Currumbin move a real beauty for RY
ONLINE beauty products retailer RY.com.au is fast making its mark on the face of the shopping scene.
The Gold Coast retailer, which markets 14,000 products and exports worldwide, has doubled its premises after moving from Burleigh Heads to Currumbin Waters and is closing in on FY17 sales of $18 million. Last year it opened a second Gold Coast store and next week is launching a professional-standard makeup range.
Co-founder James Patten said while online shopping’s popularity continues to grow, he sees a strong future for bricks-and-mortar retail outlets.
“Our customers want both options, shopping online or heading to a store,” he said.
“One week a client might want to come in and try out the products and the next week purchase items on their mobile.”
He said the Southport store, where the company has a makeup artist and skin therapist, is attracting solid foot traffic.
“People come in and say they’ve seen us online but they wanted to come in and look and touch.”
Mr Patten said it is scoping out locations for a third store, possibly in Broadbeach, and has plans to expand to Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast.
RY has taken a two-year sublease from Balter Brewing Co on 600sq m at 6-10 Traders Way, Currumbin Waters.
Mr Patten said it was “bursting at the seams” at its Burleigh Heads location, where it was using a shipping container for storage.
He said the company is going through a rapid expansion, fuelled by growing sales, and expects to move again in two years’ time.
Another fast-growing skincare and beauty products supplier is Burleigh Headsbased MooGoo.
Former RAAF fighter pilot Craig Jones moved the company from Perth to the Gold Coast in 2010.
Mr Jones established the company five years earlier after developing a product, originally intended for use on cracked cow udders, to treat his mother’s psoriasis.
MooGoo now markets more than 40 products including soaps, shampoos and toothpaste. Its strongest export markets are the UK, Ireland, and Malaysia and this year it will come close to a turnover of $20 million – double its revenue in 2011.
Mr Jones said he is looking to the US and UK markets to grow the company.
However, he said, both markets remain challenging.
“In the UK we have more than 200 independent stockists but we can’t sell to Boots because we can’t make the product for what Boots is prepared to pay,” he said.