The Multichannel Challenge at Natura in Beauty and Personal Care (B): Building a Successful Digital and Omnichannel Transformation

Between 2013 and 2019, Natura undertook a set of initiatives to begin its digital transformation and accelerate the global expansion that resulted in it becoming the world's fourth-largest beauty group. Along with its traditional door-to-door operation, Natura opened new channels including e-commerce, mobile apps, and physical stores, while it accelerated its international expansion with the acquisition of the Australian brand Aesop in 2013, followed by The Body Shop from L'Oréal in 2017, and Avon in 2019. In the A case, the challenge for Natura CEO João Paulo Ferreira was to find the right balance between the direct-selling and other channel formats to market Natura, to enable it to thrive in the face of intense competition in the beauty and personal care market in Brazil. In this B case, Natura's business is back on the growth track as the company has successfully aligned the new digital channels with its door-to-door operations, but the details of the omnichannel transformation and digital transformation are still complex. The case set is appropriate for use in an MBA, Executive Education, or undergraduate course on marketing, digital transformation, financial services, distribution channels, brand management, or marketing metrics, and it would work well in any course module focused on sales management.

• Marketing channels
• Performance indicators
• Product distribution
• Fixed income securities
• Digital transformation
• International business
• Brand management
• Marketing