Woolworths Beauty has launched its first standalone store in Cape Town
Woolworths has launched its first-ever standalone beauty store at Waterstone Village in Somerset West. This new location offers a curated beauty shopping experience with an extensive range of products and features luxury skin and nail services.
The new Woolworths Beauty store, offers a modern, tech-inspired design with the brand’s signature elegance. With curated services, including innovative beauty treatments by Amazi, it promises a first-class, comprehensive beauty experience.
GQ had a chat with Simphiwe Pato, Head of Marketing: Fashion, Beauty, and Home at Woolworths.
GQ: What inspired Woolworths to venture into a standalone beauty store, and how does it align with the brand's overall strategy?
Simphiwe Pato: Our brand purpose is to add quality to life, which is the essence of what Woolworths stands for. This is evident across all our product offerings. For instance, in our food category, everyone understands the lengths Woolworths goes to ensure quality.
We are applying the same ethos to the beauty industry. Our goal is to provide South Africans with an elevated shopping experience and superior products. To achieve this, we have created a private label brand called WBeauty, with the vision of making it the most successful private label beauty brand on the continent. Additionally, we support and showcase other local South African brands, making their products available to our customers as well.
GQ: Which local brands are available in your store?
Simphiwe Pato: SKIN Functional, a very well-known brand, offers excellent skincare products. Additionally, we provide luxury international brands, which, over time, have significantly contributed to the positive image of the beauty industry.
GQ: How did you decide on the location for the first beauty standalone store, and what factors were most important in that decision?
Simphiwe Pato: Beauty isn't new to Woolworths. In most of our full-line stores—where fashion and food come together—you'll also find a selection of beauty products. We're currently investing in revamping these stores to enhance the overall shopping experience.
However, because beauty shopping involves unique needs and personalised services, such as nail care, we wanted to test the concept of a standalone store. This idea has been a priority for us, and this year, the opportunity finally arose. We hope this new venture will be very successful and that we'll be able to continue expanding.
GQ: So this is the very first standalone WBeauty store?
Simphiwe Pato: We're optimistic about this venture's success and our ability to continue expanding. This is our very first location. How did we select this particular location? It's an interesting area where we conduct quite a bit of testing. Adjacent to us is a Woolworths food store, one of the most successful in the country.
We also have our new liquor store, WCellar, and across the way is the WCafe. This creates a sort of Woolworths corner, a nucleus of our shopping experience where customers can find everything we offer across various categories. This was part of our motivation. We hope to replicate this model in many more locations.
Based on the success of our other stores here, we know we have a strong customer base in this area. We've received excellent responses to our other offerings, which suggests this location provides a great opportunity to test and learn. We aim to continue evolving this experience as we gain more insight into what our customers want, before expanding further.
Rest assured, I don't expect this to be the only store of its kind. I hope we can begin a broader rollout sooner rather than later.
GQ: What unique experiences or offerings can customers expect from the Woolworths Beauty store that they wouldn't find in your regular stores?
Simphiwe Pato: Firstly, from a service perspective, Woolworths invests considerable energy and effort into making customers feel seen, appreciated, and respected in our stores. We’re taking this commitment a step further with our personalised, standalone store, where we aim to offer an exceptionally tailored experience.
This means our sales staff will spend extra time and care guiding you through your shopping, explaining various products, and ensuring your needs are met. Additionally, customers can book in-store treatments, ranging from nail care to other services, and enjoy these experiences right here.
GQ: How is the product selection for the beauty store curated, and are there any exclusive brands or products being launched with the store?
Simphiwe Pato: That's a great question. It gives us the chance to curate both the brand and product experiences, which we've successfully achieved. While nothing is exclusively available at this time, our services are.
A unique feature we offer in the store is that if you're looking for something we sell but don’t find on display, we will order it for you and arrange for it to be delivered directly to you, rather than requiring you to come and pick it up. It’s just an additional personalised touch we provide.
GQ: Does it depend on the price or any product?
Simphiwe Pato: No, it doesn't. The rule of thumb in retail is that you can't sell what you don't have. Therefore, we should be disappointed if you come here looking for something and can't find it. It's our obligation to close that gap. While it's a nice additional service, it's almost a responsibility for us to go to great lengths to ensure you get what you were looking for if it wasn't available.
GQ: What role does sustainability play in the product range and overall design of the beauty store?
Simphiwe Pato: Sustainability is a core value that Woolworths embraces as a company. It is integral to what we refer to as our Good Business Journey, where we ensure that every aspect of our business is conducted sustainably, throughout our entire value chain—from our products to our stores.
In particular, at this store, and even before I discuss it, take WBeauty as an example. These products are made from 100% natural ingredients and are one of the few brands that can credibly claim to be vegan-friendly, with no animal cruelty involved in its production.
Additionally, in the centre of our store, you’ll find a beautiful tree displayed, crafted by an NGO we partner with, using sustainable materials. This reflects our commitment to sustainability, a principle we take very seriously as a business.
GQ: Anything you want to add?
Simphiwe Pato: A message to the guys: Alongside the WBeauty range, we also offer WBeauty Men's products. This includes a selection of excellent skincare and body wash products. We plan to expand into other categories in the future.
So, gentlemen, take care of your skin and yourself—personal care is important. Visit our store, speak with our service consultants, and ensure you have the right products for your needs.