For generations of women, Revlon’s red fire and ice 1952It was a popular lipstick shade on Saturday night.
In ‘In the 70’s, they sprayed Charlie’s perfume on their wrists and hummed everywhere. Jingle..And when supermodel Cindy Crawford appeared in the ad she was wearing Raisin Rage In the 1990s, millions of women snapped shades of brown lipstick.
“All of these big megagram supermodels were Revlon spokesmen,” recalls 41-year-old Tina Catania, who remembers buying Revlon at a drugstore as a young Bronx girl. “They had the biggest display,” she said, recalling the shade sticker on the bottom of the Revlon product and the excitement of trying on lipstick when she got home.
For most of its 90 years, Revlon has been the main cosmetic empire that has been the mainstay of stock shelves since the Great Depression. But in recent decades, the company has suffered from huge debt and the weight of competition with a new generation of cosmetic brands. Currently, the supply chain growls associated with coronavirus-related shutdowns in China add an extra burden. This week, Revlon filed for bankruptcy protection and its financial statements are flooded with red ink.
The makeup that shoppers are flocking to buy now looks different. Over the last few years, celebrity lines such as Rihanna and Kylie Jenner have appeared and reached fans directly. Social media superstars have promoted these products to millions of Instagram and TikTok followers, adopting a comprehensive color palette and avoiding drugstores where Revlon traditionally relied on selling products. ..
David Garfield, Managing Director of AlixPartners and an expert in the consumer industry, said: “If we can’t deal with major supply chain disruptions, problems can occur,” he added. “The problem is that it can be a vicious circle. Therefore, supply chain disruptions can delay production, delay shipping to retailers, and lose shelf space and sales. This cycle repeats. “
Jeffreys analysts predict that the category of mascara cosmetics, including products such as eyeshadow, foundations and lipsticks, has grown, but has not returned to pre-pandemic sales and may not be until 2024. doing. In addition, make-up brands such as Maybelline, Nyx, and ELF each recorded double-digit sales growth over the past year, while Nielsen and Jefferies data show Lebron’s growth of 5.2%.
Revlon’s bankruptcy could be a sign of more problems for consumer brands, bankruptcy advisors said. With high inflation, rising interest rates and recession warnings, shoppers are more wary of opening their wallets. According to the S & P Global Ratings, this year’s US defaults are 40% less than they were a year ago. However, officials have warned that the proportion of US distressed securities is rising rapidly.
Revlon was founded in the early 1930s by the brothers Charles, Joseph Brebson and Charles Luckman, who introduced the new nail enamel. The makeup company has grown to become the second largest company in the United States after Estee Lauder.
Lebson is a female shopper The charm of matching red lips and nails.. The year of the company’s boom was “the most unforgettable woman in the world” in the 1980s. motionFilmed by renowned photographer Richard Avedon, it features many of the supermodels of the time, including Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, Iman, and Christy Turlington.
In 1985, Lebron was acquired in a $ 2.7 billion deal by Ron Perelman, who designed the acquisition using Pantry Pride, a small supermarket chain he manages. The acquisition, backed by junk bonds, is said to have created a wave of hostile takeovers.
With this acquisition, Perelman became a millionaire and townsman who made a large donation and named the wings of museums, hospitals and colleges as Revlon’s stock peaked in 1998. I did.
But by that time, sales had already begun to fall, and soon Revlon’s stock price began to fall. In 1998, interest on Revlon’s $ 1.7 billion debt exceeded operating profit.
But even after many of Perelman’s other companies went bankrupt and tried to sell Revlon, he stuck to the cosmetics brand and invested millions of dollars in his own money to support it, “great.” Declared to be one of. “Consumer brand name” in an interview with the New York Times in 2000.
Revlon acquired other companies in 2016, including the international business of nail care brands Cutex and Elizabeth Arden, with the aim of diversifying and strengthening its business. handle It is mainly covered by debt.
However, with the emergence of a new group of cosmetic entrepreneurs, Revlon struggled to regain its market presence.
Debra Perelman, daughter of Revlon CEO Perelman, said in a statement, “Consumer demand for our products remains strong. People love our brand and we continue to be in a healthy market. We maintain our position. ” The expansion of the company’s balance sheet “restricts its ability to navigate macroeconomic issues to meet this demand,” she said.
Aside from buying an emergency lipstick tube in Astoria, Queens a few years ago, she said Catania stopped buying Revlon cosmetics long ago. She currently prefers more upscale brands such as Chanel, NARS and Mac. She said she would consider becoming a customer again for the right product. But she says of Revlon, “I haven’t seen any cool product rebranding since the heyday of the 90’s.”
