ARTICLES
Explore our latest insights on the beauty, luxury, and lifestyle industries. At Carrara Advisory, we combine decades of hands-on experience with deep market understanding to provide actionable perspectives on strategy, innovation, and growth. Here, we share our thinking on the trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping the future of your business.
Douglas Unleashed: Revenue, Risk, and the Road to a Balanced Future
Douglas has grown into a pan-European omnichannel beauty platform, with revenue increasingly driven by Southern Europe and CEE, while mature markets face margin pressure. Its biggest operational challenge remains elevated inventory, tying up cash and amplifying risk, making efficiency the key lever for unlocking free cash flow.
H1 2025 Beauty Tested, Not Broken
H1 2025 shows the industry is not collapsing but maturing: sales growth has slowed while profitability rises, driven by disciplined cost control, portfolio focus, and investment in resilient categories (e.g. derma, wellness).
Medik8: From Pangea Laboratories to a Skincare Powerhouse – The Story of Growth and Transformation
While all eyes are on the Rhode x e.l.f. deal, L’Oréal’s rumored €1B acquisition of Medik8 raises eyebrows - impressive growth, yes, but at a valuation at 7.8x revenues and 23.2x EBITDA looks quite stretched… unless we miss something!
Growth Slows, Costs Rise: The Beauty Industry’s Next Great Challenge
The beauty industry demonstrated resilience in 2024 but faces slower growth in 2025, with success relying on agility, technology investment, and navigating economic and regulatory challenges.
Location Matters: How Corporate and Personal Taxes Shape LLC’s Financials
Choosing the right LLC jurisdiction is instrumental for optimizing the Net Personal Income / Revenue Ratio, minimize tax burdens and maximize personal income. Switzerland emerges as the most favourable option.
The Resilient Beauty Industry: Key Takeaways from CY 2024
The beauty industry demonstrated resilience amidst challenges, with agile companies leading growth, while major players maintained steady performance despite headwinds.
How Much It Really Costs to Launch a Beauty Brand
Launching a successful beauty brand to $5M in revenue within two years requires an investment of $3M to $8M, depending on the category (skincare, makeup, or fragrance) and key factors like brand positioning, formulation complexity, marketing strategy, and distribution model.
Cash is King, but it Doesn't Rule Alone!
Cash is crucial for the smooth operation of a business. However, cash alone provides limited insight into a company's overall financial health.
Beauty Stocks: is market sentiment overshadowing good performance?
Despite double-digit profit growth and strong revenue performance, beauty sector stock prices have taken a steep tumble. Is this a reflection of investor fear and unmet expectations, or an indication of deeper industry troubles? We believe this discrepancy is driven more by investor anxiety and overblown concerns than by any significant issues within the beauty industry itself.
The Reality of Tariffs: Challenges Beyond the Principle
While tariffs can help balance trade, their impact is limited by factors like volatility and the challenges of scaling up local production. Proper execution and consideration of long-term resources are crucial for tariffs to have a meaningful effect.