Adore Beauty appoints accomplished retail exec Tamalin Morton as new CEO

Three months after announcing Tennealle O’Shannessy would be stepping down from her role as CEO, Adore Beauty (ASX: ABY) has appointed experienced retail boss Tamalin Morton to the top job from 9 January.

Prior to her current role as CEO of Best Friends Pets and My Pet Warehouse, Morton held managerial positions at Priceline, Medibank (ASX: MPL), Kathmandu and Coles (ASX: COL). She also spent two years as COO of fabric and craft store chain Spotlight Retail Group.

In an announcement made on the ASX today, Adore Beauty said Morton significantly increased sales and profitability for both pet brands throughout her three-year tenure.

She also supported its acquisition by Petspiration Group, which owns specialty retailer giant PETstock, online marketplace Petmarket Australia and premium pet food brand Glow, among others.

“I have closely followed the Adore Beauty business for many years, first from a competitive perspective and then as a loyal, returning consumer,” Morton said.

“In addition to the business’ clear growth strategy, I see additional opportunities for Adore Beauty to capitalise on its market-leading position to increase basket size, order frequency, and profitability.”

Founded in 2000, online cosmetics retailer Adore Beauty has evolved to become an integrated content, marketing and e-commerce retail platform that partners with a broad and diverse portfolio of more than 270 brands and 12,000 products.

In the first quarter of FY23, the Melbourne-based company generated $45.5 million in revenue, which reflected a 29 per cent drop compared to the same time last year, when most Australians were in lockdown.

Repeat business remained the largest contributor to revenue, with growth in returning customers up 14 per cent year-on-year. Adore Beauty recorded 791,000 active customers at the end of the quarter.

While Adore Beauty’s mobile app accounted for 18 per cent of revenue, loyalty program members contributed over 60 per cent of sales. During the quarter, the company scaled skincare brand Viviology and successfully launched private label AB Labs.

“Adore Beauty is at an exciting juncture in its growth trajectory with two owned brands now successfully launched, and the structural shift to e-commerce well underway,” Morton said.

In line with its geographic expansion plans, Adore Beauty has commenced scaling its New Zealand operations, launching payment partnerships with Laybuy, Zip Pay and Afterpay during the quarter.

“Tamalin’s extensive industry experience will be instrumental in fast-tracking our growth, and delivering on our strategic initiatives to increase revenue, customers, and margins over the short and longer term. She brings relevant category experience and a proven track record of driving growth within omnichannel, high-growth entrepreneurial businesses,” Adore Beauty chair Marina Go said.

“Tamalin’s customer-centric approach and focus on team culture aligns with Adore Beauty’s values. The board is particularly excited by Tamalin’s ability to scale businesses quickly. Importantly, Tamalin’s marketing credentials will be invaluable as the industry continues to navigate higher customer acquisition costs.”

O’Shannessy, who is leaving the business on 30 December 2022, will take up the top job of CEO and managing director of international education organisation IDP.

Founders Kate Morris and James Height will take over her role as co-CEOs for the 10-day period following her departure and Morton’s commencement.

There will be no change to their remuneration over this period.

Shares in ABY are down 1.14 per cent to $1.73 per share at 11.42am AEDT.