Map
Case

Birchbox: from monthly beauty-sample subscription to the 2023 asset sale

Birchbox, co-founded by Katia Beauchamp in 2010, paired a monthly subscription of personalised beauty samples with an online shop (BeautyMatter). In 2018 it sold a majority stake to Viking for $15 million, with Walgreens taking a minority stake later that year (BeautyMatter); in February 2020 it laid off about 25% of its staff (Retail Dive). FemTec Health bought it in 2021 for about $45 million; in May 2023 its assets were acquired by Retention Brands amid customer and vendor complaints (Retail Dive).

Industry
Subscription beauty retail (USA)
Frameworks applied
Six recurring-revenue modelsThree forces behind subscription growth
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Frameworks applied

This case is read through the frameworks below.

  • Six recurring-revenue modelsWhen a business owner wants to move from one-off sales to recurring income, which model should they choose so that the same customer keeps paying over time?
  • Three forces behind subscription growthWhen weighing a move to subscription selling, what should a business owner understand about the technology, customer preferences and business benefits driving its spread?

Sources

References

Listed A–Z by author surname, Harvard style. A source with a DOI links to https://doi.org/…; one without links to its page or says plainly that it has no DOI.

  1. BeautyMatter Business (2021) Birchbox Acquired by FemTec Health in $45 Million Deal. BeautyMatter.No DOIbeautymatter.comSource page
  2. James, D. (2023) Birchbox assets acquired by Retention Brands. Retail Dive.No DOIretaildive.comSource page