Glossier’s new CEO on why she’s backing influencers, ending the DTC era and opening stores (2024)

Weiss, who launched Glossier in 2014, focused her company on creating connections with a community to guide her product development and cultivate connections, growing her blog to a beauty unicorn with a valuation of $1.8 billion and more than $266 million in VC funding to date. She was commended for her progressive approach to beauty, led by consumer feedback rather than glossy marketing ideals. However, in May 2022, while pregnant and about to go on maternity leave, Weiss revealed via a blog post that she would be stepping down as chief executive, noting it is a decision that she reflects on yearly, and she would stay on as executive chairwoman. The announcement came in the months after laying off more than a third of its employees. There was also a surprise by the pivot to working with singer Olivia Rodrigo, flying in the face of its community-led approach and suggestive of difficulties in reaching new customers.

The entrance of Leahy, the company’s former chief commercial officer with experience at Nike, Cole Haan and American Express, comes with expectations for more change. Long rumoured to be on deck for an IPO, Glossier is still private, and the company’s annual revenue more than doubled in 2018, surpassing $100 million. Leahy declined to comment on current profitability or annual revenues though it has grown to as much as $180 million per analyst estimates. She also declined to comment on a timeline for an IPO, emphasising her focus on building an enduring, self-sustaining business.

Staying cool at scale

Glossier’s early success was driven by word of mouth, but the drawback is that they also had limited control of what is being said, according to Mousumi Behari, director of strategy practice at management consultancy Avionos.

Now, Glossier will be giving up some control over its brand positioning as it approaches wholesale partners. “A brand has to be very focused on its target and what type of customer is likely to be engaged and sticky,” says Erin Brookes, managing director and head of retail at management consultancy firm Alvarez & Marsal. A DTC brand may choose to “piggyback” onto a wholesale retailer if the customer is already a customer of another business, she says.

Glossier stores will continue to be playful, community-led spaces, with Leahy calling out plans for partnerships in local neighbourhoods and hosting events that bring people together. “We’re doubling down on the things that make our stores a joyful experience — the same ‘choose your own adventure’ ethos that we’ve created with our products,” says Marie Suter, who recently became senior vice president and executive creative director of Glossier after the brand’s CMO Ali Weiss left her position in July. “Our retail experiences have always existed in contrast to the typical in-person beauty shopping experience and are not what you’d traditionally expect from a beauty store.”

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At a time when many consumers haven’t fully returned to real-life shopping, they need enticing back to physical stores. Some 56 per cent of global Gen Z shoppers head to physical stores for a fun experience, according to a 2018 survey by IBM and the National Retail Federation, which interviewed 15,600 global consumers between the ages of 13 and 21. “I look at the stores that Glossier is opening and they look very much the same as they were pre-pandemic. It will be important to evolve that experience and make sure that they’re still getting the same traffic, time spent in store and conversion,” says Michelle Kluz, a partner in the consumer practice of global strategy and management consulting firm Kearney.