‘Crucial part’ of European expansion: DevaCurl partners with Feelunique for 2020 UK launch

By Kacey Culliney

- Last updated on GMT

DevaCurl says sales of curl-enhancing products increased 40% in the UK alone during 2019 (Getty Images)
DevaCurl says sales of curl-enhancing products increased 40% in the UK alone during 2019 (Getty Images)

Related tags DevaCurl Henkel Hair care curly hair Uk e-commerce Online retail sales

US prestige hair brand DevaCurl will expand into the UK through an exclusive partnership with British online beauty retailer Feelunique, marking part of an important deeper dive into Europe.

The DevaCurl launch is pegged for January 2020, with its full range – including conditioners, cleansers and stylers – available to purchase online through the Feelunique site.

DevaCurl was currently undergoing the process of being acquired by German cosmetics and beauty major Henkel​. The acquisition agreement, for an undisclosed sum and announced last month, remained subject to regulatory approvals.

UK market embracing textured hair and curl-enhancing

Megan Streeter, chief marketing officer of DevaCurl, said the UK expansion formed part of the company’s wider goal to expand globally, and particularly across Europe.

“We’ve received thousands of comments on our social channels, notes to our customer service teams, and outreach from our international influencer community asking when we would be available in the UK market,”​ Streeter told CosmeticsDesign-Europe.

“For us, this was all a signal that it was time to stretch our love for curls internationally, as we want to be wherever the curly community is.”

According to DevaCurl, 55% of the European population embraced textured hair and sales of curl-enhancing products increased 40% in the UK in 2019. This market, therefore, held promise for the brand, Streeter said. “We see the UK as a crucial part of our European expansion.”

Streeter said DevaCurl anticipated having a “strong presence”​ in the UK with this exclusive partnership and would continue to look for additional expansion opportunities across Europe.

The overall goal, she said, was to become the “number one prestige curly hair brand globally”,​ entering a series of new markets within five years.

E-commerce expansion rather than high street

Asked why DevaCurl had opted to expand into the UK online, rather than through a bricks and mortar strategy, Streeter said: “Online retail growth is significantly outpacing brick and mortar. DevaCurl was built on meeting the curly community, and we know that our customer is online.”

Beyond its strong online presence in North America, 35% of DevaCurl’s international social media followers were outside of this market with the top request being that the brand be made available in the UK.

Nigel Lawmon, commercial director at Feelunique, said it was “extremely proud”​ to be DevaCurl’s exclusive UK launch partner.

“DevaCurl were instrumental in leading the curly hair movement and we have seen that reflected on our site with extremely high engagement on our curly hair content and more people embracing their natural curls. We wholeheartedly applaud DevaCurl’s approach to developing products inspired by the curl community and are excited to work together to educate our Feelunique users about how to look after all curly hair types,”​ Lawmon said.

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