When Umar ElBably graduated from the Canadian Ivy Business School in 2019, his line of men’s grooming and cosmetic products was just a class project. Now, it’s a full-fledged business—called Faculty—and even landed $3 million in seed funding, led by the Esteé Lauder Cos. “In our pitch deck, there’s a picture of me when I was like seven years old with dyed-blue hair,” he told Retail Brew. “I was experimenting with fashion and beauty, stealing my sister’s makeup.”

The “steal my girlfriend’s concealer” line was a common refrain among the men’s grooming companies and analysts we spoke to. As it turns out, the rise of men’s beauty is actually unmasking a trend that already existed.

“Every five years, guys are getting new ways to groom,” Jon Shanahan, co-founder and CMO of the men’s cosmetic brand Stryx, told us—from “Axe and Old Spice taking scent mainstream…to haircare and beard care.” Looking forward, 2022 will help carve out what the men’s beauty category looks like for the next half decade.

Fuss-free

Stryx hit the market in 2019, and it found that around 70% of its customer base had never purchased a cosmetic product before. Surveys also uncovered that its male buyers were (wait for it) stealing from their partners’ beauty bags.

“A big thing with [many cosmetic brands] is that they assume a routine,” Shanahan said. Stryx, on the other hand, has found its niche helping customers build from the ground up.

• The company’s products—sold online and, as of December, in Nordstrom stores—range from cleansers to pimple patches to tinted moisturizers. Prices go up to $42.

Shanahan, and his co-founder and CEO Devir Kahan, realized the men buying Stryx don’t respond to gritty details about a product’s formulation or the latest breakthrough in organic ingredients. The company experimented with messaging around “the best of Korean skincare for men,” and it failed to resonate with the brand’s audience.

What’s working is simple—literally.

“Guys want the instant fix,” Shanahan continued. “They want to know that it’s made for them, they want to know that it’s easy.” That aforementioned tinted moisturizer, in fact, went viral on TikTok last year. Sales of the product jumped 430% a month after the brand posted a 50-second how-to clip. Shanahan chalks up its popularity to being a one-step solution and undetectable, like a blurring filter.

• Stryx said it has more than doubled sales each year since it debuted. In 2021, the company saw e-comm grow 250% YoY. (Shanahan declined to share specific figures.)

What else needs to be done for men’s beauty to take off? Click here to read why education should be the next step.—JG

Amazon is going IRL—again. The e-commerce behemoth will open its first clothing store later this year in Glendale, California, so shoppers can actually add things to their carts.

Well, maybe a bit more upgraded than that. Amazon Style will be heavy on tech. Our friends at the Daily have the quick details here, but for an even quicker summary…

• Customers can scan an item’s QR code to see more information, like customer ratings. And they can use the Amazon Shopping app to have tops, t-shirts, or trench coats (hey, to each their own) sent straight to a fitting room.
• Oh, and that fitting room will have thoughts on what to try on, suggesting recs based on what shoppers have already picked out.

Okay, but why? “With its new venture, Amazon will be testing whether it can widen its customer base, carve out more of a name for itself in fashion, and learn more about shopper behavior,” noted Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, in a statement.

• Amazon has reportedly overtaken Walmart as the largest apparel retailer in the US, with sales topping an estimated $41 million in 2020, according to Wells Fargo.

Saunders added that while Amazon Style is an experiment for now, some retailers should worry if the e-comm giant sticks the landing. “If successful, it would give Amazon a presence in malls and locations where traditional retailers have reigned supreme,” he wrote.—KM

China’s luxury goods market saw another solid year in 2021, as travel restrictions kept consumers shopping domestically, and online sales and duty-free shopping surged.

Luxury sales in the country rose 36% to 471 billion yuan (~$74.3 billion) in 2021, doubling domestic sales over 2019 and growing China’s luxury-goods market share by 1%, per Bain & Company’s China Luxury report released yesterday.

• Leather goods saw the highest sales jump (~60%), while sales for fashion and lifestyle products rose 40%.

Growing, but slowing: Despite 2021’s jump, sales decelerated from 2020’s 48% sales bump. And, after two years of “extraordinary” growth in the segment, Bain is anticipating 2022 to “produce more moderate growth” for the sector, forecasting a low-double-digit sales increase as the world slowly opens back up.

So, what should luxury brands focus on to eke out $$$? (Especially with the country set to become the biggest luxury market by 2025.) Bain laid out three trends:

Keep it digital: Luxury shoppers have moved online, with e-commerce sales driving more growth (+56%) across all categories compared to brick-and-mortar spending (+30%).

Travel light: Duty-free stores in the island province of Hainan have seen sales jump ~85% YoY. Hainan has served as a “pricing disruptor,” notably influencing shopping habits in China, Bain noted.

• “As more operators arrive, we expect retail shopping opportunities on the island to continue expanding,” the report said. “With more options for buyers, price competition is likely to become more intense.”

And, and, and: Like in 2020, Chinese consumers are spending more in China—which is expected to continue this year even as international travel gradually resumes.

• Per BoF and McKinsey’s The State of Fashion 2022 report, 65% of Chinese shoppers’ luxury spend was in mainland China in 2021, up from 2019’s 35%, though it expects a 5% dip in 2022.—EC

Today's top retail reads.

Real deal: The hype around digital fashion is very real, but will it ever be much more than that? (Vox)

That’s in: From the co-founder of Neighborhood Goods to the co-founder of Cuyana, insiders share the trends they believe will shape fashion retail in 2022. (Fashionista)

New neighbors: As Amazon expands into Europe, one small town in England contends with a complicated relationship with the e-comm giant. “It feels like Amazon employs half the population of Darlington now.” (The Wall Street Journal)

Keep ’em comin’ back. Wondering how to transform one-time buyers into loyal repeat customers? According to Bluecore’s Ecommerce Retention Opportunity e-book, it all starts with elevating the shopper experience. Download the e-book and start building your customer retention strategy today.*

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Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• Taco Bell is opening its own biz school
• The takeaways from NRF’s 2022 Big Show
• Cleaning products are still cleaning up with shoppers

Three of the stories below are real...and one is most definitely not. Can you spot the fake?

1. Oscar Mayer dropped a bologna-inspired face mask that is already sold out.
2. Dollar General is the latest retailer to want in on the metaverse.
3. Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop will release a $75 limited-edition candle, called “Hands Off My Vagina,” in honor of the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
4. M&Ms are getting new shapes and sizes as part of the brand’s bid to be more inclusive.

Keep reading for the answer.

Keep ’em comin’ back. Wondering how to transform one-time buyers into loyal repeat customers? According to Bluecore’s eCommerce Retention Opportunity e-book, it all starts with elevating the shopper experience. Download the e-book and start building your customer retention strategy today.

^{*This is sponsored advertising content}