ISSUE#14JUNE 5, 2020
A Publication of WWD
Beauty Confronts RacismAs racial protests have gripped the nation over the past week, beauty companies are being pushed to ask if they’re doing enough to achieve inclusivity and diversity in all
aspects of their business. For more, see pages 5-8. PLUS: Coty’s wild week and a fond look back at past Fragrance Foundation awards ceremonies.
PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL BUCKNER
Beauty Bulletin
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JUNE 5, 2020
THE BUZZ
¬ Puig confirmed its acquisition of Charlotte Tilbury on Thursday. The Barcelona-based company said in a statement that it will acquire a majority stake in Charlotte Tilbury alongside its founders, “who will rollover a
significant minority stake.” BDT Capital Partners is investing alongside Puig and will hold a minority stake. Tilbury is to remain as chairman, president and chief creative officer, while Demtra Pinsent is to remain its
chief executive officer. A source pegged the purchase price at around 1.2 billion pounds, making the acquisition worth about five-times revenues. The company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization are said to be in the high $20 million range. In fiscal 2018, Charlotte Tilbury’s sales rose 34 percent to 100.9 million pounds, while EBITDA was 3.8 million pounds, up from 2.8 million pounds in the previous year. Net profit after tax was 3.5 million pounds, according to Companies House, the official register of U.K. businesses. Speculation about a pending deal had emerged months ago, with Unilever, The Estée Lauder Cos. Inc., L’Oréal and Shiseido cited as front-runners. —Allison Collins, Jennifer Weil and Samantha Conti
¬ It’s been quite a week at Coty.On Tuesday, the company
revealed that former Jimmy Choo chief executive officer and Coty Inc. board member Pierre Denis would not be joining the company as ceo. Instead, Peter Harf, founding
partner of Coty majority owner JAB, would assume the ceo role in order to instill a sense of urgency in the company and cut through red tape to get things done quickly.
In addition to the Harf-Denis swap, Coty has created a three-person
executive committee consisting of Harf, chief operating officer and chief financial officer Pierre-André Terisse, and Gordon von Bretten, who just joined Coty from KKR as the company’s chief transformation officer.
Shortly thereafter came the confirmation that Christophe Honnefelder, who had been appointed ceo of Kylie Cosmetics, had exited the business, news that came as Jenner's billionaire status came into question. Simona Cattaneo, the president of Luxury Brands at Coty, will take over responsibilities for the brand.
Might she also soon assume responsibility for KKW Beauty, Kim Kardashian-West’s brand, as well? Coty is said to be in talks with Kardashian-West “regarding a possible collaboration with respect to certain beauty products,” Coty said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday. On a call with Wall Street analysts on Monday, Harf said he was “good friends” with Kris Jenner after working on the Kylie deal for a year and a half. “I’m very proud that the Jenner family is working with us and that we have access to them and all other people [who are] big opinion leaders on social media.
As for the impact of all this on Coty’s stock price: At presstime, the stock had hit $4.84, up from $3.62 at the start of the week. — Allison Collins
Coty’s Whirlwind Week
Puig Acquires Charlotte Tilbury
The Charlotte Tilbury store in Covent Garden.
By the Numbers: Skin Care Takes Social Skin care gets the influencer treatment while creators focus on self-care. BY JAMES MANSO
WHICH CAME FIRST — the chicken or the egg? As skin-care sales have increased during the coronavirus crisis, influencer content for skin care has been on the rise. “There seem to be significant trends when it comes to self care,” said Conor Begley, cofounder of Tribe Dynamics. February to March saw an 18 percent increase in skin-care posts; February to March saw a 10 percent increase. In April, brands Murad and Summer Fridays spiked onto the top 10 list of skin-care brands by EMV, driven by multiple appearances in influencer self-care giveaways while Tatcha holds strong in the number-one spot. Murad’s Vita-C Brightening Duo was also a creator favorite for de-stressing skin during quarantine.
Here, the top 10 skin-care brands by EMV for the month of April.
1. tatcha $12,312,286
2. drunk elephant $7,646,740
3. fresh $7,143,711
4. murad $6,506,448
5. fourth ray beauty $6,454,466
6. ole henriksen $6,084,988
7. farsáli $5,010,014
8. glow recipe $4,954,602
9. summer fridays $4,319,531
10. good molecules $4,300,757
Tatcha nabbed the highest EMV for the month of April out of any skin-care brand.
