Adore Beauty chases billions with a drastic makeover (and more Tim Tams)

Sephora currently has 32 stores in Australia, with a new location opening in Bankstown, Sydney later this year, while Mecca has 97 stores.

The Adore store experience sits somewhere between the glamorous, colourful hustle of Mecca and Sephora’s hectic bustle beneath bright lights. “We wanted to feel elevated,” Laing says.

Though not too elevated – the famous Tim Tam biscuits included in online orders will be available at the counter.

While Adore Beauty has 300 brands online, only 50 are available in-store. Products ranging from budget-friendly La Roche-Posay skincare to luxury fragrances from Goldfields & Banks have been selected using data from online customers near Southland.

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They are presented in a calm environment, saved from being clinical by touches of marble, timber and curved glass. Some important features can’t be seen, with Adore Beauty using AI to understand and shape customer behaviour.

“We’ve been working with Melbourne AI company black.ai,” says Laing. “Your shape will be provided with a unique identifier when you walk into the store. This technology is going to understand your movement through the store and what was on the front screen as you came inside.”

“As the AI evolves it will start to inform decisions moving forward. This is a digitally immersed store, deeply connected with our online ecosystem.”

With positive results for the first half of the financial year released today, including a 2.3 per cent increase to $103 million in revenue, Laing is confident that Adore Beauty is on track to looking better in years to come.

“We are filling the gaps in our customer base.”

The writer travelled to Southland as a guest of Adore Beauty.

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