Eb perfumeries grow with services and new openings
Founded in 2002 with the first shop in Via Ripamonti in Milan, the Esselunga group's beauty store network has evolved over time by expanding its range of services and, with the recent opening of the Varese Malerba store in Lombardy, has now reached fifty perfumeries. A very important milestone, as Marco Garotta, eb's operations director, explains.
"We were born in 2002 as Olimpia Beauté and, over the years, the brand has grown to become a reference point in the beauty market. Among the most significant milestones is the change of name to Esserbella in 2013 and, from 2019, the transformation of "eb" into a real beauty store with a vast assortment of make-up, skincare and haircare, the presence of expert staff and, in selected outlets, specialised beauty services and treatments to enrich the customer experience, guaranteeing a complete beauty journey. Today we are present in five regions - Lombardy, Piedmont, Liguria, Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany - always in close proximity to Esselunga shops, with the exception of two unicums in Mantua and Genoa. The Varese opening therefore represents an important stage in our history, but also a step towards the future: we will continue in 2026 with a sustainable and targeted development, which will include both new openings and the restyling of some shops to further consolidate our position".
2024 and 2025 were positive years for the brand, both in terms of revenue and customer expansion. "In 2024 we recorded steady growth for most of the year, in line with expectations and with the general market trend," Garotta continues, "The results were also boosted by the full operation achieved by the perfumeries opened in 2023 in Turin and Milan, as well as the new opening in Mantua. The year 2025 is also confirming a favourable trend, albeit at a slightly slower rate of growth: in any case, we expect to close the year with an increase of around 5-6%. The growth in sales of beauty and hairdressing services, which are now present in 13 shops in the network, is also continuing".
And next year? "In 2026 we expect to maintain a positive trend, even considering a slowdown in the beauty market expected in the next three years," adds the manager. "Our goal is to continue to develop in a balanced way, expanding our customer base and strengthening our presence in the territory. Among the projects we will focus on is the development of our private-label offer, currently concentrated on make-up brushes and a selection of accessories, by expanding this segment to other product categories. We will also evaluate the inclusion of new brands in our assortment, based on emerging trends and customer needs. We want to continue to expand the customer base, increasing the rate of loyalty and frequency. Our proposal for beauty services and treatments also contributes to this, and we will consider extending it to more beauty stores, as well as enriching it with new solutions. At the same time, the expansion of the sales network will continue, with new openings in the area, always following a path of sustainable growth: in 2026 there will be new developments in Milan as well as some restyling of existing shops, with interventions that, in some cases, will also involve the temporary closure of shops for the modernisation and renovation of some elements of the sign'.
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