The Richemont-owned luxury online retailer Net-a-Porter will shutter its beauty division, moving to an affiliate model linked to its publication Porter. The platform launched the beauty verticle in 2013. While it was never the biggest beauty retailer, Net-a-Porter was influential. It was the first retailer to carry Charlotte Tilbury online and was the launchpad for Dr Barbra Sturm in 2014.

“Net-a-Porter is launching a new affiliate program for some of the world’s top beauty brands. Starting next year, customers will be directed to partners’ e-commerce channels to complete their purchases. This new programme will leverage Net-a-Porter’s award-winning editorial platform Porter and community to drive high-quality traffic to our partners’ channels,” the Richemont-owned company said in a statement.

In 2019, Net-a-Porter had an assortment of 230 brands, but industry experts say the beauty category has been a struggle for the retailer for some time. In a last-ditch effort to resurrect the business last November, it implemented a project called "New Luxury," making a significant edit and doubling down on ultra-luxury brands that were performing. The assortment currently consists of around 57 brands and is expected to shrink more during the editorial pivot.

Beginning in early 2025, it will no longer hold inventory, sending shoppers to brand websites to purchase. Among the brands reported to be sticking with the outlet are Vintner’s Daughter, U Beauty, and Emma Lewisham.

Once considered the disruptors that would change how we shopped, beauty has become a losing bet for multi-brand e-commerce platforms. Farfetch shuttered in-house beauty in 2023 after only 18 months in operation, while London retailer Browns, which it bought in 2015, also exited beauty.