Member-only story
Why Target Is Turning Itself into Glossier
The retailer’s portfolio of private-label goods is driving healthy profit margins
Digitally-native vertical brands (DNVBs) have exploded in the past decade with lower entry costs and, naturally, more competition. The business model Warby Parker popularized— starting in 2010 — has bled into every imaginable consumer goods product class. Shelves are getting more crowded and products are less differentiated.
A few solutions for this saturated market have arisen: VCs are pouring loads of money into burgeoning companies. Existing companies are creating ways to make their products visible at every customer touchpoint. And some brands are being acquired by larger conglomerates, or even starting their own conglomerates.
An estimated $4 billion has been invested in DNVB companies over the last 10 years. Glossier raised a $100 million round last year, Warby Parker has raised almost $300 million total, and Stance has raised over $100 million through its lifetime. That’s half a billion between three companies!
With that kind of funding, companies have been able to create a comprehensive omnichannel strategy in order to get in front of the consumer beyond the screen. Jeremy Liew of Lightspeed Venture Partners wrote an interesting article on how brick and mortar allows young brands to gain customers and achieve the next phase of growth, especially with high customer acquisition costs on Facebook and Instagram.
Finally, a few are opting for an acquisition or incubating a diversified brand platform. Some of the most notable M&A activity has been Unilever’s purchase of Dollar Shave Club for $1 billion in 2016 and Walmart’s $310 million acquisition of Bonobos in 2017.
However, the coming years may produce a reinvented version of the CPG holdings company. Ex-Glossier executive Henry Davis is taking his experience in the beauty business to create a “house of brands.” Arfa — which hasn’t launched yet — has raised $7 million to develop several brands under its own umbrella. LA-based Brandable is building what they call “a CPG platform focused on innovating, curating and creating brands that enable people to live their best lives.”
