Hailey Bieber’s billion-dollar magnificence model, Rhode, already had a headline-making 12 months.
Following its blockbuster $1 billion acquisition by E.l.f Magnificence, Rhode is gearing up for its subsequent important milestone. Bieber’s magnificence model is prepping its debut with Sephora, among the many most anticipated retail partnerships of the 12 months simply months following the acquisition.
For sure, it’s been a busy 12 months for Bieber, and solely three years after cofounding and launching the model in 2022. However she is laser-focused on bringing what she’s dubbed “the world of Rhode” to customers past its profitable activations, social media and personal web site.
“This entire time since we launched Rhode, I’ve stayed true to my intestine. That’s what’s introduced the imaginative and prescient to life,” she mentioned of the skincare powerhouse that has expanded into make-up hybrids and even telephone instances.
“Even when we felt prefer it was going left when everybody else within the trade was going proper, that’s what makes one thing totally different and inventive. I would like it to really feel new, totally different and nonetheless throughout the world of Rhode, and I additionally need to have the ability to have a presence that melts properly into the world of Sephora as properly,” mentioned Bieber.
To that finish, merchandised on a gondola in all doorways within the U.S. and Canada, the model can be shoppable with the retailer beginning Sept. 4.
“You’re going to see issues that really feel harking back to all of the pop-ups we’ve finished. Our actually stunning, stylish, Rhode shiny grey — [Sephora] inspired me to carry our model identification into their shops, and I wished to do one thing that as quickly as you see it, you realize it might solely be Rhode as a result of our model identification is so robust,” Bieber continued.
“Partnering with Rhode as their unique retailer accomplice marks an thrilling milestone for Sephora,” mentioned Priya Venkatesh, international chief merchandising officer of Sephora. “Rhode has disrupted the wonder trade with a curated line of skincare necessities, which have pushed unprecedented demand and impressed class and tradition shifts at-large. This can be our largest North American launch but, and we see large development potential as we work collectively to carry the model to extra customers around the globe.”
The urge for food for Rhode is excessive, at Sephora and elsewhere. On the retailer’s website alone, Rhode had north of two million searches, and the model mentioned it’s slated to be Sephora’s largest launch within the U.S. and Canada within the firm’s historical past.
Tasked with executing that imaginative and prescient for Rhode’s subsequent chapter, Lauren Ratner, who serves as president and cofounded Rhode with Bieber, mentioned, “we’ve been laser-focused on persevering with to increase our product portfolio of our excessive efficiency, efficacious merchandise that our prospects preserve coming again for, and constructing out the world of Rhode.”
Ratner pointed to its current Seashore Membership activation in Majorca, Spain, round summer season launches Lemontini Peptide Lip Tint, Pocket Blush in shades Solar Soak and Tan Line, a summer season package and a lemontini-colored Lip Case. The launches and concurrent activation generated the model’s single largest income day in its historical past, garnering greater than 80 million impressions, and taking place in tandem with Rhode’s entry to seven nations.
“There’s at all times been a worldwide urge for food for the model,” mentioned Ratner. “Promoting on to our prospects is how we constructed our group. We had been deliberate in doing that first: It helped us perceive our customers’ needs, wants and constructed a direct relationship. However we at all times wished to carry the world of Rhode and our merchandise globally.”
Although the Lemontini-themed pop-up in Spain was a hit by each metric, Ratner additionally famous previous pop-ups in key markets like New York as gold mines of insights. “We’ve solely been in enterprise just a few years and we didn’t have the dimensions to supply all of our prospects, or potential prospects, with the flexibility to attempt the model in actual life ourselves,” Ratner mentioned.
“We noticed our prospects react so strongly and so positively to strolling into this immersive world and Rhode-branded moments. We’ll be bringing that model expression into Sephora as properly, and we’re bringing again some favorites. Our Jelly Bean, Strawberry Glaze and Salty Tan limited-edition lips are going to turn into a core a part of the Sephora lineup,” Ratner mentioned.
