Having acquired Swania (Maison Verte), Henkel will pioneer Direct-To-Consumer business model in Europe. It is a unique opportunity to test the channel through a relatively small niche yet very trendy brand.
Unilever has been experimenting with Dollar Shave Club to no avail, finally relaunching it through proven brick-and-mortar channel to offset $1Bln investment in the US, but Swania example and the risk of missing the train might trigger changes. I believe that sooner than later Seventh Generation and Love Beauty and Planet will be knocking on our doors directly.
Let us see if finally P&G will launch their re-usable hybrid diapers on subscription. They too experiment with DTC elsewhere.
In any way, the DTC trend in Europe is bound to grow. It should reach the tilting point of profitability through offer premiumisation and on-subscription model.
Congratulations to Henkel. A true gem in the crown of household giant.