Grow from 7 figures to 8 figures in beauty with Janis Thomas from Look Fabulous Forever (episode 404)
Janis Thomas is ex-Birch Box and the eCommerce and Marketing Director at Look Fabulous Forever, the innovative cosmetics and skincare brand designed to meet the needs of older women. They’re a UK DTC brand selling globally to customer base often ignored by the DTC world, who they’re serving via a Magento site. Founded in 2013, Janis has been driving the growth strategy for just over 2 years, they’re currently doing millions a year, and working towards double figure millions.
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Janis in the World of eCommerce
Janis formally entered the eCommerce world when she joined Birchbox. Prior to that, she was in the media and entertainment industry for quite some time.
In joining Birchbox, Janis says she was brought on because it’s easier to teach a subscription person about beauty than to teach a beauty person about subscription.
A Focus on Mature Beauty
Look Fabulous Forever’s founder, Tricia Cusden, started the company when she was 65 and after finding out that the skincare products and makeup she used before no longer worked for her. She launched the brand to cater to mature beauty, which is a huge market and opportunity.
Janis says their target customers are affluent and engaged, particularly with the content they put out on YouTube.
The 5 Pillar Growth Strategy
The company’s 5 pillar growth strategy partly because of their mission to build a culture of continuous improvement. These 5 pillars are:
- Conversion optimisation
- Attracting new customers
- Increasing lifetime value
- Developing a pipeline of new product launches
- Upskilling staff and developing the team
Janis’ philosophy on growth is that it’s better to do it slowly and profitably than to go at it at a much faster pace but not be able to replicate it.
As a result of the growth environment they’ve fostered in the company, they’ve doubled conversion over the last two years and Janis knows they can go even further.
Another key factor to their increased conversions is listening to their customers and understanding what they’re trying to communicate with the brand.
Company Culture and Values
Janis says having an open and positive company culture is a priority at Look Fabulous Forever, and they’re fortunate to have a team that cares enough to research and recommend improvements for the brand.
This value is inculcated in their employees because they’re confident their ideas are encouraged, heard, and implemented. Everyone is treated as a contributor to improvement, which makes everything better inside the company.
The Sustainability Message
The company regularly conducts surveys among its customers on various topics, including sustainability.
While the importance of the issue has grown steadily, Janis finds that it’s not a huge factor for their customers. And while it’s an interesting topic, it’s also a complex one such that you have to do it with the right intentions and processes and not just to gain attention.
eCommerce Book Top Tip
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey
eCommerce Traffic Top Tip
- For Janis, it’s social. She says there is such a huge potential for revenue from the different social networks but not many brands are maximizing the opportunity.
Tool Top Tip
- Every week, when their company gathers together to discuss their performance, each team member brings a win, a learning, or a thank you and shares it with the rest of the group. Janis says this practice has improved everything they do in the work place.
Growth Top Tip
- It is still paid social for Janis, especially because it’s easy to get started on social and the revenue is there.
Interview Links
Related episodes
- 390 Discover the perfect DTC Playbook with DTC veteran Mike Stevens
- 396 How to grow your DTC brand to over £12m with Guy Blaskey founder of Pooch and Mutt
- 401 Subscriptions and fast growth DTC with Kristina Smith from Big Island Coffee Roasters
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