Glossier to sell in Sephora, makeup brand’s first retail partner

Makeup company Glossier announced Tuesday that customers will be able to find its popular “Boy Brow” and “Cloud Paint” products at Sephora stores starting next year as it pushes to expand its reach.

The move marks Glossier’s first retail partnership and comes after founder Emily Weiss stepped down as chief executive officer and handed the reins to Kyle Leahy, who was previously Glossier’s chief commercial officer.

Glossier, which tapped pop star Olivia Rodrigo as a brand ambassador earlier this year, said it is one of the most searched brands on Sephora’s website that is not currently available at the LVMH-owned chain. The company will hawk its products in Sephora shops across the United States and Canada as well as on Sephora’s website starting in early 2023.

In a statement, Leahy said making Glossier products available through another retailer “marks a new chapter” for the company. Glossier had struggled through the Covid pandemic, and shuttered the three stores it had at the time roughly two years ago. That included one in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City, where the company is based.

The company has since opened stores in Seattle, Los Angeles, Miami and London, and said Tuesday that it is also investing in opening up more of its own bricks-and-mortar locations. It’s scheduled to open locations in Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Philadelphia and Brooklyn, New York, by the end of this year. It also plans to open a flagship store in the SoHo in 2023.

Glossier’s struggles have persisted under Weiss, who founded the business in 2014 and gained a cult-like following among millennial and Gen Z women. In January, just six months after Glossier raised $80 million in fresh funding, it laid off dozens of corporate staff members.

Leahy, previously executive vice president and general manager of North America at the shoe brand Cole Haan, is hoping to lead the business into its next phase of growth.

By partnering with Sephora, Glossier joins companies like the mattress maker Casper and sustainable shoe company Allbirds that have forged a similar path. Initially, the companies sold only online, then opened up their own stores, before making their products available through other retail partners like Target and Nordstrom as well.

Glossier, which at one point was valued at more than $1 billion in the private markets, declined to comment on whether it plans to pursue an initial public offering.