ShopTheExpo Drops Anchor At Neiman Marcus Fashion Island Next Month

ShopTheExpo is headed to the Neiman Marcus store at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, Calif., following the luxury retailer’s and Indie Beauty Expo producer Indie Beauty Media Group’s successful launch of the multichannel shopping event at the Dallas North Park Center Neiman Marcus store in October.

Taking place March 9 to 10, less than seven months after Neiman Marcus and Indie Beauty Media Group formally announced their partnership during IBE in New York, the Fashion Island event will be the first of three live ShopTheExpo events in 2018. The two companies, which have curated an independent beauty and wellness selection for ShopTheExpo, will also continue to expand the offering online by adding new brands and categories.

“Through our expanded partnership with IBE, we continue to seek, secure and sell the best independent beauty brands on the planet,” says Kim D’Angelo, beauty buyer at Neiman Marcus. “These emerging brands are fresh and unique, and will be a must-have for our new and existing customers at Neiman Marcus Fashion Island.”

Fashion Island ShopTheExpo
Joséphine Cosmetics founder Sholayide Otugalu at ShopTheExpo in Dallas.

ShopTheExpo at Fashion Island will feature 13 beauty and wellness brands from a broader collection of 20 brands, including seven brands new to the ShopTheExpo assortment. Among the new brands are Japanese skincare specialist Adsorb, color cosmetics line REALHER, ingestible collagen brand La Sirene and bodycare line Meant. Brands returning to ShopTheExpo include Swiss Smile, Circcell and Le Prunier. Founders of returning and new brands will be on hand at the event to meet, consult and sell their products to ShopTheExpo attendees.

“We are honored to be participating with so many other impressive brands in the ShopTheExpo event next month at Neiman Marcus Fashion Island,” says Lindsay Knaak-Stuart, founder and CEO of Meant. “As a new brand, the exposure, credibility and prestige that comes with a luxury retailer like Neiman Marcus is a positive step forward in our business.”

Brand founders who’ve participated in ShopTheExpo from the start are equally enthusiastic. “Neiman Marcus has been really wonderful to work with,” says Jacqueline Taylor, CEO of Le Prunier. “From a sales standpoint, it’s been really great, we’ve seen a lot of traction. Also, the support we’ve received from them to date, and marketing efforts on their end. They’ve been conscientious about making sure to push our product so we’re really happy to work with them again on this next [ShopTheExpo].”

“We are delighted to see new brands enter the Neiman Marcus collaboration,” says Jillian Wright, co-founder of IBE. “Some brands In this collection were first discovered during our LA show in late January, and are now on-boarded and ready to be launched in Neiman Marcus in early March! This collection validates our program’s goal to help brands go from the an IBE exhibition space to a major retailer’s shelf space in less than 60 days.”

While still representing a small portion of the $50-plus billion U.S. beauty market, independent beauty brands are growing at two to five times the rate of established beauty brands. The strong consumer demand for innovative, emerging brands has increasingly made them attractive to retailers that have traditionally stocked their stores with goods from larger beauty players.

“This collection validates our program’s goal to help brands go from the an IBE exhibition space to a major retailer’s shelf space in less than 60 days,” says IBE co-founder, Jillian Wright.

As they try to respond to the demand, national retailers may encounter difficulties working with smaller, disruptive brands that they aren’t accustomed to. With its deep knowledge of the rapidly-evolving indie beauty space and strong relationships with indie brand founders, Indie Beauty Media Group helps provide retailers the expertise they lack.

“ShopTheExpo has conclusively demonstrated the appeal of indie brands among even the most discerning prestige consumer,” says Nader Naeymi-Rad, co-founder of Indie Beauty Media Group. “Working with indie brands is different. This [ShopTheExpo] initiative has validated that retailers need to adjust their approach and expectations when working with indie brands — the vast majority of whom lack the capabilities needed to work, in a traditional manner, with a large omnichannel retailer such as Neiman Marcus.”

See the full list of ShopTheExpo Fashion Island brands here.