REFY has been tapped by Selfridges as the inaugural brand to launch the Beauty Spot with
REFY, the London-born, female-led brand cofounded by Jess Hunt and Jenna Meek has been tapped as the inaugural partner for Selfridges’ experimental new beauty destination — The Beauty Spot.
Situated in and also marking the grand unveiling of the department store’s new Beauty Hall following a 12-month long makeover, the REFY residency at Selfridges will see a series of brand activations featuring limited edition merch, summer-themed pop-ups and product launches from now till end of September.
Following the brand’s viral launch in 2020 with a single product that allowed users to create the bushy, laminated brow look with ease, REFY has been going from strength to strength, delivering time after time result-driven components that make up to a simplified routine. With a YOY growth rate of over 120% (2023 vs 2022 with financial year ends in August) and a revenue of £24.8M (approx. USD $31.7M) in 2023 alone, the partnership with the notoriously forward-looking and picky Selfridges came as no surprise.
REFY launches two shades for its summer colour collection
When Hunt and Meek cofounded and launched REFY, the beauty space was filled with celebrity endorsed brands and new product launches by industry giants as the world enters an unprecedented global lockdown that brought immense uncertainty to businesses. Despite Hunt’s mass following on social media (1.7M at the time of writing on Instagram alone) and Meek’s rich entrepreneurial experience, there was no guarantee the concept would succeed.
Fast forward to 4 years later, the brand have been speculated as better performing financially than Rhode, a skincare and beauty label founded by Hailey Bieber. So what makes REFY stand out?
“In an oversaturated market and industry, we felt there was space for a brand that brought simplicity,” says Hunt. “Simple products that give high performance results, so you can do more with less, but also simple branding, eduction and messaging that aligns with what the audience wants.”
The Beauty Spot features limited edition merch by REFY
Kicking off its partnership with Selfridges and in celebration of the summer season, the brand has introduced “A Summer in the Life” initiative and launched two limited collections of their bestselling Cream Blush, Lip Blush, and Lip Gloss in two summery shades, Papaya (a bright pink) and Guava (an intense tangerine) — paying homage to summer fruits whilst offering buildable formulas suitable for all skin tones. The space will then be transformed to accommodate two more themed activations between July and September, featuring the launch of REFY’s summer skincare as well as shoppable branded merch. “Selfridges aim to reinvent retail with every activation, so to be able to have the freedom to create within the historic London store has been a really fantastic experience.” says Meek.
Does this signify a gentle shift in REFY’s focus towards retail?
“Retail has always been a focus for us as we were digital first, born in the pandemic, and our strategic retail partnerships allow us to engage with our consumer in real life on a daily basis.” Meek elaborates, and adds that equally, the brand has really big growth plans for their DTC channels so to ensure that every customer can have a truly REFY experience no matter where they interact with the brand, including on social or through customer care.
REFY’s summer colour collection features Lip and Cheek Set containing Lip Gloss, Lip Blush & Cream … [+] Blush in two shades
When asked whether the brand is looking into AI-assisted customer service options, taking into consideration of the rising popularity of the said technology and its potential in helping cut costs, the cofounders do not hesitate.
“We’re quite old school in that we believe in human to human interaction, so we won’t be using any AI customer service solutions at the moment but we are utilizing tech across DTC for things like shade matching and product recommendations.”
The REFY Beauty Spot residency will be located at the Beauty Hall in Selfridges till September 30th.
