Birchbox thinks it found a niche: Burned-out Americans

Online fashion companies are all the rage these days — with consumers and investors.

Revolve Group, a profitable firm that sells designer brands endorsed by social media influencers, nearly doubled in their first day of trading on Friday. And online personal styling service Stitch Fix just wowed investors with its latest earnings and sales. The stock is up more than 70% this year.

The online style trend is one that Birchbox, a subscription service for skincare, hair and makeup products that was founded in 2010, is capitalizing on as well.

Birchbox CEO and co-founder Katia Beauchamp says our culture is creating busy, burned-out people who need to take time to focus on themselves.

“As consumers, we’re inundated with people telling us to dedicate more time to self-care and prescribing how we should spend that time,” Beauchamp said in a statement about a new survey Birchbox conducted about people’s attitudes toward self-care.

Birchbox found that 68% of the more than 1,000 people in the US that Birchbox surveyed wished they spent more time taking care of themselves.

“You deserve to enjoy the minutes you’re spending washing your hair or applying your skincare routine,” Beauchamp said in the statement. “We want you to be nice to yourself. We often hear from customers who tell us that their Birchbox is like a monthly gift to themselves.”

Birchbox was a pioneer in the monthly beauty box market. But Birchbox is adapting as competition increases.

The company said in May 2018 that longtime investor Viking Global Investors had bought a majority stake in the company. There had been rumors that Birchbox had courted Walmart and QVC as possible acquirers in 2017 but that the talks did not lead to a deal.

Birchbox would not comment on takeover talk. But Beauchamp said in a statement last year about the Viking Global investment that “this commitment to our future allows us to fuel our ambitious goals in the US and in our global markets.”

Birchbox also has changed its strategy regarding its physical retail presence. The company had opened up its own store in New York’s trendy SoHo neighborhood in 2014 but closed it last December after its lease expired. It does still operate one physical store in Paris, though.

Birchbox is now looking more at retail partnerships. It announced last October that it was launching in-store Birchbox shops at 11 Walgreens locations. The drug store giant bought a minority stake in Birchbox as part of the deal.

Walgreens now has Birchbox stores up and running in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Minneapolis and plans to open more across the country later this year.

“In Walgreens, we have found an exciting partner that supports our mission of reaching an underserved customer who doesn’t prioritize beauty,” Beauchamp said in a statement.

Beauchamp will discuss the deal with CNN International anchor Julia Chatterley on the “Markets Now” live show Wednesday at 12:45 pm ET. Chatterley will also be joined by Lindsey Bell, investment strategist with CFRA Research, to talk about the broader market.

“Markets Now” streams live from the New York Stock Exchange every Wednesday at 12:45 pm ET. Hosted by CNN’s business correspondents, the 15-minute program features incisive commentary from experts.

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