Audrey BottiLacey Yuxin

• Claiming to be the best way to discover beauty.

• What it is? Birchbox delivers high-end beauty, grooming, and lifestyle samples once a month, customized just for you.

• “The Box” = the element of surprise • Video

Birchbox

• How it started: Co-founders Hayley Barna and Katia Beauchamp met at Harvard Business School. With inspiration from Hayley’s beauty editor best friend Mollie Chen, they created Birchbox to help consumers cut through the clutter of the retail world to find products that really work for them.

Founders

Co-founder Katia

Beauchamp

Co-founder Hayley Barna

Co-founder Mollie Chen

How i t works?

1. Subscribe2. Fill out profile based on skin type, hair ect. 3. Then wait to receive your personalized birchbox!

• Changes based on seasons (themed boxes i.e. for April it was “Earth Day and the contents of the entire box were eco-friendly, down to the packaging which was carbon-neutral and made from recycled materials)

• Changes based on where you live (weather/temp differences)• Changes for male and female (brown box/pinkbox)

I t ’s for men too!

I’m so excited to receive my birchbox this month! Maybe it will have some good beard grooming products… hmmm

What’s in the box?

Women’s Box: 7" x 5" x 2"• Makeup• Skincare• Fragrances • Non beauty extras i.e.

chocolate

Men’s box: 8" x 5.5" x 2.5• Top tier grooming products• Lifestyle accessories• Hip socks• Tech gadgets

Birchbox sources samples from well-known brands and emerging gems. Website

Profi le quest ions:

• Expanding to other countries beyond US, UK, France, and Spain

• Kids version boxes• Sending boxes to people who aren’t

subscribers• Offering more brands (well known brands)• Pop up stores in malls• Public profiles for Birchbox users to share

opinions/reviews on what was in their box• Opening a brick-and-mortar store…

Opportuni t ies for growth

• Opening their first brick-and-mortar store this May in New York.

• The Birchbox store will offer 2,000 products for sale, representing 150-250 brands.

• BYOB or “Build Your Own Birchbox” will let shoppers fill those pink boxes with samples of their choice for 15$

• Creating a similar experience to Apple stores• Technology at the heart of the experience with

touch screens throughout the store• Separate floor for classes on topics like skin

care/makeup tricks, and services like hair styling

Cyber to Cement

• Examples:– Ebay.com– Amazon.com– Overstock.com– Drugstore.com

• Can you think of any other examples that have successfully moved from the online retail space to brick-and-mortar stores?

• What are some of the pros and cons of making this shift?

C a n a re t a i l e r c o m p a n y ex i s t exc l u s i v e l y o n l i n e ?

• Facebook – communicating with customers• Twitter – hashtaging brands• Instagram – sweepstakes, free product give

aways, promoting certain brands (link under profile)

S t re n g t h : S o c i a l M e d i a

video

Sephora BirchboxOnline and physical stores already in place

Exclusively online

Less likely to talk about your purchases or share them with others

Creates a conversation or sharing of products

More popular brandsExample: Bobby Brown, Clinique, Clarins, Fresh

Newer brands that are more underground

You choose the products to buy

Surprise products and you choose if you want to buy again, or not

C o m p e t i t i o n : S e p h o r a v s . B i r c h b ox

Wi l l t h e y c o n t i n u e t o t h r i v e ?

• What will be key to success as they enter the brick-and-mortar retail space?

• Do they have any other hidden competition?

• How will they continue to capture the market after customers are pas the “discovery” phase, and have now found the brands that they love and what to remain loyal too?

• http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/24/business/birchbox-seller-of-beauty-products-steps-out-from-web-with-a-store.html

• https://www.birchbox.com/• http://www.sephora.com/

Wo r k C i t e d :