Dive Brief:
- Walmart announced on Monday that it is partnering with British beauty retailer Space NK to bring products to 250 stores and online in a collaboration dubbed BeautySpaceNK, according to a company press release.
- A selection of over 600 Space NK skincare, makeup, haircare, and bath and body products across price points will be available on Walmart’s website beginning on March 15.
- The collaboration will feature some brands exclusive to Walmart, including a mineral-based SPF range, Summer Camp, that will launch with the retailer this summer.
Dive Insight:
Walmart is wading into the prestige beauty market with the help of Space NK.
The British-based company was founded in 1991 and opened its first store in 1993, selling products from well-known brands including Diptyque, By Terry and NARS. There are around 70 Space NK stores in the U.K. and Ireland and 29 locations in the U.S.
Now Space NK is bringing a curated selection of luxury, indie and exclusive product lines to a selection of Walmart stores as box retailers are becoming more competitive in the beauty space.
Last year, Target opened Ulta shop-in-shops featuring product lines from brands like Anastasia Beverly Hills, Clinique, Drybar and Urban Decay, with a plan to roll out the concept to 800 stores nationwide. The company then in February introduced 40 new brands to its overall beauty mix, half of which are from Black-owned or founded companies.
Meanwhile, Kohl’s announced a partnership with Sephora that would bring shop-in-shop concepts to hundreds of stores. The collaboration is proving to be vital for the department store, which is leaning on Sephora for growth this year. Kohl’s recently reported that it saw more traffic and a mid-single-digit sales lift with locations that contained a Sephora compared to the rest of the chain.
Walmart is now also bringing in an outside chain to mix up its product assortment and potentially drive traffic.
“As a top beauty destination, Walmart is continuously looking for new ways to wow and surprise customers by expanding our selection and offering convenient access to the best product assortment across beauty,” Laurie Tessier, merchandising director of prestige beauty at Walmart, said in a statement.
Walmart is also accelerating its beauty efforts in other ways. At the end of February, the company announced that it will launch a beauty accelerator program, dubbed Walmart Start, as a way to discover up-and coming beauty brands.
The company recently named a new head of its beauty business, Creighton Kiper, who previously held the role of merchandising vice president of wellness at the company, according to Women’s Wear Daily.