Katharina Harf and Peter Harf
3
JUNE 5, 2020
WEEKLY ROUNDUP
LVMH, TIFFANY DEAL
FACES UNCERTAINTY
¬ Luxury’s biggest deal ever — LVMH’s
$16.2-billion offer for Tiffany & Co. — is suddenly looking a
lot less certain, WWD has learned. Members of the board of LVMH
Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton called
a meeting in Paris Tuesday night
specifically to discuss the matter amid a
deteriorating situation in the U.S. market,
Tiffany’s largest.It is understood
board members of the luxury giant are
concerned about the impact of not only the
coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed more than 100,000 lives in America and wreaked widespread
economic damage, but also the growing
social unrest over racial injustice in America has prompted widespread
demonstrations and also looting and property destruction
in many cities, scuttling attempts to get the
economy moving again.Additionally, sources said LVMH board members voiced concerns about
Tiffany’s ability to cover all its debt covenants
at the end of the transaction, which was expected to be
concluded mid-year. — Miles Socha
¬ Among retailers assessing damages at their stores from looting this week, there’s fear and uncertainty.
New York City, which was hit hard with looting Monday evening as protests against racism and police brutality occurred, is scheduled to launch “phase one” of reopening nonessential businesses on June 8, involving curbside pickups and limited staffing.
“Everything has to be
reevaluated,” said Marc Metrick, president of Saks Fifth Avenue. “Right now we are waiting for directions from the government. What’s most important is the safety of our customers and our employees.” He said the Saks flagship in Manhattan was not looted or damaged Monday. But Saks stores in Chicago; Chevy Chase, Md.; Boston; San Francisco, and Atlanta have been affected. — WWD Staff
¬ Prada is bringing its virtual reality project into people’s homes. Kicked off as an innovative retail initiative aimed at enhancing customers’ shopping experience in store, the Prada Virtual Reality adapts to the current environment of reduced social contact to continue engaging the brand’s fans at home.
A range of tools will guide users in an immersive journey through the Prada world with
stops in several locations, including Tokyo, New York an Los Angeles, as well the Fondazione Prada in Milan and Venice.
Using the virtual reality technology, users will also have the chance to take a closer look to the Prada spring 2020 collection and to discover the secrets of the Made to Measure project.
The launch reflects the brand’s current focus on innovation and digitalization. Among several initiatives developed by the company, in May, the Prada Group signed a partnership with Sprinklr, a global software service, aimed at reinforcing the digital culture within the company. – Alessandra Turra
¬ Alibaba is helping U.S.-based, small and medium-sized businesses go digital. The Chinese B2B platform, which started to including U.S. sellers in July 2019, now has three new tools to help businesses of any size move online. The features include
digital payment terms and freight options, as well as the chance to participate in virtual trade shows.
“I’ve seen 20 years of transformation happen in the last two months,” John Caplan, president of Alibaba.com’s North America and Europe divisions, said of the coronavirus pandemic that has forced retailers around the world to seek out online alternatives to brick-and-mortar channels. “Digital has gone from a got-to-have [business tool], to a must-have.”
The U.S. is Alibaba’s fastest-growing market, followed by Australia, Canada, the U.K. and Germany. — Kellie Ell
¬French luxury groups and their brands weigh in on racial equality both publicly and privately, making commitments to fighting discrimination after last week’s killing of George Floyd by police prompted protests around the U.S. and elsewhere in the world.
Kering said on Tuesday that it would donate to the NAACP, which fights race-based discrimination in the U.S., and Campaign Zero, an organization working to reduce police violence. “Kering and all its brands stand in solidarity against racism. Too many black lives have been
lost in the fight for equality in America. We will not stand by silently,” the group said in a statement.
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton told employees it plans to increase efforts to fight unconscious bias and help promote equality, according to an internal e-mail seen by WWD.
“We plan to accelerate our efforts to combat unconscious bias and support our brands in helping to make sure that they meet the highest standards in promoting equality,” Anish Melwani, chairman and chief executive officer of LVMH in the U.S., said in an internal memo. — Mimosa Spencer
Luxury Groups Commit To Racial Equality
Retailers Face Vandalism, Looting Upon Reopenings
Prada Ups Digital Offerings With VR
Alibaba Launches Tools For U.S. Companies
Protesters in Paris take part in a demonstration in front of the new courthouse in support of the George Floyd protests in the United States, and
to commemorate Adama Traore, a 24 year old black Frenchman who was killed in 2016 by police.
