Online retailer and start-up, Cosmetic Capital, has shipped more than 100,000 orders on Maropost since launching just two years ago, cementing its position as one of Australia’s leading discount beauty online retailers.
Established in 2016 by brothers Danny and Jamie Marcuson, the company’s growth has been accelerated and significant, generating more than $6 million in sales.
Today Cosmetic Capital offers in excess of 3000 products, with a goal to offer 6000 within 12 months, and ships more than 4000 orders every month. It has also amassed an incredibly loyal customer base boasting more than 2000 5-star reviews.
What is the story behind Cosmetic Capital?
“It’s been a fast and adventurous ride over the past two years but it’s also been an incredibly rewarding and educational experience,” said Danny Marcuson, co-founder and managing director of Cosmetic Capital. “I was a lawyer and Jamie a journalist in our former lives, so to say our knowledge of the beauty and retail industry was limited is somewhat of an understatement.
“Two years ago, thanks to my girlfriend at the time – now wife – we identified a gap in the market. We started on one sales channel, eBay, shipping 500 orders in four weeks. Fast forward 24 months and we’re now shipping more than 4000 orders every month across a multitude of sales channels.
“Our goal is to double that growth trajectory and cement our position amongst leading beauty retailers like Sephora and Mecca,” said Marcuson.
Cosmetic Capital still sells a percentage of its products through eBay and a ‘very small percentage’ through Amazon, however it’s the company’s branded website and standalone eCommerce store where the majority of its sales are generated.
“We work on, and with, Maropost every day and have done so since day one,” said Marcuson. “Every single business process is reliant on our Maropost retail management platform and the software’s seamless integration across sales channels has enabled us to test new marketplaces, invest in social selling, embed a mobile-first strategy, and explore every new sales channel we believe will add value to our customers.”
In May this year Cosmetic Capital also completed a mobile-first website redesign working with both the Maropost creative and development teams. Since going live, mobile conversion rates have increased and mobile is now the company’s most trafficked channel.
“One of the key reasons we initially chose to work with Maropost was, being an Australian business based in Brisbane, they were always accessible, personable and available to talk through any issue or opportunity in real-time. For projects such as the website and webstore redesign, it was essential that we worked and collaborated with creative, knowledgeable experts in the same time-zone.
Why has Cosmetic Capital chosen Maropost?
“Maropost also has a clear focus on integration with other Australian businesses like Australia Post, Sendle and AfterPay. These partnerships are crucial to Cosmetic Capital delivering an exceptional customer experience and a key factor in being awarded the many thousands of positive and 5-star reviews from our customers,” said Marcuson.
Maropost and Cosmetic Capital are currently both focused on international expansion and, according to Marcuson, this is another testament to how the two companies continue to grow and evolve together.
“We’ve been able to build a $6M+ business in two years and have only needed to add a few extra staff along the way. Similarly, we can expand internationally without burdensome or expensive resourcing requirements thanks to the functionality and reliability of the Maropost platform,” said Marcuson.
According to Ryan Murtagh, Chief Business Officer of Maropost, Cosmetic Capital reaching the 100,000-order milestone in two years is testimony to its ability to adapt swiftly and seamlessly to its evolving customers’ needs and shopping preferences.
“Globally, Australian online shoppers are sophisticated, expecting a seamless and consistent omnichannel shopping experience regardless of whether they buy via a branded website, a marketplace like eBay or Amazon, or at a physical store. Cosmetic Capital has focused on delivering an exceptional customer experience across every sales channel since day one, and this is clearly being reflected in its success.
“At Maropost, there is nothing we enjoy more than helping our customers succeed, particularly when they are a small- or mid-sized retailer punching well above their weight and going head to head with larger, more established retailers,” said Murtagh.
Whilst achieving the 100,000th order milestone was significant, the team at Cosmetic Capital are quick to look to the next challenge, which is doubling the size of its product portfolio to 6000 within 12 months.
“We celebrated our 100,000th order milestone for a nano-second and then it was back to business. In fact, we refunded the lucky customer who placed the 100,000th order and I expect she likely celebrated longer than us!” Marcuson said.
