LONDON — Selfridges unveiled its brand new beauty salon in its Oxford Street flagship on Friday following a 12-month, multi-million pound refurbishment.
The revamped and optimized space, which has seen its warehouses repurposed to house more than 300 beauty brands – 50 of which are exclusive to the Central Group-owned British retailer – will also offer more than 200 beauty services, employing more than 1,000 beauty experts to go. ground.
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“We have a great beauty business and we want to make sure we can continue to develop ourselves at some point,” says Melissa McGinnis, head of buying – beauty at Selfridges.
“On both sides we are surrounded by great accessories and luxurious spaces. It’s about how we can use the space we have in an exciting way and bring more brands to life. We have expanded the number of brand counters by eight. We have a very broad and diverse customer base. We strive to create different destinations within one space where our customers can shop in a way that suits their preferences,” said McGinnis.
One of the biggest changes in the latest refurbishment is that Selfridges has removed internal walls to open up the space connecting the fragrance hall, which is close to the store’s main doors, the central beauty hall and the beauty salon, a space where chocolates used to be made. sold and which leads to the dining room.
“We now see that those spaces are actually one whole. Compared to when we launched the beauty business in 2012, where the beauty industry is today and where Selfridges beauty businesses are today, we have evolved a lot. Customers who show up in those spaces are truly migrating and exploring everywhere. So we wanted to create a space that better facilitated that,” said McGinnis.
The new beauty hall allows Selfridges to house a diverse mix of brands, depending on where they are on their journey, or price point. McGinnis said established brands want large spaces with wall advertising, while she also wants to help popular direct-to-consumer brands make their first foray into a brick-and-mortar retail environment.
“At the heart of everything we do at Selfridges, we want to be at the forefront of newness. We are aware that within our beauty playground we have different spaces that allow us to bring in a brand no matter where they are on their journey and help them thrive and grow in our stores and gain exposure among our customers ” said McGinnis.
For an optimized shopping experience, Selfridges has also improved the sightlines of the space, making it more open and allowing customers to see the entire space no matter where they are in the beauty salon. A similar improvement was made in 2018 with the renovation of the retailer’s Manchester Trafford store.
“You will notice that all counters are 1.5 meters high. We employ consistent design and branding principles throughout the space. That room has so much energy and is the central room of the entire store. It has the highest density and the busiest visitor numbers. For us it was about how we can somehow enhance the space by adapting the architecture, but still keep the energy of all our brand partners and express their great brand designs in a really exciting way,” said McGinnis.
The large hall is also equipped with a new LED lighting system.
“All those changes wouldn’t have been possible without the lighting we put in. When you’re shopping for beauty, especially when shopping in color categories, it’s so important that you have the best lighting for tonal representation. . So our amazing in-store team can help customers match products,” said McGinnis.
According to McGinnis, the focus on sustainability is also at the heart of the entire project.
In a bid to live up to Selfridges’ sustainability ethos, some 74 brands including Chanel, Prada, Dior, Dries Van Noten, Hermès and Le Labo will offer more than 2,500 refill options. All brands operating in the beauty space aim to integrate refills into their counters by 2025.
“Some brands are already far along in their journey, such as Le Labo. Then we had other brands where it helped push these types of conversations internally. Together with our brand partners, we are probably about 85 to 90 percent of the way there,” McGinnis said.
Around 37 brands – including Charlotte Tilbury, Pat McGrath Labs, Hourglass, Dior, Tom Ford, MFK, Prada, Loewe, Jo Malone, Aesop, Victoria Beckham, Rabanne, Valentino, Dries Van Noten and Burberry – have created more sustainable new counters in the hall under the Selfridges Sustainable Build Guidelines.
According to McGinnis, Selfridges works closely with brands to ensure that all new build, retrofit and maintenance projects, as well as brand partner stores and pop-up projects, are made from responsibly sourced materials that are better for the planet. and that cultivate healthy indoor air quality.
Experiences that promote novelty are also a major attraction of the new beauty hall.
