversations, and over time that has enabled Adore to become very trusted within the beauty community.“We’ve worked very hard at ensuring that our beauty advisors in-store are aligned culturally to that mindset of having an open and honest conversation and providing open and honest solutions,” Laing said, emphasising the importance of the customer leaving the store with the best product for them.From the moment the hoarding was taken down prior to the official opening, Laing said, “We’ve had people taking photos out of the front of the store and a few of our competitors popping down and having a good look.”More stores for AdoreProductive relationships with the business’s landlord partners, Scentre Group, GPT and Lendlease, has enabled Adore to be “well advanced on a number of stores in terms of commercial arrangements and locations,” Laing said. He plans to travel to three states this week to sign off on additional locations.“We will confidently open another four to six stores in this calendar year, and they’ll be in all capital cities around the country,” Laing said.Flagship stores in Sydney and Melbourne are part of the plan: “I can’t share with you today exactly what that looks like, but we have secured a location for a flagship store in Melbourne, which is likely to open later this year, early 2026 timings to be confirmed,” Laing said.“This is the first of many stores, we’re moving forward with pace, and we’re very excited about the next steps,” he finished.