Serial entrepreneur Marcia Kilgore is at it again. The founder of Bliss, Soap & Glory and FitFlop is building a new beauty venture that is changing the way consumers think and shop for skincare and cosmetics.
Kilgore outlined her strategy at the Financo’s 28th annual CEO Forum on Monday as part of a wellness and healthy-living panel moderated by Mindy Grossman, CEO of Weight Watchers. Other panelists included Eugene Remm, Rumble and Catch Restaurants; Kara Goldin, Hint Water; and Michael Karsch of Juice Press.
Beauty Pie’s Netflix-inspired model works like this: Consumers pay a monthly fee to the site to shop for products that are up to 90 percent less than they would cost at retail. Kilgore and her team source their private-label assortment from leading factories around the world — the same ones who make items for high-end labels.
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“What you realize is that brands are starting to be less important. [Paying] a 1,000 percent markup isn’t worth it,” Kilgore said on the panel. “People are their own brands. They care more about how many Facebook or Instagram followers they have.”
When she was developing the business, Kilgore took cues from fast-growing apparel e-tailer Everlane — which itemizes the costs of its products. Beauty Pie consumers can see how much they’ve spent on each part of the styles they are buying.
The businesswoman — who admits that getting the technology aspects of the site were challenging at first — said her goal is to have consumers spread the word about the venture. “The best decisions are decisions that increase customer trust,” she said.
