1. January 13, 2015
Grace Beauty Invests in Digital Up-and-
Comers
By FAYE BROOKMAN
Changes in beauty and fashion retailing have not been lost on Grace Beauty, a growing fragrance and
beauty distribution business.
Realizing that new technology and product innovation have altered the retail landscape and how
consumers shop, as shown by Macy’s omnichannel focus or Birchbox’s stand-alone concepts, Grace aims
to respond to the growing convergence of digital and brick-and-mortar consumer experiences.
With expertise developed over 25 years of distributing to more than 25,000 retail doors, Grace has tapped
into the increased entrepreneurial activity that has developed as a result of the blending of digital and
physical shopping experiences.
Under its Grace Beauty Capital division, the company began making early stage and growth capital
investments in emerging companies that are using digital technology and strategies to adapt to the new
retail landscape. Grace’s background allows the company to offer a unique perspective to the brands they
invest in, according to Grace president Frank A. Fazzinga III. “Too often, the most promising concepts
don’t get off the ground because of a lack of funds, experience and support,” said Fazzinga. “We can help
them in each of those areas.” The benefits work both ways: investing in these firms also offers Grace
insight into current product and retail trends. “It makes us a more effective distribution partner for our
clients,” he added.
A good fit for Grace was ShareRails, which helps improve service for online customers. Online customers,
particularly those shopping for beauty and fashion, still crave the suggestions and direction they can get in
an actual store, explained Fazzinga. ShareRails solves the issue of a lack of human contact by providing e-
retailers with an interactive visual live chat tool for customer shopping support. ShareRails developed the
“Collaborative Canvas,” which allows customers to interact in real time with a stylist who selects items
from all over a retailer’s site and makes active suggestions to enhance the shopping experience. The
program has dramatically increased fashion retail clients’ conversion rates, according to Joseph Nejman,
ShareRails’ co-founder and managing director. “The application to customers shopping for beauty online,
who might be unsure how a favorite lipstick will look with a new handbag, is obvious and compelling,” he
said.
With the growth in digital platforms, brands and retailers need to keep up with the explosion in “big data”
and data mining that steadily impact their businesses. This prompted another Grace investment,

2. Trendalytics. The visual analytics platform offers brands and retailers merchandise intelligence at the
preproduction stage of a product’s life cycle. “It is incredibly helpful to have strategic investors who can
add value beyond capital. With their background in beauty, distribution and their own entrepreneurial
experience, Grace Beauty has been the epitome of this sort of partnership,” said Karen Moon, chief
executive officer and co-founder of Trenalytics. Added Fazzinga, “On our end, not only has Trendalytics
provided social and search data that has supported our other investment decisions, it has given us access
to trending insights we can then share with our distribution partners firsthand. Ultimately, the additional
information strengthens our distribution decisions and supports our interaction and success with major
retailers like Wal-Mart and Target.”
On the fashion-tech side of the business, Grace also invested in the up-and-coming fashion brand
MM.LaFleur which offers women a convenient and personalized way to shop for fashion-forward office
wardrobes. The company has recently added accessories and an exclusive jewelry line to the assortment,
allowing customers to build even more varied wardrobes. “Our customer appreciates affordable style and a
unique fashion statement. Most of all, she’s looking for fit and flexibility, and that’s what we offer: clothes
that look great at the office, can be dressed up to go out after work and are always easy and comfortable for
travel,” said MM.LaFleur’s Sarah LaFleur, co-founder and ceo. In addition to investing in LaFleur’s
business, Grace has served as a close adviser on the company’s growth strategy, including a possible entry
into the beauty category.
To date, Grace Beauty Capital has made early stage investments in several other new, fast-growing
companies, including Birchbox, Chloe+Isabel, Harry’s, Warby Parker, Pinrose and Stella Service. Each of
these companies provides a new retail or customer service innovation, said Fazzinga, adding that Grace’s
relationship with the firms allows the company to provide cutting-edge insight to its distribution partners
in the evolving beauty retail space. “Let’s face it, business today is running at light speed,” said Fazzinga.”
Plugging into the perpetual changes in technology and innovation taking place at retail — and
understanding where and how they intersect — is our mission.”