‘Skinification’, expansion, and internal and external competition: Beauty Makers by Chalhoub

‘Skinification of beauty’ is the key trend that every retailer in the beauty and cosmetics space need to watch out for, according to Celine Goldberg, head of brand creation and development, Chalhoub Group.

“Everything is moving towards skincare. Be it a hair brand that’s going to do a scalp scrub or brands bridging the gap between make up and skin care – everything is moving towards skincare around beauty, “she said.

Beauty Makers was launched two years back with the aim to support Chalhoub Group with ready-to-deploy beauty concepts, existing brands & products or new ones curated to adapt to the demanding from omnichannel customers in the MENA region.

“I think this year we will continue on our journey towards transparency and creating clean beauty brands and skin care ranges,” she added.

It recently launched a new product line, Kroma Drama in addition to Wow Beauty Forward, Ayuni, and Beauty Nation.

“Kroma drama is our latest launch. It’s the fastest brand that we have ever created. It took us 12 months from the time of the idea to the time it hit the shelf. The brand is about good quality products at affordable price,” she said.

Even though the Beauty Makers are a small sub-group in competition with other largescale international giants, there have been a number of advantages that come with being associated with a big retailer like Chalhoub.

“There is internal competition but there’s also a lot of advantages from being in this group. With a whole eco system around us, we can benefit from the best intelligence team. We also have access to an amazing HR team and the whole logistics side of it.” she said

However, the products aren’t just sold in stores operated by the group. “The idea is that we open up just like any other brand. Yes, we might have an advantage of getting it in our own networks but we’re also looking at external networks such as Namshi, Noon, Lifestyle, and Boots. If you want to be profitable then you need to be in more stores,” she said.

The two-year young brand has massive plans for the coming years with more projects and launches in the pipeline. “We aim at being a reference in beauty label creation in the Middle East and beyond. We are looking at creating brands that are very fast, agile, and customer centric,” she said.