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Exclusive: Violet Grey Names Former Bluemercury Executive as Group President
Tracy Kline, a former executive from the American beauty retailer Bluemercury, will join Violet Grey as group president on June 9. Her role will include overseeing the company's team, supply chain, stores, merchandising and marketing.
Cassandra Grey, the company's founder, said it had taken a long time to find an executive with the right profile for the role, saying that her and CEO Sherif Guirgis, had been engaged in conversations with Kline since the end of 2024, and that Kline was picked for her expertise but also her people management skills.
'[Kline] is sort of a unicorn — she's an operator, a merchandiser, a brand builder, and a team builder, too,' said Guirgis.
Kline's appointment is the latest in a series of steps the boutique beauty retailer has taken to regrow and reestablish its presence following Farfetch's divestiture in September 2024. Grey and Guirgis, who previously worked in private equity, re-acquired the business and focused on expansion.
The brand was originally founded in Los Angeles with a single store and e-commerce presence. Since Grey and Guirgis assumed control of the company, it has opened a new boutique in the well-heeled Upper East Side of Manhattan and launched a number of new exclusive luxury brands such as Poiret Beauté and Habelo. Its new incubation arm, Violet Lab, released a $1,100 fragrance under the Madame Grey brand in May.
Against a cooling beauty market, the company, which is known for its glossy editorials and its 'Violet Code' rubric for admitting new brands to its selection, is hoping that its tight focus on premium beauty and stringent brand criteria will help it stand out. 'Our customers like that we're vetting [brands] and only accepting those we think could add value to our customers' lives,' said Grey.
Kline said the company's curated approach will be a key differentiator going forward. Originally founded in 2013, Violet Grey was known for taking lesser-known brands like premium skincare makers Augustinus Bader and Dr. Barbara Sturm and launching them into the US market.
'This is where the trust comes in with the clients… [we're] not just launching every new brand that they hear of, and that's out there,' said Kline.
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