A boarded up Zara in New York.
Prada virtual reality project
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Chinese platform Alibaba launch new tools for U.S. businesses.
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5
JUNE 5, 2020
DEEP DIVE
READY OR NOT, beauty companies
are now being forced by consumers to
address racism.
Last weekend, as peaceful protests
and some riots broke out worldwide,
social media swelled with messages
of support for the Black Lives Matter
movement and George Floyd. Beauty
companies began sharing messages of
solidarity, joining with other industries
in breaking corporate America's usual
silence on politically charged matters.
Some even pledged donations.
That, however, was soon deemed
insufficient by social media users,
and the overall conversation quickly
deepened. Consumers began pressuring
the beauty industry to go beyond a
statement or donation to commit
to long-term change to reverse the
systemic racism in which they believed
companies have long played a part.
WWD Beauty Inc reached out to the
10 biggest global beauty companies,
plus two major retailers, about
how they are rethinking diversity
from the inside out. A handful, via
e-mail, provided clarity on diversity
and anti-racism initiatives moving
forward. None of the major beauty
corporations asked for telephone
interviews provided them.
The difficulty acquiring statements
from these businesses stands in
contrast to their forward-facing
efforts. Following Fenty Beauty's
revolutionarily inclusive 40-shade
foundation launch in 2017, the
industry partook in conversations
about inclusivity and diversity, with
many companies racing to expand
their own foundation shade ranges.
Over the past week, companies
have publicly shown unwavering
support for the Black Lives Matter
movement. On Instagram, Estée
Lauder and Shiseido posted that they
“stand with the black community.”
Coty, Sephora and Ulta Beauty posted
for #blackouttuesday. P&G posted,
“Equality. Justice. Action. Now.”
L’Oréal’s L’Oréal Paris posted
“speaking out is worth it” and wrote
in the caption that it would make a
“commitment” to the NAACP. The post
drew widespread criticism, though,
most notably from black transgender
model Munroe Bergdorf. She made
headlines in 2017 when she was hired
as the company's first transgender
model, and later fired after speaking
publicly about demonstrations in
Charlottesville, Va., that year.
The backlash shows that the
commitment to and conversation
around diversity is still fraught.
Beauty companies seem to have
figured out diversity from a marketing
point of view: casting diverse models
to market and sell products to
diverse consumers, and posturing
publicly behind cultural movements.
But on the inside, the majority of
executive-level leaders across major
beauty businesses are white. (For a
breakdown, see page 8.)
Those types of statistics have
prompted Sharon Chuter, a Nigerian-
born beauty veteran and the ceo and
founder of cosmetics company Uoma
Beauty, to start a grassroots campaign to
raise awareness around the lack of black
employees, especially those in leadership
roles, at American corporations. The
campaign is called #PullUpOrShutUp.
“Every single brand and every single
company has an Equal Opportunity
Employment policy,” Chuter told WWD Beauty Inc. “All these brands are now
standing in support and donating,
meanwhile, within their organizations
they don’t actively employ black
people. They have no black leaders.”
“We need to move this conversation
forward,” she continued. “Every single
person cannot push it to be somebody
else’s problem. Racism in our
society is systemic, it’s been built in
everything that we do. This is a great
opportunity for every single person to
look at their own actions and go, ‘how
can I be better,’ as opposed to, ‘we’ve
never been part of the problem.’”
The #PullUpOrShutUp campaign
launched on Instagram on June 3.
It calls for all companies that have
shared statements in solidarity
with or donations to the Black
Lives Matter movement to publicly
reveal the percentage of black
people they employ and specify
the number of black employees
in leadership positions. Chuter’s
effort also encourages consumers
to hold companies accountable and
refrain from buying products from
companies in question for 72 hours.
Simply complying with equal
opportunity employment, which says
companies will hire without regard to�
Beauty Forced to Confront Racism Consumers are pressuring the beauty industry to go beyond statements and donations, and ultimately commit to long-term change. BY ALEXA TIETJEN, ALLISON COLLINS AND ELLEN THOMAS PHOTOGRAPH BY GEORGE CHINSEE
Black Lives Matter protest in New York City.
