Walgreens teams up with Birchbox and acquires minority stake
Walgreens is teaming up with online beauty subscription service Birchbox as it looks to offer customers more prestige beauty brands in its stores.
Starting in December, Birchbox will have a presence in 11 Walgreens stores in the US to enable customers to shop for and discover new beauty brands. Birchbox will also have an online shop on Walgreens’ website.
As part of the relationship, Walgreens will acquire a minority stake in Birchbox.
Richard Ashworth, president of operations at Walgreens, said: “This is an exciting time for beauty at Walgreens. Our customers want to shop the most sought-after brands in a welcoming and accessible environment, and the addition of Birchbox to our growing beauty offering is a big step in delivering on our promise to differentiate and elevate the beauty experience at Walgreens. This collaboration will help enable Walgreens to continue to strengthen our beauty offering and build our prestige portfolio.”
Birchbox will have a dedicated space featuring its own branding in Walgreens stores and will offer a curated product assortment featuring full-sized skincare, hair and makeup products from more than 40 brands. In addition, Birchbox trained Walgreens beauty consultants will be on hand to advise customers.
Birchbox staff will also sell subscriptions to the brand’s monthly delivery services of personalised samples and offer the “Build Your Own Birchbox” concept which is a signature element of Birchbox’s flagship stores in New York and Paris.
Katia Beauchamp, chief executive and co-founder of Birchbox, said: “In Walgreens, we have found an exciting partner that supports our mission of reaching an underserved customer who doesn’t prioritize beauty.
“Walgreens is deeply committed to beauty and shares our vision for a different type of retail experience – one that is holistic, seamless and designed to help shoppers make informed, confident decisions. Together we will continue to evolve the integration of our physical and digital shopping experiences.”
