Violet Grey is on a buying spree, sources told WWD.
The retailer, founded by Cassandra Grey and owned by both Grey and chief executive officer Sherif Guirgis, has quietly acquired The Detox Market earlier this year and could close a similar transaction for Cos Bar as soon as Friday, sources said.
Terms of those deals could not be learned. Violet Grey did not respond to a request for comment.
Farfetch acquired Violet Grey in 2022 and subsequently sold the business back to Grey and Guirgis in 2024.
Since then it has opened a second brick-and-mortar store on Madison Avenue in New York while maintaining a door in Los Angeles and a shop-in-shop at Hirshleifers in Manhasset, N.Y.
One source noted that Violet Grey, a predominantly digital business with a minimal door count, gains entrée to Cos Bar’s fleet of 21 stores and its engaged luxury clientele with the deal. Similarly, The Detox Market broadens the breadth of product beyond luxury price points to include categories billed as “clean.”
WWD understands that the structure of the Cos Bar deal, as well as whether those stores will be rebranded or the existing team will stay on, has yet to be determined. Violet Grey, however, did name the Bluemercury alumna Tracy Kline group president in June.
“Somebody has to play the role of being a gatekeeper to bring brands to market. It serves a purpose,” said one source of Violet Grey. “If they’re able to bring back the magic of what they did originally [pre-Farfetch ownership], and create that place for the early adopter beauty junkie, there’s a role for Violet Grey by default. But do I think that’s scalable to 20 cities? No.”
That would point to acquisition as Violet Grey’s most viable path to growth. Cos Bar, which is said to have an average order value well into the hundreds of dollars, was founded in Aspen by Lily Garfield in 1976. It is currently helmed by Garfield’s son, Oliver, who declined to comment.
The Detox Market, which has made a handful of acquisitions of its own, was founded by Romain Gaillard in 2010 and was one of the early retailers to capitalize on the “clean” beauty movement. In partnership with retailer Faces and managed by Chalhoub Group, Gaillard took the concept to the Middle East. At that time, the Middle East was expected to comprise between 15 percent and 20 percent of sales for 2024. Gaillard could not be reached for comment.
