Glossier, a direct-to-consumer beauty company that recently reached unicorn status after a $100 million investment, is coming direct to Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood with one of its signature pop-up locations.
News of the retail brand’s plans was reported last month by the Capitol Hill Seattle blog, among others, and shared on Instagram by Glossier itself. But tweets started showing up this week showing Glossier branding in the windows of what was formerly an American Apparel location at 200 Broadway E.
Entrepreneur Emily Weiss launched the New York-based Glossier as a blog called Into the Gloss in 2010, according to The Wall Street Journal, and pivoted with two other co-founders to a makeup and skincare business five years ago.
The now billion-dollar company generated more than $100 million in revenue last year, WSJ reported, adding that “unlike traditional beauty lines that sell at department stores, drugstores and beauty retailers, Glossier says most of its products are purchased online primarily by younger consumers who often follow the brand on Instagram and other social-media channels. The company says it added a million new customers last year.”
Previous pop-ups have been staged in Chicago, San Francisco and London.
wow the old american apparel corner is going to be a glossier pic.twitter.com/NCHhgw3dim
— Chona Kasinger (@chona_kasinger) May 6, 2019
The direct-to-consumer online startup moving into physical locations is similar to the path taken by Bonobos or Allbirds.
And Glossier’s arrival comes on the heels of the demise of Seattle startup Julep, a pioneer in the online retail cosmetics business. Founded by Jane Park in 2007 as a physical retail concept, Julep transitioned to a multi-channel online cosmetics brand before being acquired in 2016 and rolled into a new company called Glansaol.
Glansaol filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and its assets sold for less than $18 million in a fire sale in February, GeekWire reported. Julep laid off more than 100 people, closed its parlors and shut down its Seattle headquarters.