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6
JUNE 5, 2020
DEEP DIVE
race, color, sex, age, disability status,
etc., is one example of companies
ticking off the diversity box, experts
said. While many beauty companies
also have diversity training efforts,
and even heads of diversity, those
efforts don’t generally make a
difference, said Pamela Newkirk,
author of “Diversity Inc.” and New
York University journalism professor.
“It’s much easier to pay lip service
to diversity, and even to hire diversity
czars, than it is to actually embrace
diversity by having a truly diverse
workforce,” Newkirk said. “Research
shows that the training that’s done
in most institutions at best changes
attitudes for a couple of hours, and
at worse makes things worse by
triggering resentment, mostly of
white men. So, it’s not helpful.”
“The only thing you can do in
the workplace is you can make sure
discrimination is not happening, you
can make sure you are doing all that
you can to encourage diversity and
respect for different world views and
perspectives, but you cannot teach your
employees now how not to be racist in
the workplace because by the time they
get there, they’re 25, 30, 40-years old.
It’s too late, and you’re certainly not
going to be able to [do it] in a one-hour
diversity training session.”
Newkirk contends that the only thing
for companies to do to increase diversity
is to go out and hire a diverse workforce.
“People hire who they know.
They hire who they’re comfortable
with. They hire who their friends
recommend. And because of the
segregation and because of the
homogeneity of many of these
workplaces, it’s a self-replicating
environment,” Newkirk said. “The
only way to break that is to expand
the networks that institutions tap
into when they are hiring to tap into
professional organizations of color.
It’s not that difficult. We live in a
Google universe where anything you
want you can find. Yet when it comes
to diversity, all of a sudden people
pretend they don’t know how to do it.”
Experts cautioned against
vocalizing support without internal
company actions to give credence
to a public position.
“In a day when authenticity
counts and ceo credibility is low,
faking it is a mistake,” said Erik
Gordon, professor at the Ross School
of Business at the University of
Michigan. “Companies need to be
careful to avoid the ditches at both
sides of a narrow road. They can't be
seen as indifferent to the problems
of race, but they don't want to be
seen as opportunistically engaging
in hollow public relations by taking
a public stand if they haven't done
much in the fight against racism.”
Neal Semel, cofounder of Diversity
Matters, a diversity and inclusion
training consultancy, said that
companies must be ready to go
deeper than a statement.
“People aren’t stupid … you can’t
just do window dressing. That’s
probably more harmful than doing
nothing at all. You can’t open the
door and not be ready for people to
walk through,” Semel said. Opening
that door requires companies to take
a hard look at their culture, he noted.
“Theoretically, the goal is that your
organization reflects your community
in terms of demographics,” he said.
Procter and Gamble announced
Wednesday the establishment
of its Take on Race fund with an
initial contribution of $5 million to
support “organizations that fight
for justice, accelerate economic
opportunity, enable greater access
to education and health care and
make our communities equitable.”
In a page-and-a-half long document,
the company also detailed its various
diversity and inclusion efforts, from
product development to hiring.
“Recent events remind us that despite
meaningful work in equality and
inclusion for years, there is much
more we much do and that our
advocacy must be more overt and
systemic,” a spokesperson said.
In a statement to WWD Beauty Inc, Unilever's Mita Mallick, head of
diversity and cross-cultural marketing,
said many of the company's brands
— SheaMoisture, Axe, Suave, Seventh
Generation, Degree and Vaseline —
had pledged more than $1 million to
organizations fighting for social justice.
SheaMoisture has invested
$100,000 to create a social justice
coalition to support activists working
to put an end to the continuation
of racial injustices. The brand has
also introduced “This Has to Stop,”
a digital initiative that aims to
support communities of color in
addressing institutional inequality.
Cara Sabin, ceo of SheaMoisture,
launched the initiative on May 31 via
Instagram Live, where she was joined
by journalist Jeff Johnson, political
advocate Angela Rye, attorney Tanya
Miller, community activist Tiffany
Loftin and Dr. Thema Bryant.
Unilever said that it has also done
internal training over the past two years
for employees to better understand
the experiences of America's many
and varied communities.
