Company Overview
Adore Beauty is an Australian and New Zealand omnichannel beauty retailer operating across e-commerce and physical retail channels in Australia, offering skincare, haircare, makeup, and fragrance from a curated range of leading global and Australian beauty brands.
Founded in 2000, Adore Beauty Group has evolved from one of Australia’s fi rst online-only beauty retailers into a diversifi ed beauty and lifestyle business spanning digital commerce, content, retail stores, and personalisation technology across Australia and New Zealand (online only in New Zealand).
Our purpose
To make beauty more accessible, transparent, and personalised.
Adore Beauty exists to simplify beauty discovery through trusted content, curated brand selection, and personalised customer experiences across every touchpoint.
What we do
Adore Beauty operates a vertically integrated omnichannel model combining:
- E-commerce retail across skincare, haircare, makeup, and fragrance through website and mobile app
- Physical retail stores across Australia
- Content-led commerce through Beauty IQ, including editorial, video, and educational content across digital channels
- Personalisation technology through BeautyWise™, delivering tailored product recommendations and shopping experiences
- Loyalty engagement through Adore Rewards. Designed to increase customer value and retention
Together, these capabilities connect content, commerce, and customer experience into a unifi ed beauty ecosystem across digital, mobile, and retail channels.
History
2000-2002
- Adore Beauty was founded by Kate Morris and James Height in Melbourne, Australia, in 2000
- Business launched from a garage with initial seed funding from founders and family support
- 2000: First e-commerce website launched, establishing one of Australia’s earliest online beauty retailers
- Early brand partnerships established with Australian brands, including Baiame and Santalia
- 2002: Secured fi rst mainstream beauty brand, Bloom
2006–2010
- 2006: Secured first major international brand partnership with Clarins
- Expanded product range across skincare, haircare, makeup and fragrance
- 2010: Business reached approximately $2 million annual turnover
2011–2015
- Expanded brand portfolio and customer base across Australia
- 2014: Revenue exceeded $7 million
- 2015: Woolworths Limited acquired 25% stake in Adore Beauty Group
- Expanded brand partnerships, including Estée Lauder Companies (Clinique, Bobbi Brown, Estée Lauder)
2016–2019
- 2016: Expanded to 150+ brands and 10,000+ products
- 2016: Launched Tmall storefront in China
- 2016: Developed and scaled Findation product matching technology
- 2016: Beauty IQ was launched in its current form, which is Adore Beauty's in-house editorial content platform including beauty news, reviews, tips and expert how-to articles to educate customers to make empowered purchasing decisions.
- 2017: Founders regained full ownership following buyback of Woolworths stake
- 2018: Upgraded warehouse infrastructure and logistics systems to support scale
- 2019: Launched New Zealand website
- 2019: Majority stake (60%) sold to Quadrant Private Equity
2020
- Listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX: ABY)
- Leadership transition to CEO Tennealle O'Shannessy
- Continued scaling of digital retail operations and customer base
2021
- Launched Adore Society loyalty program, a 3-tier exclusive loyalty program signing up over 90,000 members in its first 3 months.
- Adore Beauty launched Retail Media, offering marketing products & services to 250+ brands.
2022
- Launched first private label skincare brand, Viviology
- Launched AB Lab private label brand
2023
- Leadership transition to CEO Tamalin Morton
- Founders Kate Morris and James Height stepped back from executive roles, retained board positions
- Adore Beauty launched Subscribe & Save, offering automated 6–12-week replenishment of frequently used products
2024
- Acquired iKOU (premium Australian beauty and wellness brand) for $25 million
- Adore Beauty launched its first cosmetics range under AB LAB
- Adore Beauty outlined its 3-year strategy to become a leading omni-channel beauty retailer, with a plan to open 25+ retail stores nationally
2025
- Opened the first Adore Beauty-branded retail store
- Continued rollout of the national store network expansion
- Further integration of online and in-store customer experience
- Adore Society was replaced by Adore Rewards, a tiered loyalty program that provides members with spending-based rewards, product gifts, referral incentives and other customer benefits.
2026 (ongoing)
- Continued expansion of the physical retail footprint across Australia
- Ongoing investment in BeautyWise™ personalisation technology
- Growth of Beauty IQ content ecosystem
- Focus on scaling the omnichannel retail model and customer lifetime value
- Continued integration of digital, content, and physical retail channels
Awards & Achievements
Adore Beauty has been recognised as a leading Australian online-only retailer and as a high-growth business. Awards and achievements have included:
- Power Retail All Stars Top 100 Online Retailers and Top Customer Rated Online Store in Australia in 2018;
- Deloitte Tech Fast 50 and Asia Pacific Tech Fast 500 from 2013 to 2019;
- Top Email Marketing – All Star Awards – 2019
- Power Retail Top Innovator – 2020
- Power Retail Top Customer Experience – 2020
- Power Retail Top User Experience – 2020
- Power Retail Top User Experience – 2023
- Finder’s Best-rated Make-up Retailer – 2023
- Australian Podcast Awards – Best Branded Podcast – 2023
- AFR Best Places to Work – 2023 (Runner-up, Retail, Hospitality, Tourism & Entertainment category)
- Most Influential CEO Award (Australia, Cosmetics category) – 2023 (CEO Monthly)
- Power Retail Most Loved Retailer (Ages 34+) – 2024
- Power Retail: Australia’s Most Loved Retailer 2025
- Power Retail Most Loved Retailer: Health and Beauty 2025
- Power Retail: Top Direct Marketing Program 2026
- Australia Loyalty Association: Best Use of Multi-Channel Communications 2026