Lianna Albrizio, Assistant Editor05.16.22
Day two of the New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists’ (NYSCC) Suppliers’ Day at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City kicked-off with a well-attended discussion with Noah Rosenblatt, president at SpaceNK North America. Rosenblatt was interviewed by Kelly Kovack, vice president of marketing for Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare and CEO and founder of BeautyMatter, a New York-based platform covering the beauty space.
SpaceNK has served as a British retailer of personal care and beauty products for more than 30 years. Rosenblatt played a pivotal role in SpaceNK’s expansion into Canada through the brand’s partnership with Nordstrom in 2018, Hudson Bay in 2021, and most recently, Walmart. The talk centered on how SpaceNK caters to consumers’ return to in-store shopping in terms of experience, convenience and connection as online sales growth returns to a pre-pandemic trajectory.
“When the pandemic hit, it forced us to really look at retail in general,” explained Rosenblatt. “The four walls of the physical space came down, and we’re emerging in an environment that is really allowing us to truly operate omni-channel. So there’s a lot of wins and a lot of benefits that are coming from that.”
He continued, “At Space NK, we are working off of three S’s: Speed, whether that’s speed to the environment, in-store or online. The customers want it as fast as possible. Selection is proven to be very important as we continue to curate our assortment; and service model, loyalty to keep the customer engaged with you as the retailer of choice.”
Kovack acknowledged SpaceNK and Walmart’s collaboration, as it shares the dynamics driving the current retail partnership trend among brands. Rosenblatt said the pandemic environment informed their strategy.
Walmart and Space NK announced their partnership on March 7 to bring prestige beauty products to Walmart.com and nearly 250 Walmart stores nationwide this summer. The collaboration they’re called “BeautySpaceNK” leverages Walmart’s scale with the British personal care and beauty company’s assortment of high-quality beauty brands and products.
These include luxe brands like Slip, By Terry, Philip B, Lancer; indie brands including PSA, from the makers of Allies of Skin; and award-winning beauty brands including Mario Badescu, Foreo and Ameliorate.
The collaboration presents a convenient and elevated way for consumers to shop both beauty staples and prestige specialty items during their trip to Walmart, officials said.
Space NK curated a collection of prestige products specifically for the Walmart customer, at accessible price points from skincare to makeup, haircare and bath and body inclusive of over 600 products from a start of 15 brands, available now.
“People left major cities and truly this accessibility and capability for consumers to have the products they want and shop when and where and how they want to became important,” noted Rosenblatt. “The thought process was: how do we give that to the consumer to bridge the gap in stores and online in regards to luxury and prestige across multiple categories?”
SpaceNK’s increased accessibility since its online Walmart launch also drove expectations for success including QR code integration and in-store beauty advisors.
“Our big play on Walmart is that if you do business with us digitally, we have the capability of gating the brand, so you only operate at full price,” noted Rosenblatt.
Ingredient-Led Trends Drive Sales
And consumers are shopping by ingredient just as much as they are searching for an ingredient, Rosenblatt said.
“We’re seeing the ingredient-led trend continue to show up regularly in our stores and product selection and curation,” he said. “Hyaluronic acid to CBD, vitamin C, and this year, niacinamide is everywhere.”
Third-party validation, he said, is an integral part in purchasing decisions among consumers, too.
“Certification has become really important,” said Rosenblatt. “Leaping Bunny and B Corp Certification is the next level of validation in regard to products they’re wanting to purchase.”
Hand-in-hand with such certification is sustainability and waste minimization. In providing advice for new retailers seeking to maintain their market share and reach consumers, Rosenblatt acknowledged the high expense of entering the US market in terms of package design, distribution and employment challenges. As cost-saving measures, SpaceNK, he said, launched its own private label brand in select stores in the UK and introduced a recycling program in those stores.
“Recyclability and sustainability have become super important. We’re finding our focus is imperative to address those trends happening in the marketplace,” he said.
And, given supply chain challenges incited by the Covid-19 pandemic, adaptability is key.
“We’re still continuing to see how the customer decides to shop,” said Rosenblatt. “With what we’ve seen with our partnership with Walmart, consumer behavior continues to ebb and flow. It’s considered to be the desirable shopping environment for them.”