Thousands of current and former employees at British clothing retailer Next Plc won an equal pay claim in a ruling that could have significant repercussions for similar cases in the country.

The employment tribunal said in a ruling published on Tuesday that Next’s in-store sales workers, who are mostly women and paid lower hourly rates, were put at a particular disadvantage when compared with men doing equal work.

The decision means the retailer could be forced to pay more than £30 million ($39.7 million) in back pay to 3,540 claimants, according to Leigh Day & Co., the legal firm representing the retail workers.

The legal victory, the first of its kind against a national retailer in the UK, is an indication of the risks facing the UK’s five major supermarkets, which face a similar equal pay claims from 112,000 workers. J Sainsburys Plc, Tesco Plc and W Morrison Supermarkets Ltd, Asda Group Ltd and Co-operative Group Ltd are all the subject of similar claims from workers represented by Leigh Day, which could cost the retailers billions of pounds if successful.

Next argued that pay rates for warehouse workers were higher than for retail workers in the wider labour market and that discrepancies reflected the need for 24/7 staffing in its warehouses, including during public holidays.

The company intends to appeal the result. “This is the first equal pay group action in the private sector to reach a decision at tribunal level and raises a number of important points of legal principle,” the retailer said in a statement.

In 2023 an employment tribunal in Leeds ruled that the work done by retail workers at Next was equal to the warehouse operative work in terms of the demands involved. Almost 78 percent of its sales workers were women, while 53 percent of warehouse employees were men.

In its most recent ruling, the tribunal agreed with Next that the difference in pay was not the result of direct discrimination, or due to the “conscious or subconscious influence of gender in setting pay” but stated that the company’s aim to cut costs and boost profits could not be used to justify unequal pay.

Under equal pay law, work of equal value must be paid equally unless an employer can show that the difference in pay is explained by a reason that is not sex discrimination.

Last year Birmingham City Council, the largest local authority in Europe, effectively declared bankruptcy after being hit by a crippling bill of up to £760 million from an equal pay claim.

Those pay discrepancies were likely present in other local authorities, according to GMB, the union that represented workers in Birmingham, potentially deepening an ongoing funding crisis in local government.

By Jack Ryan

Learn more:

How Retail Store Employees Should Upskill Today

The nature of working in retail is changing at pace as the purpose of stores continues to evolve. BoF Careers examines how in-store employees can hone and develop their skill sets for success in retail or its adjacent industries, sharing expertise from retail leaders and fashion executives who began their careers on the shop floor.

When you think of cosmetics line Too Faced — a brand with a product lineup that includes tongue-in-cheek, provocatively named Better Than Sex mascara and Hangover Replenishing primer — it may not feel like a natural fit for bridal beauty.

But lately, Too Faced has been benefiting from a first-mover advantage in the space; its quick capitalisation on Gen-Z consumers entering the marriage market has helped it recruit a fresh crop of customers.

“We saw what was happening on social media when Sofia Richie [Grainge] got married [in April 2023],” said Tara Simon, global brand president. “That’s the first time we all thought, wow, there’s something really big here,” she said.

So when the summer wedding season rolled around this year, the Estée Lauder-owned brand released a limited-edition bridal gift in collaboration with cult accessories brand Lele Sadoughi, created dedicated landing pages on its website for different bridal looks, and pinned a highlights reel to its Instagram loaded with wedding tips. Their customer was clearly interested: Too Faced’s wedding-led emails had an open rate 62 percent higher than standard emails, while the dedicated “wedding looks” page on its site has 46 percent more views than other trend pages.

It was a prescient thought: As Gen-Z gets older, they’re getting engaged and entering the bridal market. For brands, there’s ample opportunity to cater to a beauty-obsessed generation that’s more open to cosmetic procedures and has long been concerned about anti-ageing as they approach one of the most photographed occasions of their lives.

However, the Gen-Z bride is one of contradictions. According to beauticians, she likely favours a more natural look for her big day, and will want any products she uses to help her look like her best self, not someone else. But she’s also likely to be meticulously planning moments for Instagram and TikTok, and may want extra beauty touches to enhance them.

Brands need to ensure their core offering has products brides will want to turn to on their big day, but also consider what they can create to appeal to those looking for a special touch for the guests – or their followers.

Dress the Wedding

Modern brides have long looked to Pinterest and Instagram for bridal inspiration, but the TikTok age is ushering in a different sort of wedding influencer. That inclides creators like Dana Bezanis Basta, who shared every detail of her 2024 wedding prep on the app — Basta’s posts include her citrus-themed bridal shower, teeth whitening, Botox treatments and visits to a “scalp spa” as well as her many, many outfits.

The celebrity nuptials from brides like Grainge and “Call Her Daddy” podcast host Alex Cooper have also helped create a cottage industry of videographers and producers designed to help couples get perfect content. Saskia Wright, a London-based makeup artist, said many weddings she works at now have a dedicated “wedding content creator” who shoots entirely on an iPhone to craft Instagram and TikTok-ready content, in addition to a standard wedding photographer.

The rising popularity of wedding content has pushed brands to get creative in finding ways to capitalise on someone’s big day. Fragrance brand Jo Malone London “scented” the weddings of Grainge and model Olivia Culpo, creating valuable shout-outs in the brides’ Vogue write-ups and social posts. One of the brand’s most in-store popular services is the complimentary 45-minute “Scent Your Wedding” session; Chris Wyatt, the company’s global vice president of education, said it’s gaining popularity with younger brides. Gen-Z customers usually want to document the experience and have a clear idea of their wedding “story,” he said.

