# Bluemercury: Marla and Barry Beck

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2022-10-24
- Length: 1h 11m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2022-10-24-bluemercury-marla-and-barry-beck

## Summary

Marla and Barry Beck, co-founders of Bluemercury, explain how their 1999 e-commerce startup nearly failed due to being too early for online beauty sales, forcing a pivot to brick-and-mortar retail. They detail the strategic acquisition of a failing Georgetown store, the critical role of high-touch customer service in differentiating from department stores and competitors like Sephora, and the eventual sale of the company to Macy’s in 2015. The episode highlights their journey from a near-bankruptcy crisis to building a national brand with nearly 200 locations.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2022-10-24-bluemercury-marla-and-barry-beck#t=0) Introduction: Marla and Barry Beck and the Bluemercury Story
- [4:21](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2022-10-24-bluemercury-marla-and-barry-beck#t=261) Meeting and Partnership: From Private Equity to Beauty
- [14:25](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2022-10-24-bluemercury-marla-and-barry-beck#t=865) The E-Commerce Pivot: Why the Online Model Failed
- [33:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2022-10-24-bluemercury-marla-and-barry-beck#t=1984) The Brick-and-Mortar Rescue: Buying the Georgetown Store
- [45:45](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2022-10-24-bluemercury-marla-and-barry-beck#t=2745) Differentiation: Service, Staff, and the 'Consultative' Model
- [57:27](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2022-10-24-bluemercury-marla-and-barry-beck#t=3447) Competition with Sephora and Expansion Strategy
- [59:49](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2022-10-24-bluemercury-marla-and-barry-beck#t=3589) Scaling, Mall Missteps, and the Macy’s Acquisition
- [1:08:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2022-10-24-bluemercury-marla-and-barry-beck#t=4122) Lessons on Luck, Hard Work, and Family

## Topics

- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Retail, wholesale & distribution](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/retail-and-distribution)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Growth, exits & acquisitions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/growth-exits-and-acquisitions)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies, companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Bluemercury (company)
- Sephora (company)
- Macy's (company)
- NARS (product)
- Estée Lauder (company)
- L'Oréal (company)
- Ulta (company)
- EFX (company)
- Carlyle Group (company)
- Harvard Business School (company)
- Dermologica (product)
- MAC (product)
- The Body Shop (company)
- Bobbi Brown (product)
- Gloss.com (company)
- eVe.com (company)

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- [Founder Feature: Max Luthy of Plink!](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-04-18-founder-feature-max-luthy-of-plink) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Founder Feature: Bar Bruhis of Boostcous](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-07-24-founder-feature-bar-bruhis-of-boostcous) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Poppilu's Founder Melanie Kahn Is As Bold As Her Lemonade](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2021-02-01-poppilus-founder-melanie-kahn-is-as-bold-as-her-lemonade) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [#034 - How next-generation retail looks like, with Vibhu Norby of b8ta, USA](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-08-02-034-how-next-generation-retail-looks-like-with-vibhu-norby-of-b8ta-usa) (The Hardware Entrepreneur)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2022-10-24-bluemercury-marla-and-barry-beck. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to How I Built This.