Kylie Jenner is often not taken seriously because her career began on a reality show. However, I see her as a young entrepreneur that was able to make her passion her job. After years of being recognized solely by her puffed up lips, she recognized the opportunity and exploited that asset she had and ultimately created the well-known “Lip Kits” which grew to a make up empire.
Kylie Cosmetics is growing quickly and by 2022 it is projected to be worth 1 billion dollars. When she launched the 2016 Holiday Collection, the company made $19 million in just one day. The real question is, what makes Kylie Cosmetics so successful?
First of all, free advertising. Up to this day, Kylie has not spent a cent on billboards, banners or online ads. Her competitive advantage is Kylie’s social media reach. Namely, her millions of followers on Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter. Without doubt, this lowers costs significantly, increasing the overall profits.
A lot of the success has to do with the business structure. Even though it is not revealed, it is all about the processes going inside the factory. Quality controls, packing procedures, etc. are important factors that allows the company to flow smoothly. Also, Kylie Cosmetics it is not a business influenced by demand, instead it produces a certain amount of products that sell out instantly. From there, Kylie can evaluate which products are demanded the most and re-stock accordingly. This is how she effectively allocates the resources.
Another marketing strategy she approached were collaborations with her sisters. By creating Lip Kits with both Kim Kardashian and Khloe Kardashian it increased the overall audience of the company. She is now expanding into other product lines like concealers, highlighters and many more that will continue to target different consumer markets.
What is most important about this business model is that there is a differentiation in her products. She gives quirky and fun names to each one of her products which make them easier to remember. The colors she mixes and the packaging make it extremely appealing even though we only see it in the online store. She makes us want the products by all the content she continuously uploads, especially the swatches.
She is targeting people of any color, race, and ethnicity and I think this is another reason she has been able to appeal to so many young consumers.
In short, Kylie is killing it.