Bringing a digital-first brand into retail
As City Beauty expanded into Macy’s, the brand needed to work in an entirely new environment. I led the creative direction for the retail experience, translating a DTC-first brand into a physical system designed for discovery, education, and shopping — while creating new opportunities for retail-exclusive and seasonal assortments.
COMPANY
DATE
MY ROLE
City Beauty x Macy's
May 2025
Creative direction, retail design, strategy, design, copy
DESIGN
CONTR.
Ashley Espinoza, Emma Chisholm
Merchandising, Product Development, Supply Chain, Design
Online, we could explain everything. At shelf, we had seconds.
City Beauty's DTC experience gave customers endless opportunities to learn. At Macy's, the shelf had to do that work in seconds — introducing the brand, communicating product benefits, and helping customers know where to start.
How do we turn all of this into something understood in seconds
The shelf needed to do more than hold product.
I approached the fixture as a guided customer journey. Every touchpoint needed to answer a different question — first earning attention, then helping customers understand the brand, discover the right products, and confidently make a choice.
ATTRACT
what is this
hero visual + brand
ORIENT
what do they sell
category navigation
EDUCATE
why this
benefit story
SHOP
which is mine
product selection
With limited shelf space, every product had to earn its place.
Not every City Beauty product could make it to the Macy’s shelf. I helped shape the assortment and merchandising strategy around the products that best represented the brand — balancing hero lips, results-driven treatments, and body care to create a focused introduction to City Beauty.
Three shelves. Three jobs. One brand story.
I translated the assortment strategy directly into the fixture: leading with our hero lip category, using visible results to support targeted treatments, and introducing body care to expand discovery across the brand.
what city lips does
credibility and press
logo backlit
mature
model
stats
ba's proof
city lips - line and color expansion discovery
results-driven solutions
increase platform height -for marketing info
stats
ba's proof
introduce body care / testers
shop by concern
expand beyond face and lips
The fixture had to teach without overwhelming.
With no PDP to lean on, messaging had to work harder. Hero imagery, category navigation, benefit-led copy, before-and-afters, and shelf-level education helped customers understand the assortment quickly and confidently.
BRAND ANCHOR
Established immediate City Beauty recognition from across the aisle.
HERO GRAPHIC
Introduced City Lips through benefits, usage and product differentiation.
PROOF
Used clinical stats and before-and-afters to communicate visible efficacy.
SHELF STRIPS
Organized the assortment by category, concern and benefit.
Retail created new reasons to shop the brand.
Macy’s also opened opportunities to merchandise City Beauty differently — including exclusive-feeling giftable formats and curated product pairings designed for discovery, trial, and holiday shopping.
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City Lips Mini Collection for Holiday
SOLD OUT
A giftable mini assortment built around City Beauty’s hero lip franchise, giving Macy’s customers an accessible way to discover multiple shades/products.
Lift & Smooth Duo
Paired two complementary targeted treatments into an easy-to-understand regimen, creating a more intuitive entry point into City Beauty skincare.
A retail system built to grow with the brand.
What began as an assortment and merchandising exercise became a complete physical expression of City Beauty — translating a digital-first brand into a retail experience customers could understand at a glance.
MACYS EXPANSION
35 stores nationwide and counting
HOLIDAY SELL-THROUGH
City Lips Mini Set sold out.
SCALABLE SYSTEMS
Fixture hierarchy and merchandising system created for future retail expansion.
