Adore Beauty results, founders announce plans to depart

Online beauty retailer Adore Beauty has released its third quarter results. The company, which is celebrating its 23 years of operation has revealed revenue is down 3.3 percent at $41.3 million, however, the announcement notes that this is up 4.9 percent on a two-year basis, a time where the pureplay retailer thrived among lockdown conditions.

Active customers has also dropped, sitting at 793k which is down 10 percent on the PCP. This customer base includes 483k returning customers, up just 6 percent on the PCP, but up 56 percent on a two-year basis as the company double downed on its loyalty program in recent years.  These returning customers are the largest driver of revenue with loyalty members contributing 64 percent of all sales in the quarter.

The Mobile app has performed well, increasing average order value and returning customer frequency, now accounting for 23 percent of total revenue, which is up from 18 percent at H1 FY23.

Commenting on the Q3 FY23 performance, Adore Beauty CEO Tamalin Morton said, “Adore Beauty’s revenue improved as the quarter progressed, benefitting from a record Afterpay Day. Our mobile app and loyalty program are already contributing strongly to revenue, and we are leveraging additional opportunities to drive adoption and sign-up. These initiatives supportcustomer retention and deliver higher, more frequent average orders.

“Adore Beauty is well-positioned to navigate evolving consumer trends and challenging retail conditions given cost-of-living pressures and interest rate increases, offering an extensive range that spans masstige through to luxury brands and price points to suit all budgets. Separately, cost optimisation initiatives are being implemented and we are working through our longer-term strategy.

“While we are focused on delivering short-term targets, as the leader in a resilient category benefitting from structural tailwinds, Adore Beauty’s long-term outlook looks promising.”

Adore Beauty also announced today that Founders and Executive Directors Kate Morris and James Height have informed the Board of their intention to transition out of their part-time executive roles at the end of FY23 in June. Kate Morris currently holds the role of chief innovation officer, James Height is chief data officer. Commenting on the transition, Adore Beauty Chair Marina Go said, “Kate and James co-founded and built an incredibly innovative and successful business. The recent appointment of CEO Tamalin Morton, who has a history of delivering growth, supported by a very talented and diverse executive team, make it the right time for both to step back from the operational running of the business. We look forward to Kate and James’ ongoing contribution to the Board and success of Adore Beauty.” They will remain on the Board as Non-Executive Directors.

Today’s announcement also revealed that in future, Adore Beauty will be returning to their pre-covid norm of half year updates.

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