Rebooted Reality
Exclusive Debut: Walmart Welcomes Beauty Line 'Smart Prettiness' by Brand Pretty Smart
Glitz Galore:
- ** Pretty Smart, a new beauty brand from the vision of industry veteran Marissa Shipman, debuted in an impressive 2,800 Walmart stores nationwide, simultaneously gracing its digital shelves and its own website on Monday, as announced in a press release.*
- ** Embodying affordability and vertical integration, Pretty Smart is part of the family-owned Renfield Manufacturing umbrella. This newbie beauty line launches with a stunning assortment of 27 products boasting over 145 shade varieties.*
- ** Wallet-friendly luxury is the motto as the lineup prices from $7.50 to $10 a pop, ensuring everyone can indulge in a little self-love without breaking the bank.*
The Inside Scoop:
Most beauty brands start by building a passionate following before venturing into wholesale partnerships and physical stores. But not Pretty Smart! This brand has teamed up with the merchandising crew at Walmart from the get-go, ensuring their formulas, shades, and product identities are a perfect match for the customer.
Shipman reveals that the $10-and-under price tag is a reality thanks to the unparalleled scale Walmart provides. Their vertically-integrated model also plays a significant role in keeping costs minimal.
"With our vertical integration, we've snipped away fat at every manufacturing stage," Shipman shared via email. "To put it simply, we conceive, source our packaging, own our lab, own our equipment, industrialize internally, fill our packaging, and then move into our warehouse, where we ship directly to Walmart. This enables us to slash our costs significantly. We skimp on nothing when it comes to ingredients, but we could easily triple or quadruple our current prices for these products."
Shipman first dipped her toes into the cosmetics world with her 2004-founded brand, theBalm, which has since diverted colors and moods into over 111 countries. While the categories might echo, the marketing approach is vastly different, Shipman explains.
The exclusive Walmart launch comes as the retail giant expands its beauty and wellness portfolio by onboarding various DTC brands, such as hair color company Madison Reed, LeBron James' The Shop grooming line, and natural remedies brand Hilma.
"Empowering our customers with fresh, captivating brands is a priority for Walmart Beauty," Creighton Kiper, Vice President of beauty merchandising at Walmart U.S., said in a statement. "Pretty Smart, embodying the same dream, is a perfect fit for our shelves and Walmart.com. Our budget-friendly, yet exquisite beauty products are sure to delight all beauty shoppers at Walmart, with a special focus on Generation Z.*
As Walmart's chief rival, Target has also kept up by adding numerous branded beauty products in the last couple of years and collaboration with Ulta Beauty in-store.
- The AI-driven startup, Pretty Smart, has partnered with Walmart from inception, ensuring a seamless integration of their cosmetics line with the retail giant's customer base.
- In the ever-competitive fashion-and-beauty industry, Pretty Smart is making waves with its business model, emphasizing affordability and vertical integration.
- Walmart's expansion into the beauty and wellness sector includes collaborations with various direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands, such as Pretty Smart, showcasing their commitment to offering a diverse range of products.
- By leveraging its vertical integration, Pretty Smart has managed to maintain premium quality ingredients while keeping its prices within the affordable range of $7.50 to $10, catering to a broad consumer base.
- The fat trimmed at every manufacturing stage by Pretty Smart through vertical integration allows them to offer high-quality cosmetics without significantly inflating the prices.
- The war for dominance in the retail sector, particularly in the beauty industry, continues as Walmart and its rival, Target, both aggressively court DTC brands and innovators like Pretty Smart to bolster their product offerings.
