Brand News
12 January
Moda Operandi launches beauty
The ecommerce platform is adding a complementary category to its flagship fashion, with content and curation to power it.

Moda moves into beauty. (Courtesy photo)
The ecommerce platform is adding a complementary category to its flagship fashion, with content and curation to power it.
Moda moves into beauty. (Courtesy photo)
Moda Operandi made its name as a destination for fashion. Now, it’s adding a new category.
The news: Moda Operandi launched sales of beauty products on the platform this week. It makes good on plans shared in May, as Moda Operandi became one of a number of platforms to move into beauty, including fellow luxury platform Farfetch. At the time, it hired Jessica Matlin, the former beauty director at Harper’s Bazaar and cohost of the Fat Mascara podcast, to lead the new division.
What will be available? Moda is featuring 55 skincare, fragrance, makeup, haircare, and body care brands at launch. It aims to include a range of emerging and established brands.
Experience magnified: Along with the brands themselves, the platform plans to leverage strengths including curation, as well as relationships in the fashion industry to create content such as shoppable tutorials and skincare routines. It will also bring an editorial outlook with the aim of becoming a beauty destination.
Key quote from Matlin highlights the curation aspect: “There are so many beautiful products in the world—and as a former magazine editor, I have seen, tried, and written about thousands of them. But now, as Moda’s Beauty Director, I have the privilege of handpicking only the very best. If you’re familiar with Moda, you’ll know we’re all about curation. Whether fashion, fine jewelry, home, or beauty—at Moda, we don’t carry everything. We carry the best of everything. I don’t want to spend hours in an endless scroll. The glut of products and lines is overwhelming for everyone, even a beauty director. Too much of a good thing is, in fact, too much.”
What does this mean for Moda Operandi? A new category is a milestone moment. Moda launched with trunkshows in 2011, and has since expanded from fashion to include accessories, home and jewelry. Still, it’s also an extension that feels right. Fashion and beauty tend to go hand in hand. CEO Jim Gold called it a “natural next step.” It will also help the business grow more deeply with existing customers and reach new shoppers, executives believe.
“The launch of this category will not only increase order frequency and the cart size of existing clients, but also help us reach a new, aspirational customer demographic that shares our appreciation for impeccable curation and storytelling,” said Gold, in a statement.
Why now? It helps that beauty products saw growth in 2022 amid the return to in-person experiences. It’s also a category that tends to have resilience in tougher economic times. Beauty products tend to be an “affordable luxury” that people will still splurge on – in part to give themselves a pick-me-up – even if they aren't making big ticket purchases. In the 2001 recession, this observation led former Estee Lauder chairman Leonard Lauder to coin the idea of the “lipstick index” to describe how beauty sales tend to go up, even as the economy goes down. A pullback for the economy can still be a time for an emerging business to grow.
On the Move has leadership and promotion news from Pacsun, Calvin Klein and CVS Health.
This week, one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies hires a new CEO, while a luxury ecommerce platform taps a successor to its founder. Plus, we’ve got news on top leadership hires and promotions at Pacsun, West Elm and Calvin Klein Americas.
Hein Schumacher. (Courtesy photo)
Hein Schumacher will be the next CEO of Unilever, effective July 1. Schumacher comes to the maker of Dove, Hellmann’s and Ben & Jerry’s from Royal FrieslandCampina, where he is credited with leading turnaround efforts at the $11 billion business.
Succeeding the retiring Alan Jope, Schumacher will assume the top job at Unilever as it appears to be on the precipice of change following the appointment of activist investor Nelson Peltz to the board in May.
“The Board looks forward to Hein realising the full potential of Unilever as a winning business which delivers long-term growth and value for all its stakeholders,” said Unilever Chairman Nils Andersen, in a statement.
Brie Olson. (Courtesy photo)
Brie Olson was promoted to co-CEO of Pacsun from the role of president. Olson will serve alongside co-CEO Mike Relich. With the move, Alfred Chang will transition to the CEO role at clothing brand Fear of God, which is a Pacsun brand partner. As president, Olson oversaw Pacsun’s AI and metaverse initiative, led a variety of brand partnerships and introduced a gender neutral collection.
John E. Koryl is joining The RealReal as CEO. Koryl is stepping in to lead the luxury ecommerce platform after founder Julie Wainwright stepped down in June. He comes to the company from the digital arm of Canadian Tire Corporation, and also previously played a key digital transformation leadership role while serving as president of stores and online Neiman Marcus.
Day Korbluth. (Courtesy photo)
Day Kornbluth was named president of West Elm. Kornbluth comes to the Williams Sonoma-owned sustainable home retailer from Ralph Lauren Home, where she served as president. The company credited her track record of growing home furnishing brands with a focus on product and digital innovation. The move follows former West Elm president Alex Bellos' appointment as CEO at Food52 earlier this year.
The travel and accessories retailer Vera Bradley announced a leadership shakeup that resulted in the following:
President Daren Hull, Chief Creative Officer Beatrice Mac Cabe and Chief Revenue Officer Mary Beth Trypus all saw their roles eliminated, and will be leaving the company.
The company will also add the position of SVP of merchandising and design, and is actively conducting a search.
Alison Hiatt joined Vera Bradley as chief marketing officer to oversee digital marketing, customer data and ecommerce. Hiatt brings experience from the food company Salt and Straw.
Pura Vida, which is owned by Vera Bradley, will see co-presidents Griffin Thall and Paul Goodman leave the company. With this, Vera Bradley will acquire a 25% interest in Pura Vida from Thall and Goodman for $10 million, effective January 30.
Vera Bradley said it is making these changes to "drive cost savings, add more focus on marketing and merchandising, and position the Company to deliver steady top- and bottom-line growth."
Percy "Master P" Miller. (Courtesy photo)
Percy “Master P” Miller was appointed chairman of the board at Launch Cart, an ecommerce platform that bills itself as an alternative to Shopify. Alongside a rap career that yielded 90s hits with his label No Limit Records, Miller brings a track record as an entrepreneur in food and entertainment. “With his entrepreneurial spirit and deep understanding of the power of business, our partnership will make it easier for aspiring entrepreneurs to realize their dreams of starting an online business, building a brand, and generating income,” said cofounder Bernt Ullmann.
Donald Kohler. (Courtesy photo)
Donald Kohler was named president of Calvin Klein Americas by parent company PVH Corp. Kohler brings experience from a 15-year career in retail from Burberry, Salvatore Ferragamo and Diesel. The company said his expertise includes direct-to-consumer, third-party driven business models and ecommerce. The new comes on the heels of the appointment of Inditex executive Eva Serrano as global brand president at Calvin Klein.
Robert Norton is joining Skims as chief commercial officer, and will lead international expansion. Norton joins the Kim Kardashian-founded shapewear brand from Moncler, where he served as president of the Americas. Over a two-decade career, he also previously served as CEO of the Americas for Roberto Cavalli and was an executive at Ralph Lauren.
“I have been a fan of Robert’s for several years and believe him to be a rare, creatively minded executive who knows how to build both a brand and a business,” said Jens Grede, cofounder and CEO of Skims, in a statement. “We are excited to have Robert on the team as we continue the evolution of SKIMS into a global retail brand.”
CVS Health announced a pair of appointments: