Milk Makeup’s Post

LVMH Announces Departure of Sephora and Selective Retailing Head Chris de Lapuente Amid Executive Reshuffle THE WHAT?  LVMH has announced that Chris de Lapuente, head of its selective retailing division, will be stepping down from his role on October 31 to retire. THE DETAILS De Lapuente, who has been with the luxury group since 2011 as CEO of Sephora, played a crucial role in the division’s success, which includes the Parisian department stores Le Bon Marché and La Samaritaine, as well as DFS, the luxury travel retailer. THE WHY?  As #LVMH faces a softer luxury market post-pandemic, this transition is part of a broader executive shake-up following the earlier departure of Antonio Belloni. Stephane Bianchi, who succeeded Belloni as deputy CEO, will oversee the heads of Sephora, DFS, and Le Bon Marché moving forward. Source:- https://lnkd.in/gvar6R9J #latestnews #latestarticle #trendingnews #trend #topnews #todaysnews

I’ve always admired the boldness it takes to market luxury brands, and no one does it better than LVMH. The closest I came was during the four years I had the privilege of leading Häagen-Dazs globally—about as close to luxury as you can get in packaged food. The product remains exceptional today, staying true to the fundamentals established in 1961 by its founders, Rose and Reuben Mattus. There’s brand folklore suggesting that at one point in its history, the Häagen-Dazs brand team recommended increased discounting to address declining volume. Instead, the leader directed them to raise the price which reignited growth in both sales and brand image. While I doubt the story was that simple, it captures an essence of luxury marketing that no bag of chips or box of mac & cheese could pull off. There's also a story that LVMH wanted to buy Häagen-Dazs from Pillsbury in the '90s. It would have been amazing to see what they could have done with it. #Häagen-Dazs #Strategy #CPG #FMCG #Pricing #Luxury #icecream

SEPHORA TALES FROM THE CRYPT. EP 9. PARTNERSHIP IS A 2 WAY STREET. Principles. Are you prepared to stand up for them? Even if there is short-term pain. Partnership. In order to work it has to be a win-win. Otherwise it feels like going the wrong way down a 1- way street. In the early days SEPHORA desperately needed ‘dept store’ brands (read L'Oréal, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.) to attract, well, dept store (read Macy's, Nordstrom) customers. To say the brands were reluctant is an understatement. More like they were highly resistant to our overtures. We succeeded in getting an important one to ‘try us’ (name withheld to protect the guilty). Roughly a dozen stores. After a few months we had a honcho meeting- their execs and ours. Felt like the OK corral. Good news- results were off the charts. Make that great news. They came in prepared to add more stores. Even better news. Looking at the list of their store adds there was only one problem- there were zero mall stores. Only street locations. They were tip-toeing around the dept stores. No malls-no conflict. This was a major problem for me and my concept of partnership. I said “I will give you a list of mall stores. Pick one. Any one. ONE! And we have a deal.” Cupla weeks later they came back and said…No. No mall stores. At which point we asked them to leave. Sephora. Altogether. As painful as that was we simply could not live with 100-0 partnership. 95/5 we’d tolerate. 100-0 no. They didn’t really believe it, but within 2-3 months they were gone. It cost us $. But the lesson for our teams was priceless. We are not helpless. We believe in winning together. And we practice it. These kinds of decisions ultimately define who you are as a leader. Being true to hugely important principles in the face of adversity is perhaps the ultimate test. You are your principles. Or you are not. There is no inbetween. #partnershipistwo #youareyourprinciples 

Retail businesses of ANY size could benefit hugely from a concept like this. An external perspective on what makes good merchandising can only be a benefit to your business. At worst you get confirmation that you're not leaving anything on the table, at best you unlock new routes to profit you never knew existed.

✨ SKINNY Just landed at Marks and Spencer! ✨ Exciting news! SKINNY, our ground-breaking tonic water, has officially hit the shelves in over 400 Marks and Spencer stores nationwide! 🎉✨ ‘Dare to be different' is more than our motto—it's the heartbeat of our innovation and SKINNY brings this to life perfectly. It’s all about the realness - real ingredients, real flavour, and real fun. Zero sugar, zero calories, and zero room for anything artificial. Choosing SKINNY isn't just about picking a mixer; it's about joining a lifestyle that's as fun as it is mindful. It's for the go-getters, the trendsetters, and those who believe every sip should come with a wink. SKINNY is there for your epic nights out, your chill Netflix binges, and all those 'just because' moments – making each one a guilt-free, flavour-packed slightly sassy affair. Thank you to everyone who's been on this journey with us. Your enthusiasm and support fuel our innovation every step of the way. Here's to making healthier choices easier and more enjoyable for everyone. 🌱💧 Dive into the SKINNY experience at Marks and Spencer. Cheers to a future where every sip is guilt-free and full of flavour! 🥂 #CheersToChange #innovation #healthieryou #sustainablechoices #wellness #tonic #natural

Now that's a global launch plan.