“We must do more within the
Unilever ecosystem to ensure we
are helping tackle the root causes of
social injustice,” Mallick said. “We will
do this by ensuring our workforce
better reflects the communities we
serve, using our economic power
for good by continuing to increase
our spend with minority-owned
businesses, and by upholding a zero-
tolerance policy on intolerance —
both among Unilever employees and
the suppliers, customers and partners
that work with us. We will also add
our voice and influence to advocate
for fair and safe access to voting this
November.”
A Coty spokesperson said in a
statement to WWD Beauty Inc that
the company was “listening, reflecting
and self-examining” in the wake of
the country's racial unrest.
“Of course, we are all affected
by what is happening,” said the
spokesperson. “We are proud of
our corporate social platform We
Stand For You, which promises to
tackle prejudice and discrimination,
including through a multimillion
dollar partnership with Global
Citizen. Our brands too have shown
up, adding their voices of support,
donating to organizations like NAACP
and Black Lives Matter, and sharing
resources with their communities on
where to learn more. Internally, we
are sharing these messages and more
— reinforcing Coty’s commitment to
inclusion and diversity and making
HR leaders, managers and outside
counselors available for conversation.
Certainly we have more work to do
and will continue a serious dialogue at
the senior-most levels of our company.”
The Estée Lauder Cos. said in a
statement to WWD Beauty Inc that it
and its brands will collectively donate
more than $1 million to organizations
that had not yet been specified by
press time. In an e-mail shared
with its employees, Estée Lauder
addressed the “outrageous acts of
racism, bigotry and violence,” and
outlined a few of its long-term plans.
Those plans include working with its
Inclusion and Diversity leadership “to
ensure broader access to trainings,
such as Unconscious Bias.”
The company said it will “actively
fund” organizations focused on
bridging “community divides.” It
also plans to “assemble a team of
internal and external partners,
thought leaders and community
representatives to help us stay
vigilant, and hold us accountable to
building and maintaining a long-
term, sustainable plan for change.”
A Shiseido spokeswoman said that
as a sign of “commitment to the
African American community” the
company is supporting and matching
employee donations to several
different organizations. “This month,
Shiseido Americas had launched a
transversal, employee-led diversity
and inclusion group dedicated to,
among other initiatives, community
outreach, enhanced avenues of
communication and creating greater
access to career pathways within our
organization for African Americans.”
L’Oréal USA did not provide WWD
with a statement, but did send out an
internal e-mail to employees saying
that it “intends to contribute” to
change, and put a post on Instagram
noting that it had committed more
than $500,000 to Black Lives Matter,
the NAACP and other organizations.
“Right now, we are gathering,
talking, connecting, listening and
consoling each other … we need to
act and do more. As an organization,
we humbly acknowledge that we
haven’t always gotten it right,” ceo
Stéphane Rinderknech wrote in the
company-wide email. The business
is forming a diversity and inclusion
advisory board that will develop a
company-wide action plan on anti-
racism, reporting to Rinderknech and
chaired by senior vice president of
diversity and inclusion Angela Guy.
“This difficult moment has reaffirmed
our dedication to a path that we have
been on for years to ensure that we are a
truly inclusive company that represents
the rich diversity of our market. We
will continue to pursue our Diversity &
Inclusion strategy with the same passion
and purpose, and we will go deeper to
strengthen our connection and support
for communities impacted by racism.”
Dave Kimbell, president of Ulta
Beauty, said in a statement that Ulta
would “support The Equal Justice
Initiative efforts to challenge racial
and economic injustices,” but did
not note the size of the donation.
He emphasized the retailer's
“commitment to diversity and
inclusion continues with strength
in the important areas of training,
education, external partnerships,
recruiting and development.”
Sephora Americas president and ceo
Jean-André Rougeot shared an open
letter on Sephora's company web site,
linking to its We Belong to Something
Beauty inclusivity campaign.
In a statement provided to WWD Beauty Inc, George-Axelle Broussillon
Matschinga, senior director of
diversity and inclusion for Sephora
U.S., expressed the company's
commitment to “long-term action”
and outlined a list of initiatives the
company has implemented since the
launch of its campaign last year.
On the list are employee resource
groups geared toward “lifting the
voices of the diverse perspectives that
are in Sephora.” He noted one group,
SephoraNoir, as a resource group for
black employees and allies. ■
1. Beauty companies should place more emphasis on hir ing diverse employees than on diversit y training. 2. Consumers are demonstrating they wil l hold companies accountable for diversit y standards. 3. Beyond donations and statements, brands should commit to long term change.