On the time of Rhode’s sale to E.l.f. Magnificence, it had topped $212 million in internet gross sales for the 12 months ending March 31, little question pushed by megawatt advertising and marketing and limited-edition drops, in addition to web virality. CreatorIQ information signifies that it was the highest skincare model by earned media worth in 2024, clocking development of 367 %.
“We’ve been disrupting for 21 years, and so is Hailey and her workforce,” mentioned Tarang Amin, chief govt officer of E.l.f. Magnificence. E.l.f. reported its twenty sixth consecutive quarter of gross sales development on Aug. 6 (a day following the Rhode deal closing), and likewise introduced that with its namesake model, it was coming into Sephora within the Center East. Partnerships with Sephora are solely turning into extra important.
“That follows our profitable launch with Sephora Mexico final 12 months,” Amin mentioned. “Rhode takes it to an entire totally different stage by them introducing Rhode to all U.S. and Canadian doorways in September, adopted by the U.Ok. later this fall.”
Although Bieber’s imaginative and prescient of the model will stay her personal, she’s taken cues on methods to win at retail from E.l.f.
“One of many issues the Rhode workforce appreciated is our deep retail experience,” Amin mentioned, counting present companions Ulta Magnificence, Goal Corp. and Walmart Inc. for its flagship model. “You take a look at each channel we’ve gone to, the one unifying theme of any retail we’re in around the globe is that E.l.f. is their best model on a dollar-per-foot foundation. We outsell everybody. That’s your entire proposition: our innovation, our advertising and marketing, and likewise our experience of methods to make a model work in-store.”
Amongst these capabilities, Amin mentioned he was serving to Rhode construct out its subject gross sales workforce “to have even higher protection. Area protection is necessary for manufacturers, and plenty of manufacturers wait too lengthy and slowly construct. We’re build up from the very starting, and the Rhode workforce was actually open.”
It didn’t take loads to get Sephora on board, both. “Sephora was very open to Rhode, which has a really totally different and complicated aesthetic. They didn’t have a cookie-cutter mannequin of ‘that is the way in which it ought to look,’” Amin mentioned. “Subsequently, there’s this gondola presentation they had been very open to cocreating with us.”
Cocreation is essential, however Amin mentioned to not count on hallmarks of Rhode — from its measured launch cadence, eye to fledgling classes or the following advertising and marketing blitzes — to alter.
“They’re very curated merchandise that tie again to Hailey and her imaginative and prescient. That’s one hundred pc what Sephora needs. She has an unimaginable intuition and aesthetic, and so they need that,” Amin mentioned. As for the profit Rhode has to its guardian, Amin famous that E.l.f. Cosmetics has the best thoughts share with Gen Z per Piper Sandler information, and is probably the most bought model amongst Gen Alpha and Millennials.
“Rhode and the Sephora partnership construct upon that energy now we have,” Amin mentioned. “It’s seeing robust outcomes amongst Gen Z and Millennials, however there are totally different customers who frankly don’t have entry to Rhode. This simply opens up the aperture in a a lot larger method.”
With exponentially extra distribution on one hand and the assist of her new guardian firm on the opposite, Bieber is all-in. “My point of interest proper now’s Sephora,” she mentioned. “I used to be going to say I simply need to get my ft moist, however I need to dive proper into the retail expertise. It’s my first time having a model go into retail.”
Along with the spectacular gross sales spike Rhode’s sustained, it was additionally the youngest magnificence firm to promote at a billion-dollar valuation, as reported on the time. Bieber was additionally then named an adviser to E.l.f. Magnificence as an entire. Don’t count on her to relaxation on her laurels.
“Even with the sale to E.l.f., it’s given me an entire, completely new pleasure, ardour and motivation. I expanded my function on the firm now and I nonetheless have so many concepts,” she mentioned. “It doesn’t make me really feel like I need to decelerate. It actually ignited a brand new fireplace in me to ship it into the stratosphere much more.”
