L'Oreal's SalonCentric To Open B2B Beauty Products eCommerce Site

L'Oreal USA subsidiary SalonCentric, which already has a major presence in the retail hair products space, will open an online B2B wholesale site, the company's technology provider for the venture announced on Wednesday (June 2).

The site for salon professionals will operate on a Mirakl platform, Mirakl announced.

The site will be "one of the salon industry's first dedicated professional beauty products marketplace on the Mirakl Marketplace Platform," the release stated, a "one-stop shop" on which salons and stylists will be able to save time and money when purchasing supplies.

SalonCentric currently provides color, styling and other haircare products, as well as nail care tools and other accessories from a variety of third-party vendors. The B2B platform plans to add new categories to its marketplace, such as hair extensions and salon equipment, software and services.

Bertrand Fontaine, president of SalonCentric, said in a prepared statement: "In the current economic climate, increased efficiency and cost savings are vital to success for the salon owners and beauty professionals that SalonCentric serves. With this marketplace, SalonCentric is embracing innovation in service of our customers' success, offering them immediate access to the widest selection of products and brands with a seamless eCommerce experience."

Boston-based Mirakl stated in the announcement that the site is scheduled for a second-half 2021 launch and will "triple SalonCentric's product selection online with the addition of 350+ third-party vendors, in addition to its current 150 vendors, on SalonCentric.com."

Online wholesale marketplaces expand the variety of suppliers that businesses can choose from, but often retailers are still wary of these options, as they have a reputation of lacking a certain level of trust and transparency, Nulisec CEO Lukas Pham recently told PYMNTS.

SalonCentric is based in St. Petersburg, Fla., and states in marketing materials that it has more than 585 stores in 48 states. The company states it distributes brands including: Amika, Authentic Beauty Concept, Bioelements, Bio Ionic, BosleyMD, Creative Nail Design, Dermalogica, Fatboy, FHI, Hempz, Kenra, L'ANZA, L'Oréal Professionel, Matrix, Redken 5th Avenue NYC and Tressa.