Key Takeaways
7
JUNE 5, 2020
DEEP DIVE
CONSUMERS ARE holding beauty
companies to a new standard in the
midst of the country's racial reckoning.
Over the weekend, protests and
riots broke out nationwide, making
visible the rage caused by hundreds
of years of mistreatment of black
people in America. Social media
flooded with messages of solidarity
with the black community and
George Floyd, who died on May 25
after being forced by Minneapolis
police officers to suffer sustained
pressure to his neck and back.
Beauty companies, big and small,
began to join in on social media's
resounding dialogue. Some have used
social media before to share apologies
or messages of inclusivity and
diversity when attempting to soften
a public gaffe. But over the weekend,
a new kind of messaging emerged in
which brands used their handles to
share resources and publicize their
donations to causes related to the
Black Lives Matter movement.
Instagram user @hapaskin began
compiling a list of beauty brands that
stated on social media that they had
or would donate to relevant causes.
By June 3, the list consisted of dozens
of companies.
The Estée Lauder Cos. Inc. said in a
statement shared with WWD Beauty Inc that the company and its brands
— including Aveda, Bobbi Brown,
Bumble and bumble, Clinique, Estée
Lauder, La Mer, Lab Series, MAC
Cosmetics, Origins, Smashbox, Tom
Ford Beauty and Too Faced — “will
collectively donate over $1 million to
organizations providing education
and advocacy for social, economic
and racial justice.”
In a statement shared with WWD Beauty Inc, L'Oréal USA said that
its brands and employees had
“collectively committed to donate
more than $400,000 to the NAACP
and Black Lives Matter” since the
weekend. “The donation figure
continues to increase across the
organization,” noted a representative.
L'Oréal Paris publicized its
“commitment” to the NAACP on
Instagram, drawing criticism from
black transgender model Munroe
Bergdorf. Bergdorf made headlines
in 2017 when she was hired as the
company's first transgender model,
and later fired after speaking
publicly about demonstrations in
Charlottesville, Va., that year.
“Black Lives Matter is a movement
for the people, by the people. It is
not here to be co-opted for capital
gain by companies who have
no intention of actually having
difficult conversations regarding
white supremacy, police brutality,
colonialism and systemic racism,”
wrote Bergdorf on Instagram. She
went on to write “past mistakes or
conscious acts of racial bias.”
Anastasia Beverly Hills pledged
via Instagram $1 million “towards
the fight against systemic racism,
oppression and injustice.” The
company said that it had also
donated $100,000 across Black Lives
Matter, The Innocence Project, The
NAACP Legal Defense and Education
Fund, Black Visions Collective and
The Marshall Project.
“We are taking the time internally
to discuss new initiatives that will
financially support Black owned
businesses and artists in the beauty
industry,” the company wrote on
Instagram. “When the details have
been finalized, we will announce
the process for submission or
nomination, and we will update
you monthly on recipients.”
Skin-care company Biossance
pledged $100,000 across the
American Civil Liberties Union,
Minnesota Freedom Fund, Color of
Change and Black Lives Matter.
“In some cases, words and sharing
good messages are definitely
important and certainly to make a
difference,” Catherine Gore, president
of Biossance, told WWD Beauty Inc. “There also comes a time when
maybe words are not enough. We
wanted to put our money where our
mouth is.”
Glow Recipe shared on Instagram
that it would donate $10,000 to the
Black Visions Collective.
“We as a company felt very
passionately that we needed to
say something, speak up and do
something as a brand, especially
as a brand with a platform,” said
Christine Chang, co-ceo and
cofounder of Glow Recipe.
“We have a growing community
that is passionate about this topic
and we prioritize it as a company,”
said Sarah Lee, co-ceo and cofounder.
“We thought this was beyond product
or business. We do need to share
our stance.”
Hand sanitizer brand Touchland
pledged all of its weekend's profits,
amounting to about $5,000, to
the ACLU.
“Normally, we don’t get involved
in any political perspective, but we
felt as a brand that this was basic
human rights and we have to take a
stance on matters that are morally
right or wrong,” said Andrea Lisbona,
Touchland's founder and ceo.
After mounting pressure from
social media users demanding it
speak out about the protests, RMS
Beauty issued an apology and a
statement saying it would donate
$25,000 each to Black Lives Matter,
the NAACP and The Bail Project.
