Dermstore.com is staffing up its executive ranks in a bid to scale up.
The El Segundo, Calif.-based company, owned by Target Corp., has recruited former Guthy-Renker executive Jani Friedman as chief merchandising officer, and Cathy Beaupain as chief marketing officer. The addition of Friedman and Beaupain, who bring e-commerce and digital experience, show the muscle Target is putting behind the site, which it continues to run as a separate business, said president David Weissman, who joined DermStore in July.
“You’ll see the Web site more reflect the problem solution set,” said Weissman, noting that Friedman will act as the curator of that strategy.
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Friedman, who previously led new brand development at Guthy-Renker and also worked in investment banking, aims to amplify DermStore’s problem-solution approach across the site and reorganize the site’s 770-plus prestige and professional brands into categories. Within each category, Friedman is working to identify key brand partners. A number of the site’s most prominent brands include SkinCeuticals, Obagi and Jane Iredale.
She also will scout out new brands, looking for “white space in the market where we can create new categories,” said Friedman, who joined DermStore in December.
“It’s giving the consumer something to solve their problem that they didn’t think of before,” Friedman said. In her view, that approach could include topical or less invasive alternatives to popular cosmetic treatments and beauty devices. In the coming months, she intends to partner with a company to create a hand-held light device exclusively for DermStore.
Beaupain, who spearheads the marketing strategy, previously was vice president of product and CRM at JibJab Media, a digital entertainment company. She’s also held posts at Oakley and Princess Cruises.