As a former retail buyer for Target and product marketer at Neutrogena, I have some thoughts on this. Online-exclusive is not brand suicide. It's a strategic choice. Brands that are usually best suited for online-only are niche brands that don't have broad appeal. Brick and mortar stores carry products that have enough market size to warrant their real estate in stores. And a niche product just can't turn the same velocity as a broader product. Skin care does well in either channel, but if your skin care targets a very specific skin condition, you may be better off staying on-line where you have more room to educate consumers and show testimonials and before/after pictures (helpful in skincare!). Also, you may sell online and learn that your brand turns a lot of sales, more than expected, and at that time you might decide to enter the brick and mortar retail markets. My client, The Honest Company, first started out with no intention of selling in physical stores. But after their success out-the-gate and after retailers like Nordstrom, Whole Foods, and Target (and more) began calling them asking to carry their products, they then "pivoted" and decided to broaden their distribution to physical stores. So my advice, launch in online first and see what happens. The products-business is an iterative process. So test and learn and go from there.