"Our world has permanently changed, and our habits as a society have been impacted, so if you're waiting for things to be 'normal' again, you'll be waiting for a very long time."Virtually no industry has remained unscathed by the global health and economic crisis that continues to unfold across the globe as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. It's become clear that a return to pre-pandemic normalcy may not be a realistic goal — at least not any time soon — and so businesses are being forced to reexamine every aspect of their operations, finding ways to pivot, adapt and cope with a new reality in hopes of survival.
For the beauty industry, which has spent the better part of the last decade flourishing, this new uncertainty serves as a jarring wake-up call. For years, the major beauty conglomerates engaged in an acquisitions arms race to buy up indie companies for millions upon millions of dollars, while new direct-to-consumer and influencer-driven brands sprung up on social media at a breakneck pace. While that explosive growth may never have been truly sustainable in the long term, the Covid-19 pandemic has snapped that fact into acute focus, creating major issues for manufacturers, retailers, suppliers and distributors — not to mention the consumer. What will determine which brands not only make it through this difficult chapter, but perhaps even find new success?