North And South Carolinian Indie Beauty Entrepreneurs Make Plans To Recoup Sales Lost Due To Hurricane Florence

Hurricane Florence whipped through North and South Carolina last week with torrential downpours, soaring winds, power outages and flooding that led to the deaths of 32 people. Though it was still wreaking havoc in parts of the states on Monday, many beauty entrepreneurs returned to work to figure out how to bounce back from sales lost due to the storm.

Beauty Independent checked in with brands and retailers, including Aillea, Wildcraft, Trellis Beauty, Lo & Behold Naturals, Fillaree, Be Pure Beauty and Front Row Cosmetics, to find out the tactics they employed to ready themselves for Florence, strategies to recover from the business fallout of the natural disaster, and plans to support local communities in the wake of a hurricane that’s believed to have caused damages valued at between $17 billion and $22 billion.

Holly Thorpe, owner of Charleston shop Wildcraft, is no stranger to hurricanes and prepared dutifully for Florence. At the store, everything was lifted off the ground, the doors were sandbagged, and Thorpe packed up inventory to take home with her for safekeeping. The preparation, however, couldn’t prevent a $10,000 loss in sales from the storm. Thorpe says, “The mandatory evacuation on Monday for the entire South Carolina coast was devastating for small businesses.”

Hurricane Florence - Wildcraft
Charleston store Wildcraft lost $10,000 as a result of Hurricane Florence.

Hurricane Florence-instigated short staffing and school closures forced Alyssa Cherry, owner of Durham-based brand and store Fillaree, to close her shop. Cherry says, “We lost a quarter of our revenue for the month of September, [but] online sales did not seem to be affected.” To make up for the revenue shortfall, Cherry says Fillaree “may have to pick up some extra markets in the fall, but we are so happy to be safe in our area.” Fillaree plans to support Florence fundraisers and strike partnerships with local businesses to double down on that support. Partnerships remain in the works.

Clean beauty retailer Aillea closed locations in Charleston and Raleigh prior to and during the hurricane, and took precautions such as removing glass bottles from window displays. The extent of the sales Aillea missed out on as a result of the storm is yet to be determined. Dickinson says, “It will take me weeks or months to understand the true financial impact.” She is set to travel to the Charleston and Raleigh stores next month to assess the situation on the ground. Aillea’s Charleston store will host an upcoming complimentary spa night for local business employees to provide them well-deserved pampering and relaxation.

“The mandatory evacuation on Monday for the entire South Carolina coast was devastating for small businesses.”

Front Row Cosmetics shuttered its Raleigh makeup studio for four days. Owner Melissa Small, a native of Puerto Rico whose family and friends had to cope with Hurricane Maria, says the multiday closure “definitely hurt our store’s September sales goals. However, we are lucky enough to have amazing clients who supported us online. The small increase in online sales kept things balanced.” Front Row Cosmetics is organizing a fundraiser with local business owners and artisans in its building to assist with the post-Florence recovery.

Be Pure Beauty, a clean beauty retailer based in Chapel Hill, lost thousands of dollars from its store closing. The store hadn’t reopened as of Monday. To aid Florence-related efforts, April Kensington, owner and founder of Be Pure Beauty, shares, “We plan to take donations from customers while offering them a 10% discount on their favorite product. We will also be hosting a hurricane gathering to raise funds for personal friends who have been affected the most.”

Hurricane Florence AILLEA
Aillea’s Raleigh and Charleston stores closed prior to and during Florence. Owner Kathryn Dickinson is still assessing the financial impact of the storm.

Tracy Trellis Gori, owner of Raleigh clean beauty retailer Trellis Beauty, had no idea what to expect from Florence, so she relied on the experience and feedback from neighboring businesses to prepare. “I removed all of the rugs and furniture from the front of the store as well as stored away all inventory that had a chance of being damaged and just hoped for the best,” she recounts. “I also took multiple photos of my shop for insurance purposes.”

Trellis Beauty was closed for the full day on Friday and half of the day on Saturday. Trellis Gori approximates the store lost around $2,500 from Florence because weekend appointments and parties were cancelled. She is confident Trellis Beauty will be able to make up the loss over the holiday season, when it has a packed schedule of parties and events.

“While I can’t give you specifics on how we’ll recover financially, I just know that we will just like we always have. We’ve experienced worse storms here, and our community continually supports us. I am grateful to them, and I trust the process.”

Trellis Beauty is encouraging customers to donate supplies to the Food Bank of Eastern North Carolina. If they do, they will receive 10% off in-store purchases through Sunday. Some brand partners are donating free products and samples to be given away as gifts with purchases at the store. Durham-based brand Lo & Behold Naturals is providing Trellis Beauty with mini hand salves, cuticle creams and face mask samples to be gifted.

Elisabeth Chadbourne, founder of Lo & Behold Naturals, prepped for the hurricane by freezing extra ice packs to preserve heat-sensitive raw materials. The brand lost out on a few thousand dollars over the weekend from store closures and postponed events. Chadbourne plans to donate a percentage of sales from its e-commerce enterprise to a local organization, but is hammering out the details. She says the brand is “lucky to be safe and is worried about the coasts,” where damage has been far worse than in Durham.

Hurricane Florence
Hurricane Florence caused Lo & Behold Naturals to miss out on a few thousand dollars due to postponed events and store closures. To help with economic recovery, owner Elisabeth Chadbourne plans to spend her money at local businesses.

Chadbourne adds she will be “shopping locally and independently as catastrophic events do impact the economy and small businesses take a huge hit. Even if it isn’t convenient, it is the perfect time to go a little out of your way so your money really counts towards our community.” Wildcraft’s Thorpe concurred with Chadbourne’s sentiment, saying, “I choose my neighbors, even when I can find it on Amazon.”

In the aftermath of Florence, the optimism of beauty brand and store owners headquartered in North and South Carolina about their region and the potential for their businesses to rebound hasn’t wavered. Thorpe says, “While I can’t give you specifics on how we’ll recover financially, I just know that we will just like we always have. We’ve experienced worse storms here, and our community continually supports us. I am grateful to them, and I trust the process.”