Berlin — Beauty-sample service and marketing platform Glossybox has lifted the lid on its revenues.
The Berlin-based company registered sales of 31 million euros, or $41.2 million at average exchange, in 2013, and says it anticipates similar numbers for 2014. They are the first publicly reported figures since Glossybox launched in 2011.
Last year, Glossybox faced a makeover, trimming its reach and honing its strategy. The countries it served dropped from 17 to 10. Lagging regions such as Italy, Spain, China and Brazil were eliminated to focus on key markets like Germany, Sweden and the U.K.
Boxes and content are carefully targeted — French customers prefer high-end products, Germans opt for masstige mixes of full-size products and the U.K. prefers a combo of premium brands and larger sizes. The firm’s fastest-growing market is the U.S., where creative collaborations, most recently with C. Wonder, fuel customer enthusiasm.
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“It’s not always about the products in the boxes, but it’s about the story and the experience that people receive,” explained Glossybox global chief executive officer Charles von Abercron.
In September, Glossybox will introduce a camera-ready redesign. The new paler pink matte (rather than glossy) box will sport not just the company’s logo, but also its name, a better illustration of brand identity for YouTubers dedicated to “unboxing” their purchases. It’s slightly smaller, but takes an anticipation-enhancing 0.8 seconds longer to open.
With the exception of the U.S., Glossybox claims it was first to market with the sampling concept in most of its regions, and has outlived its competitors in home base Germany. In early days, the company grew fast; last year’s downsizing brought out local critics.
Glossybox is now fine-tuning its core mission. Since the start of the year, its global customer satisfaction levels rose from 68 percent to 84 percent. The company is aiming for 90 percent before it starts considering new strategies or expansions, like brick-and-mortar.
“Right now we have our plan in place, and we are executing it well,” said von Abercron.
Still, he’s also open to thinking outside of the box — and his culture. “If you close your eyes to looking towards innovation, you will fail eventually,” he said, admitting this was not a typical business approach in risk-averse Germany, a trend he hopes to change for the better. “But that’s the beauty of a doing a start-up.”