Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare goes big — and it’s going abroad.

The Latest York-based brand has ambitions to grow its footprint to greater than 40 countries by the tip of 2022, in comparison with 12 markets in 2018, and to grow international sales to succeed in 30 percent of its total revenues.

The brand took an investment from Essential Post in 2020 within the throes of the pandemic. At that time, industry sources estimated Dr. Gross’ sales to succeed in $100 million at retail in 2020, with expectations that revenues would triple in the next three years.

Carrie Gross, the brand’s chief executive officer, caveated that the infusion wasn’t the impetus for international expansion, though it did help enable it. “While we now have private equity funding, that was not the important thing reason for expansion,” she said. “As a substitute, the main target was to maximise our existing relationships.”

To that end, the corporate is entering a slew of latest regions — China, India, Indonesia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates — in partnership with Sephora. The brand can even go into France’s Galeries Lafayette, Ireland’s Brown Thomas and the U.K.’s Liberty London, an expansion in an existing territory.

Gross is eyeing spa partnerships, too, noting that have is “necessary to our customer journey, [consumers] wish to give you the option to get knowledgeable facial, then do their shopping. It’s a really deliberate go-to-market strategy.”

The brand took a measured approach to expansion before going wide. “Early on in our international expansion, we focused more on English-speaking countries,” Gross said. “Australia’s been an enormous partnership, and we love Mecca.”

It was interest from those territories’ tourists that spurred the expansion into emerging markets.

“The U.K. is a gateway to countries around the globe. The Middle East, Asia, if you go to the U.K., that tourist is shopping at Harrods, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols. We were really laying the groundwork to construct our brand awareness and our presence within the U.K., knowing that in a really short time frame, we’d need to launch in Asia and the Middle East.”

China — one among beauty‘s largest markets internationally — shifted its regulations around animal testing last yr, a move that catalyzed Gross’ plans to enter. Gross expects the brand’s clinically minded formulations, and results-driven communications, to resonate strongly with Chinese consumers. “The population is so skin care-savvy, that’s going to quickly emerge as one among our largest markets,” Gross said. “They’re very savvy, they know how you can deep dive into science and clinical studies. It’s our wheelhouse.”

“The impetus for China, or at the least to step on the gas, was when the restrictions around animal testing were lifted. Sephora China was after us as one among their first key launches,” she continued.

That store footprint hits 300 doors. Similarly, India will consist of just shy of 100 doors.

Given its population size, multiple beauty corporations have eyed India as an emerging key country ripe with opportunity. The Estée Lauder Cos. Inc., for instance, has, teamed up with Indian retailer Nykaa on a brand incubation initiative.

“It’s an enormous population and a pleasant variety of doors. The dot-com ought to be great. I had women in my chair that were businesswomen after I was within the U.K., they usually asked me, ‘When are you coming to India?’ Within the U.S., Dennis [Gross] sees it in his practice, too,” Gross said.

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