Beauty / news
Bobbi Brown Keeps Jones Road Beauty Out of Department Stores, With Liberty of London as Sole Wholesale Partner
Bobbi Brown says Jones Road Beauty has no near-term plans to sell through Sephora, Ulta or department stores, relying instead on its own retail growth and a single wholesale account at Liberty in London.
The beauty founder said mass and specialty retail chains represent a fundamentally different business model, and that Jones Road does not currently need the customer traffic those doors bring. She pointed to existing growth and sales as the reason the brand can stay out of them.
Department stores have not been ruled out forever, but Brown said there are no plans at all to open in any of them right now. She described interest from Bergdorf Goodman and other retailers as an open door the company is choosing not to walk through at this time.
The brand's only wholesale relationship is with Liberty in London. Brown said she emailed the retailer's head of beauty to ask whether the store would be interested, and received an immediate yes by phone.
Inside Jones Road's own stores, Brown credited Cheyenne Pellicoro, her first makeup artist, with keeping the experience consistent. Pellicoro serves as director of artistry and education, handpicks and trains employees, and works on Brown's shoots.
Brown also discussed the company's self-funded structure and its response to the Wide Awake naming situation involving Yise Beauty.