Reflecting on the essence of branding through the lenses of Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts! Starbucks beautifully encapsulates their "why": "To inspire and nurture the human spirit - one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time." Stepping into a Starbucks feels like entering a home away from home, where every detail from taste to aroma is meticulously crafted to uplift the human spirit, fostering a profound sense of care and belonging. In contrast, Dunkin' Donuts focuses more on the "what and how": "Make and serve the freshest, most delicious coffee and donuts quickly and courteously." This juxtaposition underscores a crucial aspect of branding: the power of emotional connection. When a brand communicates its "why," it establishes a deeper bond with its audience, creating not just customers, but loyal advocates who resonate with the brand's purpose. At its core, whether it's Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts, understanding and articulating your "why" is fundamental to forging meaningful connections with your audience and driving long-term brand loyalty. Reach out to us to to learn more about how we can assist you find and articulate your "why" https://lnkd.in/dTrVkCGS #OaktreePeople #IgniteSMEHub #Branding #BusinessSuccess

Loved being a panellist at CEW UK and Landsec event this morning. I was in great company with Imogen Porter, Chelsey Saunders, Anna Teal & Ruth McFetridge representing views from Harrods, Boots UK, GROWN ALCHEMIST and Landsec respectively. Thanks to Catherine Bossom for the thoughtful moderation and to Sallie Berkerey for the invite. I learned lots from my co-panellists and here's a run through of my own thoughts on the topic: - Great physical retail should deliver great experience (obvs!) 🙄. Scalable solutions from a showcase in Harrods to a CTU in Superdrug all have experience potential if you look at it through the lens of shopper desire. - Sephora's (re)arrival- and Boots anticipation of that - have brought IRL shopping back in vogue in UK - and this 'self-guided' shop poses challenges and opportunities for brands. - Retail Utility instore is just as important as Experience - and we shouldn't care if the instore discovery is purchased online, in the store... (measuring revenue by channel is so last century 😬). - We need to react at the speed of culture. Knowing the retailer inside out and putting operational excellence high on your priorities breeds success. We have a stack of beauty insight to share so do reach out if we can help your brand and / or retail challenge.

➡️ Starbucks redesigned its path to the future with their logo. They simplified their logo by removing their name and coffee from the logo and follow a more minimal and clean look. This further bolstered the support of their lifestyle coffee followers which transcends generations. ➡️ Similarly, Dunkin’ Donuts, after making a reputation in the donuts segment, decided to shift the focus to become a brand that offers beverages on-the-go. Thus, by preserving the legacy and expanding the brand potential, they made the move of dropping “Donuts” to become just “Dunkin’”. ➡️ In the words of Domino’s, their new look “captures the essence of being more than just a brand – it’s a companion for every joyful moment.” Their rebrand was a relatively smaller change, but sure did drive up a buzz around the brand. ➡️ Pepsi revealed a new logo that is inspired by its heritage – specifically the branding from the 90’s. This sparked up a lot of discussion by changing up the colours on the Pepsi globe and using bold black wording. This was done to match the bold and energetic personality of Pepsi with its visual identity. Before or after? Which do you prefer? #rebrand #logodesign #starbucks #pepsi #refresh #branding #brandidentity #logo

Retail Today / Retail Renaissance: The business of “BEAUTY”, now exceeding $500 Billion Dollars in sales! One of the retail leaders in this sector SEPHORA. #beauty #sephora Sephora the French Beauty Retailer owned by LVMH, international world leader in luxury brands. Luxury Group LVMH had a fantastic record setting 2023, $86 Billion in sales. #LMVH Sephora has been driving some of that growth and success, with almost 3,000 stores, estimated sales of $18 Billion, a +25% sales increase in 2023! #sales They also have developed relationships with JCP and Kohl’s for their store-in-store concept. #jcpenney #kohls The beauty industry is estimated to reach $600 Billion in the next few years. I have attached an article that provides the insights for this opportunity. #opportunity #retail #retailtrends #retailstrategy #retailexperience #shoppingexperience #stores #ecommerce #brandexperience #brickandmortar #beautyindustry #beautybusiness #beautyproducts #TopRetailExperts