Editors' Top Reads: News from Sephora, CeraVe, TikTok and more...
Here are some of this week’s news and features highlights handpicked by TheIndustry.beauty team.
Sephora to open at Kent's Bluewater Shopping Centre
Sephora is continuing its retail expansion at shopping centres across the UK with plans to open at Kent's Bluewater Shopping Centre later this year. Similar to its existing UK stores, the space will boast an extensive selection of products across makeup, skincare, haircare, fragrance and wellness, including a line-up of exclusive brands. It will also feature in-store beauty services from the likes of Elemis, Dermalogica, Benefit and Dyson.
Growing fast, the new location will mark Sephora’s seventh store opening since its return to the UK in 2022, with stores already located in London’s Westfield White City and Westfield Stratford. It also recently opened the doors to a new flagship at The Trafford Centre in Manchester, marking the global beauty retailer's debut in the North of England and third location in the UK. Also opening later this year are not one but two new stores in the North East at the Metrocentre in Gateshead and Newcastle's Eldon Square, as well as the Bullring Shopping Centre in Birmingham. It's certainly full stream ahead for Sephora UK, which I'm sure will please many beauty enthusiasts up and down the country.
Sophie Smith, News Editor & Senior Writer.
TikTok Shop raises sellers fees as it plans to build the "marketplace of the future"
TikTok this week revealed that it will be introducing an increase in base commission fees from 5% to 9% for UK sellers as it attempts to build the "marketplace of the future". Sellers will be able to reduce those fees by creating a target number of TikTok LIVE or shoppable videos, preferably with the help of an established TikTok Creator. A co-funded free shipping model has also been introduced to enable more sellers to offer free shipping.
The social media platform says it will invest the monies made from the increased fees in improving customer experience on the app and in operational efficiencies for sellers. This is the clearest signal yet that TikTok sees itself more as a shopping platform (a growing number of brands are allowing customers to check out their purchases without leaving the app) than a social media platform. Furthermore, it also underscores the growing importance of live shopping events, which (whether you use TikTok or not to execute them) are one of the most important new revenue and engagement streams for brands and retailers.
If brands aren't looking at live shopping (and some of my favourite examples of it are when the events take place from a brand's store and their own staff are the sellers), then this news should encourage them at the very least to take a look.
Lauretta Roberts, Co-founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief.
The Interview: Made by Mitchell on finding success on TikTok and driving global growth
It's no secret that TikTok is proving a beneficial platform for beauty businesses, and one brand riding on the wave of its success is Made by Mitchell. The makeup brand, founded by Mitchell Halliday in 2020, continues to go from strength to strength on the platform. In fact, it recently became the first UK business to hit $1 million in revenue in one day on TikTok Shop. So, when the opportunity presented itself to learn more about Halliday and his viral beauty brand, it felt like a no brainer.
In this interview with TheIndustry.beauty, Halliday speaks about the benefits of TikTok and his advice for businesses on the app, its high street debut with Boots, how he and his team have kept up with demand, his ambitions for the brand and more.
Sophie Smith, News Editor & Senior Writer.
CeraVe tops Drunk Elephant as most sought-after skincare in UK
I'd like to think I'm well versed in knowing the most popular beauty brands - I should do, it's my job to write about them. But sometimes, it takes a set of research data to confirm suspicions or keep me on my toes.
The skincare market offers endless brands with endless formulations. But what brand is on the top of Brits' wishlists? According to a new study that was published this week, CeraVe is the most searched skincare brand in the UK followed by Byoma and Drunk Elephant.
The study, conducted by beauty and wellness marketplace Fresha, used Google Keyword Planner data on average monthly searches for over 50 well-known and popular brands of skincare. As suspected, the viral brand Drunk Elephant was up there on the ranking but I was pleasingly surprised to see CeraVe top the charts.
Though TikTok and its vitality may have propelled beauty brands to new heights - such as Makeup By Mitchell or Drunk Elephant - the British public is seemingly more interested in a no-frills, no bells and whistles, affordable and effective skincare routine.
Chloé Burney, Senior News & Features Writer.
