Marie Claire magazine, part of the Time Inc Group, has entered into an agreement with Ocado to launch a new beauty business to sell products online and in-store. The new entity, called Fabled, will be a separately incorporated company and will operate using the Marie Claire brand.

Fabled will be based in the Marie Claire office in central London and be led by Amanda Scott – currently head of buying for beauty and accessories at John Lewis.

To accompany the online offering, a flagship store named ‘Fabled by Marie Claire’ will open on Tottenham Court Walk in London in August to coincide with the website launch. The store, designed by GP Studio, will stock brands such as Chanel, Benefit, YSL, Clinique, Elemis and Lancôme.

Ocado predicted in its annual results that start-up costs for the new venture are estimated at between £2 million and £3 million. The firm added: “We believe that the high quality of service delivered by our technology and logistics platform combined with the awareness and relevance of the Marie Claire brand will make this an attractive shopping destination for customers.”

Using Ocado’s delivery network, Fabled will offer online shoppers a choice of one-hour time slots, seven days a week. Although Fabled will operate as a separate website, Ocado customers will also be able to add Fabled products to their grocery orders.

New managing director of Fabled, Amanda Scott, said: “We are hugely excited by the launch of Fabled and our ambition is to inspire consumers with this fresh and unique approach to the beauty retail marketplace. An increasingly confident generation of women are looking for new ways to explore and express themselves through beauty. Our new venture perfectly combines the unparalleled brand authority and influence of Marie Claire with the e-commerce expertise of Ocado.”

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