Glossier is opening a retail location in Philly

Glossier is finally coming to Philly.

The makeup brand’s Philly store will open at 1716 Walnut St., nestled between other millennial favorite brands Madewell and Lululemon. Philadelphia Magazine first reported the store’s location.

A post on the brand’s Instagram account earlier this month hinted at the store’s opening, saying “we can’t wait to share where we’re headed next,” listing Washington, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Brooklyn as the next four locations for Glossier retail stores.

The direct-to-consumer brand first launched in 2014, marketing minimalist, no-makeup makeup looks. It cultivated an aspirational ideal of beauty that celebrated pores, bushy eyebrows, and dewy skin, seemingly the opposite of the airbrushed, injectable-enhanced look that has come to be known as “Instagram Face.”

As Vox’s the Goods noted in 2019, “the vast majority of Glossier customers buy beauty products online, with nary a swatch or a sniff. And its relatively low-maintenance aesthetic, along with really good branding, is a big part of why.”

The brand did eventually expand into physical retail space, but it was limited to temporary, pop-up stores and two flagship locations — in New York and Los Angeles — which were known for drawing long lines of eager shoppers.

Glossier’s move to open physical locations follows a trend of many early direct-to-consumer companies opening brick and mortar stores, including glasses maker Warby Parker, sneaker company Allbirds, and luggage brand Away, among others.

Once the pandemic hit, Glossier — like many other retailers — permanently closed its locations in New York, Los Angeles, and London, before eventually laying off all of its retail employees.

The company implemented a new physical retail strategy last spring when it announced plans for permanent locations in Seattle, Los Angeles, and London. Last November, the company hired a senior vice president of retail to oversee its new “Glossier in 3D” strategy.

“We’re thrilled to bring Glossier to the city of Philadelphia for the first time,” Glossier CEO Kyle Leahy told Philly Mag, adding that there are plans to open permanent retail stores in more places.

Leahy took over as CEO in May, when founder Emily Weiss stepped down as Glossier’s chief executive. Weiss remains executive chairwoman of the board.

Weiss had faced criticism during her tenure as CEO, including around her handling of layoffs and accusations of discrimination at stores.

Three months before Weiss stepped down, 80 corporate employees were laid off. The then-CEO told the company in an internal email that Glossier made “some mistakes” and “prioritized strategic projects that distracted us from the laser-focus we needed to have on our core business: scaling our beauty brand,” Modern Retail reported.

Following the retail layoffs in 2020, the former employees spoke out against how the company handled reports of racism and discrimination in stores. At the time, Glossier published Weiss’ response and email to employees to the company blog, Into the Gloss. It also shared its “plan of action” to the official Glossier Instagram page, which included an apology and “acknowledgement of the pain and discomfort these former colleagues experienced while working to build a brand they believed so deeply in upon arrival.”