A#nbsp;couple of#nbsp;months ago, I#nbsp;penned an#nbsp;article that began with a#nbsp;confession about my#nbsp;connection to#nbsp;the retail industry. Not only is#nbsp;retail innovation a#nbsp;huge part of#nbsp;my#nbsp;focus as#nbsp;a#nbsp;consultant. It’s in#nbsp;my#nbsp;blood. Family, in-laws, and friends of#nbsp;mine have all toiled in#nbsp;various sectors of#nbsp;the retail business. And so#nbsp;have I, as#nbsp;the former co-owner of#nbsp;a#nbsp;small professional theater company. It’s given me#nbsp;a#nbsp;sharp perspective on#nbsp;some of#nbsp;the challenges facing retailers today.
The question: at#nbsp;a#nbsp;time when the very notion of#nbsp;retail itself is#nbsp;being challenged -- with the rise and threat of#nbsp;e-commerce, in-store pick-ups, and home delivery -- what in#nbsp;fact is a "store" today?
My#nbsp;answer: it’s not so#nbsp;much about the place where you store your goods (there are new means and methods for that). It’s wherever you physically need to#nbsp;be to#nbsp;effectively serve your customers today.
Increasingly, entrepreneurs are looking for ways to#nbsp;modernize retail sectors by#nbsp;reimagining the physical venue for delivering certain services and products. For the $#nbsp;18 billion personal care-and-beauty market ($#nbsp;12 billion in#nbsp;services, $#nbsp;6 billion in#nbsp;products), the time may have arrived to#nbsp;reinvent what the store actually is in#nbsp;and how it#nbsp;might benefit the different stakeholders in#nbsp;the value chain -- personal care/beauty assistants, the brands that are struggling to#nbsp;connect more meaningfully with customers, and even traditional retail outlets (the salons that hire assistants and the big-box chains with whom brands have historically engaged to#nbsp;sell their wares at#nbsp;cosmetic counters).
There are at#nbsp;least three reasons why this might happen. It#nbsp;begins with the very real problem that so#nbsp;many consumers of#nbsp;personal care-and-beauty services are struggling to#nbsp;align their busy schedules to#nbsp;the limited availability of#nbsp;appointments at#nbsp;salons.
On#nbsp;the recommendation of#nbsp;a#nbsp;friend, I#nbsp;met Anna Santeramo, CEO and founder of#nbsp;SF-based StyleBee (which is#nbsp;headquartered in#nbsp;a#nbsp;most amazing two-level space above Green Apple Books & Music, a#nbsp;legendary#nbsp;SF store which itself has had to#nbsp;undergo a#nbsp;great transformation) who faced this very problem when working as#nbsp;a#nbsp;corporate attorney in#nbsp;NYC. Like other successful entrepreneurs, she saw an#nbsp;opportunity to#nbsp;address her personalchallenge -- a#nbsp;challenge that many others share -- at#nbsp;scale. What she quickly discovered: the industry has a#nbsp;real-estate and inventory problem. Why: the industry is#nbsp;too fragmented and the most desirable salons are too small to#nbsp;meet the demand for services when one needs them and whereone needs them.
The solution is#nbsp;to#nbsp;liberate the stylists from the physical constraints of#nbsp;their stores (where they can continue working) and provide them with many new physical spaces where services can be#nbsp;delivered: people’s homes today, and workplaces in#nbsp;the near future. Among the services provided: blowouts,updos, make-up, manicures, pedicures, and men’s cuts, too. Launching in#nbsp;2015, the company enjoyed a#nbsp;quick path to#nbsp;business, not just because it#nbsp;solved a#nbsp;problem for executives like Santeramo, but because it#nbsp;created more jobs and better wages as#nbsp;well. She got a#nbsp;lot of#nbsp;love for that. "We created an#nbsp;army of#nbsp;advocates," says Santeramo. In#nbsp;more than 400 municipalities today, StyleBee recently turned cash positive and investors are taking notice.
Brands That Need Better Engagement
But Santeramo is#nbsp;also looking to#nbsp;solve a#nbsp;big problem for another kind of#nbsp;stakeholder in#nbsp;the personal care-and-beauty market: the brands of#nbsp;products (makeup, shampoos, and other items) that have traditionally relied on#nbsp;small salons and big-box makeup counters to#nbsp;connect with consumers. The stylists and assistants who serviced those stations have always served as#nbsp;trusted brand ambassadors, selling for the brand in#nbsp;soft but engaging ways. So#nbsp;naturally, if#nbsp;those stations are failing to#nbsp;meet the consumer where she lives (or#nbsp;works) an#nbsp;age-old strategy becomes obsolete. In#nbsp;recent months, Santeramo has been in#nbsp;discussions with a#nbsp;number of#nbsp;high-end brands that see the value in#nbsp;StyleBee’s army of#nbsp;advocates. The trusted advisor lives#nbsp;on. There just happen to#nbsp;be#nbsp;more venues for them -- the theaters of#nbsp;love and war for the army of#nbsp;advocates. Most StyleBee customers make room in#nbsp;their kitchens -- the busiest venues in#nbsp;their homes -- for StyleBee services.
The Data That’s Helping To#nbsp;Reimagine Retail
And this where it#nbsp;gets really interesting, from my#nbsp;perspective. Because StyleBee services are scheduled over the Cloud, and an#nbsp;e-commerce engine has been integrated to#nbsp;follow-up with customers in#nbsp;the same soft and trusted way that its offline army comports itself, it#nbsp;appears to#nbsp;have built a#nbsp;data and distribution platform for understanding, serving, and engaging the customer over the lifetime of#nbsp;that relationship, answering questions like, where do#nbsp;my#nbsp;customers live? What products do#nbsp;they most care about? How often do#nbsp;they use them? When is#nbsp;it#nbsp;time to#nbsp;replenish those products (StyleBee is#nbsp;experiencing 50% growth from repeat customers)? What can the data predict about the future appeal and viability of#nbsp;services and products in#nbsp;the large personal care-and-beauty industry? These are all questions that Amazon potentially can answer, if#nbsp;they ever get into your home to#nbsp;provide these services. But with StyleBee, brands can answer these questions leveraging an independent platform.
As#nbsp;I#nbsp;have learned in#nbsp;my#nbsp;many tours of#nbsp;duty in#nbsp;retail, "data is#nbsp;the new oil" -- an#nbsp;imperfect, often criticized, but useful metaphor attributed to#nbsp;Clive Humby, one of#nbsp;the pioneers of#nbsp;retail customer data who launched his first big business with his wife, Amelia Dunn, right out of their kitchen -- that’s helping to#nbsp;fuel the reinvention of#nbsp;retail across different sectors. And it’s the first line of#nbsp;defense against e-commerce players which have shown deep interest in#nbsp;the offline world because people still want and need offline retail experiences that are in#nbsp;great demand … like personal care-and-beauty.
That’s the opportunity that Santeramo is#nbsp;chasing, and she’s doing it#nbsp;very well. Again, the "store" is#nbsp;wherever the vendor needs to#nbsp;be#nbsp;in order to#nbsp;serve the customer. It’s a#nbsp;reality that her company is#nbsp;fully embracing, and with the power of#nbsp;the great democratizer of#nbsp;modern retail: customer data.