The space historically has two pop-up areas on either side of the information desk opposite the main entrance. During last year’s renovation of the central space in the north, the retailer introduced three experiential gaming tables: one for hair, one for color and one for skin.
Three new atrium spaces dedicated to beauty that will move between floors of Selfridges will be unveiled next to the new beauty hall on Friday.
“It’s not a Selfridges space if you’re not bringing great activations to life,” says McGinnis, adding that the introduction of Beauty Spot, a permanent 30 square meter space for creative and experimental beauty retail concepts, will encourage more customers to the new beauty salon.
It launches with an exclusive four-month residency from vibrant, TikTok-famous, British cosmetics brand Refy, founded by Jess Hunt and Jenna Meek.
“It is in fact a space that aims to reflect the great activations we do in the Corner Shop, which are open to all categories. We have been fortunate to have that space for a number of beauty launches such as Pat McGrath, Pleasing, Chanel and Charlotte Tilbury,” said McGinnis.
“We get great pitches over the years, but there are so few opportunities for us to offer brands. When we were designing the new space, we knew we wanted to create a new destination that would allow us to bring all these great brand collaborations to life in a space that can offer our brands a longer stay with guidelines that are more flexible so that they create a great immersive destination,” she said.
Refy is a good fit for the launch as the brand has been a top performer since launching in Selfridges in 2021, according to McGinnis.
“For us, an iconic British department store, it made amazing sense to choose a really exciting, compelling, innovative, British-founded brand, with whom we have had this great partnership and it’s time for them to have an even bigger launch pad with us in beauty. We are also launching a new store with them at our Manchester Trafford store,” said McGinnis.
Hunt and Meek of Refy said they designed the space as a kitchen, which is “the heart of the home and a space for creativity.” During the residency they will roll out three different concepts.
“All three experiences aim to stimulate the senses and provide opportunities to touch, feel and interact with newness, and see a new Refy world through our window in addition to each launch. We work with brands within Selfridges to deliver the taste of summer, as well as opportunities to come and learn and play with us at the dining table, truly immersing the customer in our new and existing product range, allowing them to learn and to create. the duo said.
Refy’s collaboration with Selfridges, born during the pandemic, gave the brand’s UK customers the first opportunity to feel and experiment with the product in real life. Last year, the brand achieved more than 100 percent growth in total sales year-on-year.
In terms of experience, customers can choose from a top-to-bottom menu of beauty services, including color, skin and fragrance advice, on-counter treatments, personalization and gift ideas.
For example, Estée Lauder, Lancôme and Prada will offer skin diagnostics and decoding services. MAC offers product personalization with stickers. La Mer has its treatment pods, while Armani will use a glow bar. Charlotte Tilbury, meanwhile, will provide on-site virtual ‘try-ons’ and mini-masterclasses.
In addition to the beauty spot, there is the beauty concierge, where customers can book beauty appointments, master classes and expert advice from any brand. It offers beauty services including a beauty bag makeover and a Selfridges beauty tour. The concierge is supported by a team of eight experts who together speak more than 20 languages.
“The team members there are phenomenal. They are individuals who have worked for a variety of brands throughout their careers at Selfridges, and who now form part of our beauty concierge team, an existing offering but one that we continue to expand,” said McGinnis.
McGinnis said the beauty salon upgrade is fully supported by the retailer’s current owner, Thailand’s Central Group.
“We have renovated many areas on the ground floor. Beauty and food are the last two and beauty was always planned first. We paused the project when COVID-19 happened and when we had the new ownership transition, we were the first division to present our vision and strategy. It was signed off faster than any project I have worked on before in the company and I have been with Selfridges for 17 years. It was positive to see that they were on board and fully behind the direction we wanted to take our company,” said McGinnis.
The launch is accompanied by a special campaign called Big City Beauty, shot by Sam Youkilis. A program of beauty events will be held every weekend throughout the month of June at the company’s stores in London, Birmingham and Manchester.
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