Dive Brief:
- Beauty brand Le Domaine, a collaboration between Brad Pitt and winemakers Famille Perrin, has selected its first U.S. retail partner in Bluemercury, per a press release.
- Macy’s-owned Bluemercury will offer Le Domaine’s four core skin care products as part of “The Cache,” the retailer’s curated collection of emerging brands.
- The startup initially debuted online in September 2022.
Dive Insight:
Le Domaine is being offered now on Bluemercury’s website and 21 of its 178 U.S. stores. The beauty brand’s vegan, gender-neutral skin care products include a serum, two variations of cream and a cleansing emulsion.
Le Domaine products are created using antioxidants found in the Perrin family vineyards’ organically grown grapes, along with patented, free radical-fighting plant extracts. Le Domaine’s products are priced from $77 to $275.
“Our goal is to imitate the organic cycles of nature, where there is no waste,” said co-founder Pitt on the brand’s website. “Anything discarded becomes food for something else. This exemplary circular system is our inspiration for Le Domaine.”
The exclusive partnership with Bluemercury is for several months, according to Pierre Perrin, CEO of Le Domain. “We have exclusivity with Bluemercury until the end of this summer but are in contact with other retailers,” Perrin said in an email.
Bluemercury incorporates a thorough vetting process in selecting new and emerging brands for The Cache. According to Tracy Kline, Bluemercury’s head of merchandising, spa and supply chain, the reasons behind partnering with Le Domaine included its “focus on sustainability across all aspects of the brand, the incredible research around the patent pending ingredients and of course the product performance. “[We’re] excited about the penetration of the client being a high [percent] of males.”
“[The] selection process incorporates a number of considerations including product, ingredients, technology, founder and existing distribution. All brands we launch at Bluemercury are thoroughly vetted and serve a special purpose, but brands that launch within The Cache are wildly on or ahead of trend.”
The launch of Le Domaine in the U.S. comes at a time when the beauty industry is showing resiliency and robust growth, per a recent report by McKinsey and The Business of Fashion. Global beauty sales are projected to increase 6% annually through 2027, with North America sales expected to reach $115 billion by the same year.
While parent Macy’s Q1 comparable sales figures were down 7.9%, Bluemercury reported an increase of 4.3% for the same period.
There’s been a surge of DTC beauty brands creating wholesale partnerships in recent months as the crowded but lucrative market seeks to expand its customer base through brick-and-mortar relationships. Among the brands that have branched out are Jennifer Aniston’s LolaVie, which formed a partnership with Ulta; Know Beauty from Vanessa Hudgens, which relaunched on Amazon; Revolution Beauty, which signed a deal with Walmart; and wellness brand Golde, which entered Ulta.
Other celebrity beauty brands are expanding as well. Ariana Grande’s R.e.m. Beauty brand received a capital infusion from Sandbridge Capital in May and Hailey Bieber’s Rhode skin care essentials expanded to Canada in March.
