Client goal
Our client is Beautify. Beautify has approached McKinsey for help with exploring new ways to approach their customers.
Description of situation
Beautify is a global prestige cosmetics company, who sells its products mainly in the cosmetics area of high-end department stores (e.g., Harrod’s, Shanghai No. 1) but also has presence online and in specialty retailers like Sephora. Beautify produces a number of makeup, fragrance and skin care products, which are sold through several different brands.
In the department stores, the beauty consultant (BC) plays a critical role for the consumers:
- approaching ‘passive’ customers
- demonstrating their knowledge of the products
- actively selling the products
- maintaining a loyal customer base of repeat buyers
The consultants are hired directly by the beauty company or from specialized third-party agencies that find employees for a fee. Beautify is then responsible for selecting, training, and paying the consultants. Within Beautify, beauty consultants are managed independently by each brand in each country (i.e., a consultant would be part of the ‘Chanel’ team in a store). However, consumers are shifting more and more to online and too many beauty consultants are working empty department stores.
McKinsey study
Beautify’s President and Chief Operating Officer has engaged McKinsey to help evaluate if training most beauty consultants to rely much more on virtual channels to connect with customers could be profitable for Beautify.
Helpful hints
- Write down important information.
- Feel free to ask the interviewer for an explanation of any point that is not clear to you.