NEW YORK – Glossier is indeed a sensation, as a piece at Courier Paper details. But CEO Emily Weiss has been one of the only influencers of the social media era — either seasoned or new — to make a vital connection: that influence could be wielded as more than just a service for agencies. It could, if done correctly, be used to build an actual product-based business that has the ability to scale. Per Courier:
“The secret to Glossier’s success? A rather clever and millennial-minded business model. Describing itself as a ‘content driven, vertically integrated beauty products company’, Glossier is the offshoot of the popular blog Into The Gloss, also founded by Weiss back in 2010. How long this can be sustained in a city and in a sector always looking for the next thing is another matter.
Into The Gloss has provided years of first-hand data on the kind of beauty products modern women actually want: products much like Glossier’s, it turns out. It’s managing to operate as a media business and a hawker of cosmetics, blurring the lines between both.”
Why this matters: At a time when questions being asked about the true effectiveness of influencers today, most of them still only view their influence as little more than a service for brands and organizations. But this was — and still is — a short-sighted use of that power.
Few influencers, dating back to the first wave of fashion bloggers from the late-2000s, have figured out how to leverage their influence and use it as a springboard for something grander and more long-lasting — like a modern luxury company, in Glossier’s case. But Weiss is clearly one who made that connection. And she’s now reaping the rewards for it.
Reporting Queue
Related Reporting
