TheIndustry.beauty Summit: Beauty [Un]Bound - How strength in the supply chain drives scale

TheIndustry.beauty’s debut summit brought together some of the UK’s most forward-thinking beauty leaders for a day of networking, insight and strategic thinking.

Under the theme ‘Beauty [Un]Bound’, the programme of panel discussions, keynote interviews and expert presentations offered fresh perspectives on the forces shaping the future of beauty retail, giving attendees valuable insight and inspiration to inform their strategies.

Taking place at The Forum in London, the event provided a platform for industry leaders to explore emerging trends, share ideas and forge valuable new connections.

Hosted in partnership with Bleckmann, the logistics specialist led a session titled ‘Unboxing Growth: How Strength in the Supply Chain Drives Scale’. The panel explored how a strong and agile supply chain can help brands unlock growth, while highlighting Bleckmann’s tailored logistics solutions for businesses of all sizes.

The discussion was brought to life through the real-world experiences and perspectives of two leading businesses, demonstrating the diverse ways in which effective logistics can support brands at different stages of their growth journey.

Stephanie von Albert, Chief Assortment & Purchasing Officer at Douglas, and Lewe Goldmann, Group Operations Director at Cloud Nine, joined Isabel Schoormans, Client Service Manager at Bleckmann, to discuss everything from managing scale and responding to fluctuations in demand to delivering seamless omnichannel experiences and reducing returns.

Von Albert joined Douglas as Executive Vice President of Assortment & Purchasing in April 2024, before stepping into her current role earlier this year. She previously held a number of e-commerce and regional leadership positions at L’Oréal, where she spent more than 21 years with the French beauty group.

Today, she leads Douglas’ assortment and purchasing function across 22 countries and 1,900 stores, as well as its online business. To put that scale into perspective, she oversees 45,000 SKUs across the retailer’s native assortment, alongside a further 120,000 SKUs available through its closed marketplace.

At this scale, seamless and reliable logistics are critical to delivering a consistent customer experience across every touchpoint.

"We want people to shop seamlessly, whether online or offline," said von Albert, highlighting the importance of an integrated approach and revealing that Douglas has worked with Bleckmann for more than 30 years.

With expertise in end-to-end supply chain management, Bleckmann adapts its logistics operations to meet the evolving needs of personal care, beauty and wellness brands. From tailored warehousing and fulfilment to value-added services, distribution and returns management, it supports brands and retailers across their different sales channels and operational needs.

That same flexibility is equally important from a brand perspective, as Cloud Nine’s experience demonstrates.

Reflecting on the launch of new attachments for its Airshot hair dryer, Goldmann highlighted how quickly demand can shift. Following the launch, daily volumes increased from 10 units to 200, prompting the business to prepare for an even higher daily run rate as demand continues to grow.

For Goldmann, the experience underlined the importance of having a supply chain that can adapt quickly as circumstances change. Flexibility and resilience, he emphasised, are essential to navigating periods of unpredictability and ensuring the business is prepared to respond as demand evolves.

"Resilience is key. It can be hard and take time, but you have to build in that flexibility into your supply chain," Goldmann said, highlighting the role Bleckmann has played in helping Cloud Nine navigate periods of sudden and unexpected demand.

So, whether supporting a global retailer or a growing brand, the need for flexibility remains the same. For Bleckmann, that starts with visibility and collaboration.

"At Bleckmann, forecasting is key - but we’ve also learned that the forecast is never going to be completely right. That’s why transparency between us and our clients is so important, alongside open communication and a strong partnership," said Schoormans. "We are like an extension of your brand."

The conversation then turned to the importance of creating a distinctive brand offering. With British brands including Elemis, Pixi Beauty and, most recently, Skin Rocks - which launched in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Poland last month - Douglas emphasised the importance of making a difference for customers while delivering a consistent brand experience across every touchpoint.

"With so many brands available, it’s important to understand what makes each one unique. We are obsessed with differentiation and bringing something different to our customers. From there, being able to cater to and plan for each brand is really key," said von Albert.

That focus on differentiation also ties into the broader idea of stores and beauty moving at the speed of culture - a theme also explored in an earlier session at the summit. Von Albert highlighted Douglas’ use of trending tables across 650 stores, alongside two dedicated trend walls, with further initiatives in the pipeline.

From pre-sale through to post-sale returns, the session closed with a discussion of a challenge that, admittedly, is less significant in beauty than in fashion. Even so, the panel highlighted education as a powerful tool for reducing returns.

For Cloud Nine, that education starts before purchase, with the brand focused on helping consumers better understand what they’re buying. It has also moved away from automated returns, requiring customers to contact the business and speak to an informed customer service agent about why they want to return a product.

The approach was initially trialled amid concerns that it could introduce too much friction into the customer journey. Instead, Cloud Nine found that customers valued the additional guidance, including being asked questions such as, “Have you tried this?” - creating a second opportunity for education after purchase.

During the trial, 23% of returns were avoided. That figure rose to 45% when the company introduced exchanges, highlighting the potential for a more considered approach to returns to both educate customers and retain sales.

Ultimately, the panel highlighted that growth is not simply about selling more. It is about building the infrastructure, insight and agility to respond as customer expectations, demand and the wider market evolve.

From Douglas’ scale and focus on differentiation to Cloud Nine’s approach to managing rapid growth and reducing returns, both businesses demonstrated the importance of having the right foundations in place to support the next stage of their journeys.

And while their businesses operate at very different scales, the underlying message was consistent: flexibility, visibility and collaboration are essential to navigating an increasingly fast-moving beauty landscape.