Editors' top reads: News from And Begin, Susanne Kaufmann, Superdrug and more...

Here are some of this week’s news and features highlights handpicked by TheIndustry.beauty team.

And Begin targets midlife skin with new personalised service

This week saw And Begin, a new personalised skincare brand founded by the dermatological team behind Skin + Me, launch with a new service for midlife skin. It comes as more and more consumers are opting for personalised skincare experiences to help meet their skin goals. However, unlike competitors in the market, And Begin interestingly only targets midlife skin.

Sophie Smith, News Editor & Senior Writer.

Kerry Evans was named the CEO of Susanne Kaufmann

Susanne Kaufmann, the luxury skincare brand that has responsibly harnessed the power of nature for 20 years, announced the appointment of Kerry Evans as CEO this week.

She most recently held the role of Global Brand Director at AVON and previously led the growth and development of brands such as Jo Malone London, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics and Estée Lauder in South Africa and SSA. In her new role, Evans has been tasked to grow the business and drive market share gain.

Chloé Burney, Senior News & Features Writer.

In Depth: The power of prestige beauty

From a global pandemic and cost-of-living crisis, to various geopolitical conflicts, the beauty industry has experienced a plethora of challenges in recent years. Despite this, the prestige beauty market remains buoyant, with many of the world's biggest beauty companies continuing to invest in the sector.

I explore how and why prestige beauty is providing an attractive opportunity for beauty groups, with commentary from retail trend analyst Wizz Selvey and Shiseido Company UK&I Managing Director Charles de Montalivet.

Sophie Smith, News Editor & Senior Writer.

Industry leaders discuss capitalising on beauty's unpredictable opportunity with GXO

Beauty industry leaders from big names, such as Space NK, The Inkey List, KAO, Lush and Just My Look, assembled at The Wolseley City in London yesterday to discuss the challenges of managing unpredictable growth in the beauty industry. Overall the beauty industry is on a growth curve but demand can surge and slump throughout the year preventing challenges with forecasting and resourcing logistics operations.

Leading experts from global logistics business GXO were on hand at the breakfast roundtable event, staged with TheIndustry.beauty, to offer advice and insight on everything from deliveries to packing, sustainability and security. Guests enjoyed a relaxed and delicious breakfast in the stunning surroundings of one of London's hot new locations, which in recent history used to be home to a House of Fraser department store. That fact in itself illustrated how quickly the retail landscape is changing and why retailers need to keep ahead of market trends to remain successful. Read more about the event here. 

Lauretta Roberts, Co-Founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief.

Superdrug boasts 'strong' Christmas trading as own-brand sales rise

Own-brand has become increasingly popular with consumers, especially during the cost-of-living crisis. This is supported by Superdrug, which revealed its Christmas trading update this week. The retailer posted a 9.2% increase in sales for the four weeks to 30 December 2023, with own-brand sales up 10% in December against the same period in 2022 - showing that consumers are continuing to opt for cheaper alternatives to cut costs.

Sophie Smith, News Editor & Senior Writer.