Beauty brand Revolution debuts at Walmart stores nationwide
Revolution Beauty Expands Presence with Walmart Partnership
Revolution Beauty has announced a new wholesale partnership with retail giant Walmart, marking a significant step in the brand's expansion across the United States. This partnership will see the launch of Revolution Beauty's new Relove by Revolution collection, which is exclusive to Walmart and will be available in 2,500 of its locations and on its website.
The Relove by Revolution collection offers an assortment of products, including foundation, brushes, freckle pens, and water-activated liners, all priced at $5 and under. This move follows several direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands that have launched wholesale partnerships with big-box retailers like Walmart and Target, although such partnerships remain selective.
Ulta, a beauty-focused DTC brand, previously had a shop-in-shop deal with Target starting in 2021. However, this partnership ended in 2025 as both retailers refocused their strategies. This indicates that beauty and prestige brands initially used these wholesale partnerships to expand their reach but may be reconsidering this model to compete more effectively in the market.
Walmart, in particular, favors private-label products heavily and has a vast number of approximately 30,000 private-label items across 20 categories. This offers opportunities for manufacturers and brands, including DTC brands, to enter the marketplace via private labeling or wholesale arrangements.
Target has recently expanded its beauty assortment with thousands of new products, and Walmart has a beauty accelerator program for up-and-coming brands and has launched a clean beauty platform. The retailer has also communicated to investors that it will be relying more on robots in stores and at its fulfillment centers.
The partnership between Revolution Beauty and Walmart comes at a time when the mass market for beauty products has seen a 10% increase in dollar volume in the first three months of 2023, thanks in part to the lipstick index, a term referring to consumers treating themselves to beauty products during tough economic times.
This expansion into Walmart follows several DTC brands that have launched wholesale partnerships in big-box stores. However, it's important to note that detailed examples of other specific DTC brands with wholesale deals at Walmart or Target were not identified in the latest reports.
In recent years, Walmart has offloaded e-commerce brands it had invested in over the past few years, including men's clothing brand Bonobos, women's apparel brand ModCloth, outdoor retailer Moosejaw, and the Jet.com e-commerce site. Despite this, Walmart continues to maintain a significant role as a wholesale partner or marketplace platform for brands seeking wider distribution.
This news marks an exciting development for Revolution Beauty and further cements Walmart's position as a key player in the beauty industry. The Relove by Revolution collection is set to hit Walmart stores and its website soon, giving consumers more access to Revolution Beauty's affordable and high-quality products.
- The beauty industry has seen a rise in wholesale partnerships between direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands and retail giants like Walmart, for example Revolution Beauty's new partnership with the retailer.
- As technology continues to advance, retailers like Walmart are leaning more on AI in their stores and fulfillment centers to improve operations.
- The fashion-and-beauty industry has witnessed a surge in the mass market for beauty products, a trend that has been beneficial for brands that offer affordable and high-quality products, such as Revolution Beauty.
- While some retailers, like Target and Ulta, have reconsidered their wholesale partnership strategies in the past, Walmart continues to favor such agreements as a means to broaden its product offerings.
- The rise of DTC brands, like Revolution Beauty, finds opportunities in big-box retailers like Walmart, not only for wider distribution but also for the exposure to private-label products that these retailers heavily promote.