RMS Beauty declined to speak with
WWD Beauty Inc.
The donation pledges mark a first
for the beauty industry, which seems
to be collectively striking a new tone
in the midst of the country's racial
unrest. But some are calling for more
than just money.
On June 3, Uoma beauty founder
and ceo Sharon Chuter launched a
campaign called #PullUpOrShutUp,
calling for any and all companies who
have shared statements of solidarity
with or donations to the Black Lives
Matter movement to publicly reveal
the percentage of black people
they employ and further specify
the number of black employees in
leadership positions. The campaign
also encourages consumers to join in
on holding companies accountable
and refrain from buying products
from the companies in question for
a period of time.
“Corporations tend to absolve
themselves like it’s somebody else’s
problem,” Chuter said. “Your million
dollars is good, but you know what’s
better? Providing employment so that
these issues can stop.
“Don’t give me hush money,”
Chuter continued. “Give me my right.”
Beauty Companies Put Money Behind Words of Solidarity Companies big and small pledged and publicized donations to the Black Lives Matter movement on social media, following a weekend of protests. BY ALEXA TIETJEN COLLAGE B Y ALEX BANDONI
Beauty's donation pledges mark a first for the industry,
which seems to be collectively striking a new
tone in the midst of the country's racial unrest. But
some are calling for more than just money.
8
JUNE 5, 2020
DEEP DIVE
Ulta Beauty, Sephora, Delay Reopening Plans Amid Protests Multiple store locations across several cities were damaged or have been preemptively closed. BY ELLEN THOMAS WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM RYMA CHIKHOUNE
DIVERSITY IN THE C-SUITEAccording to a study by the Center for Talent Innovation titled Being Black in Corporate America, black people comprise 3.2 percent of executive-level positions and 8 percent of professionals. Here, to see how the top 10 manufacturers in the WWD Beauty Inc Top 100 stack up in terms of diversity in their executive ranks, we consulted publicly available figures to compile the number of noncaucasians each firm has on its board of directors and leadership committee.
BY JAMES MANSO
*DATA FOR THE TOP 10 GLOBAL BEAUTY
COMPANIES, AS RANKED BY WWD BEAUTY INC
BASED ON 2019 CY SALES.
1. L’ORÉAL
Board: (0 of 15)
Executive Committee: (1 of 21)
2. UNILEVER
Board: (5 of 13)
Executive Committee: (9 of 23)
3. THE ESTÉE LAUDER COS. INC.
Board: (3 of 16)
Executive Committee: (2 of 14)
4. PROCTER & GAMBLE
Board: (2 of 12)
Executive Committee: (11 of 35)
6. COTY INC.
Board: (1 of 12)
Executive Committee: (0 of 3)
5. SHISEIDO
Board: (13 of 13)
Executive Committee: (15 of 16)
7. LVMH MOËT HENNESSY LOUIS VUITTON
Board: (0 of 15)
Executive Committee: (0 of 12)
8. BEIERSDORF
Board: (1 of 12)
Executive Committee: (4 of 9)
9. CHANEL
Board: (N/A)
Executive Committee: Information N/A
10. L BRANDS
Board: (2 of 9)
Executive Committee: (0 of 9)
BEAUTY RETAILERS WERE
not immune to looting and
damages amid the national
protests this week over the killing
of George Floyd at the hands of the
Minneapolis police department.
Ulta Beauty and Sephora both
confirmed to WWD Beauty Inc
that several stores in multiple
cities were impacted. Both retailers
closed store locations in response,
at a time when they were just
starting to reopen after weeks of
coronavirus-induced closures.
“With the safety of our
associates, guests and the
communities where we operate,
we can confirm stores in cities
such as Chicago, Philadelphia
and Orlando, among others, were
damaged and looted throughout
the past few days. Of course, those
stores have been closed to assess
and repair,” an Ulta spokesperson
wrote in an e-mailed statement
to WWD Beauty Inc. “In an
abundance of caution, we have
proactively closed other stores to
ensure safety where necessary.”
Ulta did not specify the number
of stores impacted, though as of
last week, it had begun to open
840 stores for curbside pickup and
333 doors for in-store shopping.
The retailer's sales dipped 32
percent in the last quarter.
