Adore Beauty COO Sarah Mullen on how Australia’s beauty disruptor focuses on innovation

Adore Beauty is firmly established as one of Australia’s most renowned e-commerce brands, having transformed the cosmetics and skincare shopping experience for digital-first consumers. But innovation at the company doesn’t end with a slick interface, a best-in-class loyalty program and a bonus Tim Tam with every order. Sarah Mullen, chief operations officer, says the ASX-listed company is constantly thinking about how to ensure the best outcomes for its staff and customers, be it through COVID-safety precautions, or new refund options for the buy now, pay later generation.

Mullen returns as a Smart50 judge in 2022, offering even more of the expertise she delivered in 2021 — and expanding Adore Beauty’s strong ties to the competition, which began when the company graced the finalists list in 2014. Here, she explains some of the strategies which have kept the brand at the forefront of Australia’s beauty sector.

Tell us about yourself and your role at Adore Beauty?

I am a mother of three children, aged eight, five, and six months. I aspire to be a well-rounded and fun parent that is actively involved in their lives. As chief operations officer at Adore Beauty, I am responsible for the brands, customer fulfilment centre, and customer experience teams. I have three direct reports and over 100 indirect reports and am part of the executive leadership team. I’m responsible for the safe, effective operations of our business, delivering budgeted revenue and EBITDA.

How would you describe the changes to the beauty industry in the last few years?

Adore is the leading beauty e-commerce pure player in Australia, so not a huge change for us. We definitely noticed a shift in certain categories and product types. I’m talking hair treatments, nail polish, and home candles and fragrances. Our focus was on ensuring a safe workplace for our team in the fulfillment centre while managing huge volumes. 

How did Adore Beauty do this? Is it ‘back to normal’ now or, if not, how has it reshaped how you manage this workforce? 

We did whatever we could to ensure our team was safe. It was of the highest priority for us. We split our shifts and closed the site for one hour in between, completed a deep clean between shifts, had a full-time cleaner on-site throughout each shift, temperature checking at arrival, Smart Badges, and much more.  

Happy to say we’re back to ‘normal’ now. 

Have there been any vendors/brands/products/projects that have stood out to you over the last year or so for coming up with innovative solutions to solve problems, spark new trends or delight customers? 

We’ve recently launched Refundid. It’s a customer-centric solution to returns. Partnering retailers allow customers the option to place their returns through the Refundid platform and receive an instant refund. Often the e-commerce returns process is slow and while you wait for the return you’re out of pocket. Refundid solves this problem. It’s awesome. 

This is very much Adore-driven. We’re continuously finding new ways to deliver exceptional customer experiences and our valued partners support our innovative and customer focused approach.

What’s your advice for retailers facing the current challenges?

A few things.

Innovate. How can you innovate to deliver a truly exceptional experience that your customers really need and want? Be willing to push your thoughts outside of your comfort zone and do things differently.

Team focus. Your team is crucial to overall business success. How do you create a strong culture that retains your team and enables them to be high performers and deliver exceptional value? How do you genuinely care for them through a unique value proposition?

Sarah Mullen joins the Smart50 program again in 2022 as a guest judge for the Retail Champion category.