38. Gojo
30. Markwins
26. Bare Escentuals
www.bareescentuals.com
Sales: $557 million
$557 million. Net income: $98 million
Key Personnel:
Leslie A. Blodgett, chief executive officer; Myles B. McCormick, executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief operating officer; Michael Dadario, president of retail; Simon Cowell, senior vice president, global marketing and brand
Major Products:
Cosmetics—Bare Minerals, Buxom and Bare Vitamins; Skin care—Rare Minerals, MD Formulations
New Products:
BareMinerals SPF 25 Mineral Veil, BareMinerals Flawless Definition Waterproof Mascara, BareMinerals Mineral Veil Mini Refillable Brush (Sephora exclusive), Buxom Big & Healthy Lip Stick, Rare-Minerals Active Triple Treatment Eye Cream
There's gold in mineral makeup...at least for shareholders of Bare Escentuals. One of the biggest news items of the year was the acquisition of Bare Escentuals by Shiseido for $1.7 billion through an all-cash tender offer and second-step merger. Bare Escentuals' business will operate as a separate division of Shiseido and its brands will continue to be managed by the current leadership team. Still, as a Shiseido unit, this will be the last year that Bare Escentuals will be ranked in Happi's Top 50.
For the fiscal year ended Jan. 3, 2010, company net sales and net income each increased 2%. A leader
New buffing brush from Bare Escentuals.
in the prestige category, Bare Escentuals products are sold in stores such as Ulta, Sephora, Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's. Net sales from the company's North America retail segment (including the U.S. and Canada) accounted for 62.1% of total net sales for the fiscal year ended Jan. 3, 2010.
The company's North America direct to consumer segment (including infomercials, home shopping and online shopping, which accounted for 24.9% of total net sales) didn't fare as well as the retail segment—sales fell 22%. International sales, which account for 13% of total net sales, rose 10%.
This year, Bare Escentuals also tapped the fragrance category with Leslie Blodgett Perfume Diaries, a limited-edition collection created exclusively for Sephora. Based on Blodgett's global travels, there are currently three scents in the collection—Bare Skin, Santa Barbara and Golden Light.
"We believe this line can influence the fragrance market by looking at scents from a different perspective, a more personal perspective," said Allison Slater, vice president of retail marketing for Sephora. "We believe that any woman who wants to revisit a pleasurable experience or happy memory garnered from a journey will gravitate to these scents."