Chief executive officer Mary
Dillon said on the company’s
earnings call last week that she
expected “the vast majority of
stores to reopen in some capacity”
by the end of June. It is not clear
yet to if the looting and damages
will disrupt that plan.
Sephora also did not specify the
number of stores damaged and in
which locations, but told WWD Beauty Inc the retailer's plans for
reopening are now delayed.
“While there was some damage
to several stores in various metro
areas across the country, we will
make the necessary repairs,” a
spokesperson for Sephora wrote
to WWD. “In states where we’d
begun our phased reopening, we
will reopen only when it is safe to
do so. All other stores that were
not yet scheduled to reopen will
remain closed as we monitor this
quickly evolving situation, and all
employees staffed at these stores
will be paid and receive benefits
as planned, as well as access to
counseling and support resources.
Right now, the safety of our
employees and clients is our most
important priority.”
The impact was also felt by
the professional sector. In L.A.,
Spoke and Weal had reopened on
Saturday, a day after L.A. County
had given hair salons the clearance
to conduct business on May 29.
Located on West 3rd Street,
West of South Fairfax Avenue, the
salon is situated on a retail street
that encountered vandalism. While
the salon was spared damage, the
5000-square-foot salon which has
about 50 chairs was expecting
to be at about 50 percent of its
capacity when business resumed,
but in reality it was far fewer.
“We definitely had some clients,
but not many, and we weren’t
working with a full staff,” said co-
owner Christine Thompson.
She, herself, was out of town on
Saturday, at the salon’s recently
opened San Luis Obispo location.
“I was getting sent footage of
protesters walking by the salon,”
she said of the L.A. spot. “A lot of
the clients were cheering everybody,
walking with the protesters.”
However, as the day was winding
down, “it started getting ugly,” she
continued. “Team members acted
quickly and got everybody out of
there.” A motorcycle that usually
sits on the storefront was moved
to the back.
“It’s definitely affecting our
business,” she said of the new
climate and curfews installed by
the county since this weekend. “A
lot of salons are definitely dealing
with the reduction in volume. If
this goes on a long time, it will be
devastating to these businesses.
It’s definitely a concern.”
Brow expert Kristie Streicher, co-
owner of trendy beauty salon Striiike
with sisters Jenn, a makeup artist,
and Ashley, a hairstylist, said they
had planned on opening this week.
“We pushed it back to mid-next
week, though we’re still keeping it
fluid, in solidarity,” she continued.
“We want to be sensitive to the
community and what’s happening
on a local level with the protests.”
I S S U E 0 6 . 2 2 / C LOS E 0 6 .16MATE RIALS 0 6 .18
This June, WWD will honor Pride Month with a special issue centered around the
LGBTQ community and the celebration of all human rights. WWD will delve deep into
the history of NYC Pride, the celebration’s global impact on the fashion, beauty and
retail communities and how COVID-19 is affecting this year’s festivities.
PRIDEC E L E B R A T E S
MONTH
OPPORTUNITIES INCLUDE:
CUSTOM WWD STUDIOS FEATURE
BRAND AD ALIGNMENT
SOCIAL MEDIA COVERAGE
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT STEPHANIE SIEGEL, VP, SALES & MARKETING AT [email protected]
10
JUNE 5, 2020
EYE CANDY
Whiff of Glamour¬ The Fragrance Foundation Awards are one of the most celebratory nights on the annual beauty calendar, attracting everyone from industry aficionados to stars like Lionel Richie, Tracee Ellis Ross and even Elizabeth Taylor over the years. Of course, due to the coronavirus, this year’s ceremony will look markedly different. On June 4, rather than the swanky Lincoln Center gala, the foundation announced this year’s finalists via webinar, while the winners are set to be announced
via livestream in September. Still, we can bask in the glory of ceremonies past, knowing that the words of Tom Ford, last year’s inductee into the foundation’s hall of fame, are more true than ever. “Creating scent is a powerful thing — scent can alter a mood, change an experience,” he said. “Most of the pleasure in my life has been derived from scent. I never met a flower I didn’t like.” Here, photos from the last five years of the Fragrance Foundation awards. —James Manso
Stephane de la Faverie and Jerry VittoriaAdriana Lima
Taylor SwiftLionel Richie and Tracee Ellis Ross
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Harry and Laura Slatkin Tom Ford
Kilian Hennessy
Fabrizio Freda, John Idol and William P. Lauder
