Business Case Studies & Business Publications

Grupo Boticário: Orchestrating a Custome...

Guissoni, Leandro,...

Case

Grupo Boticário: Orchestrating a Customer Value–Centric Growth Strategy to Compete in Brazil’s Beauty Market

Guissoni, Leandro; Sarfati, Gilberto; Costas, Ruth

M-1067 | Published July 31, 2025 | 16 Pages Case

Collection: Darden School of Business

Add To Cart Buy Now

Product Details

Perfumery and cosmetics group Grupo Boticário was one of the leaders in its segment in Brazil by 2023, boasting 4,000 stores across 1,600 cities. For decades, the company had sold products from a single brand, exclusively through a franchise system. However, in the 2010s, it acquired or launched several new brands, expanded its online business, and ventured into door-to-door sales. In addition, Grupo Boticário acquired Latin America’s largest online marketplace for beauty and personal care products, Beleza na Web, and accelerated investments in innovation, guided by a strong customer-centric approach. This multibrand, multichannel strategy enabled Grupo Boticário to reach USD4.7 billion in sales in 2022. Yet the group’s margins remained stagnant, and the complexity of its operations increased. Managing potential conflicts between its diverse sales channels also became a challenge. Finally, operating as a niche marketplace, the company found itself competing with major marketplace operators like Amazon. This field-based case study features Artur Grynbaum, the vice chair of Grupo Boticário’s board of directors, as he prepares for a meeting to fine-tune the company’s long-term strategy. Among the questions he needs to address are whether the multibrand, multichannel strategy is right for Grupo Boticário and what can be done to mitigate sales channel conflicts and ensure the development of a robust omnichannel strategy. The group also needs to craft a strategy to face competition from multiproduct marketplaces. Should Grupo Boticário continue acquiring and creating new businesses focused on the sale of beauty and personal care products through different channels, or should it instead seek to explore other activities in the customer value chain? Also, what kinds of opportunities and challenges could the customer-centric approach create for the group? This case is appropriate for use in MBA, executive education, or undergraduate courses on strategy, general management, marketing, digital transformation, and innovation.

(1) Understand the concept of a CVC and how it can help companies in crafting innovation and growth strategies. (2) Consider the factors a company should weigh when developing an effective omnichannel sales strategy. (3) Discuss how to avoid channel conflicts by considering the specificities of various sales channels, including door-to-door sales, franchise models, proprietary stores, online channels, and third-party stores. (4) Explore the concept of a “customer-centric” strategy—including the opportunities and challenges it presents—and understand what can help business leaders implement this strategy effectively. (5) Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of a multibrand, multichannel strategy, considering its value creation for customers, costs, demands in terms of management structures, opportunities related to the gathering of consumer data, and so on. (6) Discuss how retail groups and niche marketplaces can prepare to face competition from multiproduct marketplaces in the online space. (7) Delve into the dynamics of the beauty and cosmetics markets and understand how they can vary from one country to another.