“They really want to make it a personalised experience,” he said. In the wedding sessions, brides sample a range of scents before picking one – or more – for their big day. Wyatt said many brides often opt to purchase candles and perfumes as table pieces or gifts for their guests and bridal parties, as well as hand and body lotions for their honeymoon.

Super Natural

Makeup artists and hair stylists who work with Gen-Z brides see clear differences in their product preferences from their Millennial counterparts. Wright said younger brides usually favour a more natural look, often requesting that lighter products are used.

“Older generations ask for their freckles to be covered, but the younger generations ask to have them drawn on,” she said.

Other requests dovetail with wider Gen-Z preferences towards a “clean look” — heavy eyeshadow, strip lashes and contour products are less popular. However, Wright finds her younger brides to be very educated about the kinds of products and techniques she offers, and expects to see buzzy brands like Saie, Rare Beauty and Kosas in her kit, indicating potential for youth-focussed brands to play in the wedding space.

But Too Faced’s Simon said they identified they didn’t need new products to win over Gen-Z brides. Instead, it was more about putting existing items in shoppable edits and creating limited-edition offerings like its Wedding Day Set, which includes a hair bow, a waterproof mascara and a setting spray — an item Wright said all her Gen-Z clients asked for.

Wright said her brides are usually looking to create very specific kinds of photos and videos from their big day, with one particularly popular shot being the bride looking at their finished look using a compact mirror.

Already, she sees a golden opportunity there.

“No one really offers a pretty enough makeup compact for that shot,” said Wright.

Sign up to The Business of Beauty newsletter, your complimentary, must-read source for the day’s most important beauty and wellness news and analysis.

Sephora tweens may be in the headlines, but the latest brand to land on the retailer’s shelves is for a different demographic: Gen-X.

Three months after its debut, beauty veteran Sarah Creal’s eponymous line, which is geared towards those in the so-called “forgotten generation,” launches in Sephora next week. Creal, who was the product developer behind Tom Ford Beauty as well as the co-founder and former CEO of Victoria Beckham Beauty, said her new line is the first Gen X-specific line to be stocked at Sephora. Launching online on Sept. 3 and in 22 stores starting Sept. 4, Sephora is the brand’s first retail partner.

“I wouldn’t be going there if they didn’t have this customer,” said Creal. “They clearly have this customer, but what we agree is that she could use a destination brand, and this could be a destination brand for her.” She added the Gen-X market is an opportunity that has been overlooked in beauty amid a focus on Gen-Z, Millennial and most recently, Gen Alpha customers.

Creal said that her prior relationship with the retailer helped secure the brand a quick entry into the LVMH-owned beauty giant. Sarah Creal Beauty launched in June, two years after she left her role at Victoria Beckham Beauty. Products are focusing on providing makeup formulation solutions for the concerns of customers over the age of 40, such as crease-proof concealer. Its marketing materials exclusively feature models in this age group, too.

The brand’s next product launch, set for Sept. 10, will be a lipstick collection with activist-inspired shade names such as “Madame President” and “Red v. Wade” ahead of the upcoming US presidential election.

Learn more:

The Debrief Podcast | How Tweens Took Over the Beauty Aisle

Senior correspondent Sheena Butler-Young speaks with Priya Rao, executive editor at The Business of Beauty, about tweens’ rising influence in beauty and how brands are catering to this young and increasingly influential demographic.

Balmain Beauty has arrived.

A collection of eight fragrances, called Les Éternels de Balmain, are available today from a dedicated e-commerce site and select Balmain boutiques, with prices starting at $300 for 50ml. Discovery sets of sample sizes are available from $55.

Balmain Beauty was formed as a joint venture between Estée Lauder and the French fashion house in 2022. This collection is its debut launch.

Balmain has had fragrance offerings on and off since the 1940s, with creative director Olivier Rousteing choosing to resurrect four legacy scents, Vent Vert, Ivoire, Ébène, and Carbone, from Balmain’s archives with a modern twist. The four new scents are Sel d’Ambre, Rouge, Bronze, and Bleu Infini.

Fragrance has been a consistent bright spot in ELC’s otherwise dreary earnings, with successes at Tom Ford Beauty – which it owns in its entirety – and niche brands like Le Labo, Frederic Malle and Jo Malone London.

In a press release, Matteo Sgarbossa, Balmain’s chief executive officer, said the agreement with Estée Lauder is an “obvious embodiment” of its strategy to future-proof the brand and its luxury growth.

“With this partnership, the house begins a new chapter, making very clear to all our commitment to maximising cross-category possibilities… [we are] determined to fully realise this house’s potential to become a true leader in the luxury world.”

Sign up to The Business of Beauty newsletter, your complimentary, must-read source for the day’s most important beauty and wellness news and analysis.

Learn more:

A To-Do List for Estée Lauder’s Next CEO

Whoever steps into Fabrizio Freda’s Italian loafers in June 2025 has a big job on their hands, as the American beauty conglomerate battles softened demand internationally and on its home turf. Kickstarting meaningful growth will mean a fresh China strategy, channel and category overhauls, and generating some much needed buzz.