A mere three months into the role as CEO at Adore Beauty, Sacha Laing has confirmed why he is the man for the beauty company’s strategic refresh with a three-year plan to transform the e-commerce business into a considerable force in bricks-and-mortar retail.
But in a market where Mecca already sets the bar for in-store shopping experiences, is there room for another Australian-founded beauty retail empire?
With discretionary spending down and the cost of operating physical stores only increasing, Adore Beauty has said it will leverage its e-commerce capabilities to deliver on its vision to “help women feel more confident every day by delivering an empowering and engaging beauty shopping experience personalised to their needs”.
“The future of retail is about more than just products — it’s about connection, community, and creating experiences that last,” activewear founder Lorna Jane Clarkson said at the Forbes Australia Business Summit this month.
Adore Beauty has long been known for its engaged customer base, but whether it can turn that online community into an offline following is the question.
“Physical retail isn’t just another sales channel — it’s the most measurable and tangible marketing tool they have,” Nick Gray, retail and brand specialist and founder of I Got You Consultancy, told Inside Retail.
‘Stores to adore’
At its AGM on November 22, Adore Beauty stated that it has a “strong foundation priming the Group for growth” in FY25.
It stated that the store rollout will be self-funded through operating cashflow, with investment in each bricks-and-mortar location to be paid back within nine to 16 months. A target of over 25 stores has been set for national rollout by 2027.
Currently, each store is expected to have a retail footprint of 150-200sqm and create a customer-centric retail experience that leverages Adore Beauty’s core competencies in the skin and hair categories through consultation, education and ranging. It aims to expand on the identified high-growth potential within the make-up and fragrance categories.
With retail pharmacies such as Priceline and Chemist Warehouse gaining market share thanks to their increasing value proposition, Adore Beauty’s competitive differentiator is its customer-informed curated range and brand-owned offerings in an experiential retail environment.
Evoking emotion
“Adore Beauty’s move into bricks-and-mortar retail represents not just an expansion but a critical evolution in how the brand positions itself in the marketplace,” Gray told Inside Retail.
“By stepping into the real world and having the ability to create ‘in real life’ experiences, Adore Beauty has a massive opportunity to visibly and emotionally connect with their customers, creating experiences that resonate far beyond the transaction,” he added.
According to Gray, the key to Adore Beauty’s success will be understanding the feelings it wants to sell and using its stores to demonstrate its “emotional default”, in other words, its core identity and value proposition in a crowded beauty landscape.
“If Adore can clearly communicate its purpose and evoke a consistent and clear emotion, it will be rewarded with not just sales but trust, joy, and empowerment in their stores that will cement their position as a beloved and relatable brand,” Gray said.
“This venture should be about much more than sales distribution.”
Investing in the omnichannel experience with a brick-and-mortar rollout will enable Adore Beauty to increase its value proposition both for its existing and loyal customers — the Adore Society membership base which grew by 8.6 per cent in the last financial year – and new customers.
Adore Beauty identified that online sales represent only about 12.5 per cent of the Australian beauty and personal care market, meaning it is not currently reaching 87.5 per cent of the addressable market.
Adore’s boutique retail offering presents a chance to curate a unified omnichannel shopping experience that meets customers wherever they are on their purchase journey.
Gray believes that regardless of the customer profile, it will be crucial that the new stores are a natural extension of its current brand identity and customer experience and an “environment where digital and physical meet seamlessly,” he said.
“If Adore leans into the emotional connection that has always been their strength, they can expect to drive deeper loyalty, trust, and allegiance to their business.
“The stores can’t just sell products; they should build relationships and be the studio for everything they do, offering a tactile, memorable experience reinforcing why Adore Beauty is a trusted voice in the industry.”
The post How Adore Beauty stores can compete in a crowded beauty market: Retail expert appeared first on Inside Retail Australia.
