MAC Cosmetics took its first step in wider distribution beyond department stores and online in the US.
In mid-2017, the Estee Lauder-owned prestige brand launched in select Ulta Beauty stores, the largest specialist beauty chain in the US.
At the time, Karen Buglisi Weiler, then global president for the brand said: “In my mind, there may be a customer who shops at Ulta, but has never walked into a MAC store. Maybe she’s never walked into a Nordstrom to purchase MAC, or maybe she’s never walked into Macy’s.”
By the end of the year, MAC had become the number one bestseller in 80 per cent of the 107 Ulta stores where it was initially sold.
MAC is now looking to follow the same strategy in the UK.
From this week, the brand will debut an edited selection of its hero products on the Boots website and in just over 100 of the retailer’s locations in the UK.
Boots is clearly anticipating the same success as Ulta and will rollout more MAC products from September to December. Consumers will also be able to access advice from the brand’s BAs and makeup artists.
In a re-run of Buglisi Weiler’s comments on the US move to attract a wider audience, Joanna Rogers, trading director and vice-president of beauty at Boots UK, noted: “As one of the leading premium makeup brands, offering such a diverse range of colours, formulas and textures, we’re pleased to be making yet another iconic brand more accessible for our customers to explore.”
Boots and its competitor Superdrug are the two leading beauty retailers in the UK. A similar situation to the pharmacy market in Australia, led by Priceline and Chemist Warehouse, which accounts for over 20 per cent of the overall beauty market.