An email circulated among Beautycounter representatives on Wednesday, April 17, has raised grave concerns about the company’s future.
Founded in 2013 by Gregg Renfrew, Beautycounter is a clean skin care and makeup brand and a Certified B Corporation that utilizes the multilevel marketing model with nationwide distributors. In 2021, The Carlyle Group Acquired the company, but as reported to AdAge, the brand has been been sold back to its founder.
“Over the last three years, Beautycounter experienced significant market and channel headwinds,” a Carlyle spokesperson told NewBeauty today, April 18. “We undertook every effort to support the brand, including by increasing marketing spend, driving innovation to broaden the product portfolio, and enhancing the omnichannel strategy—and investing additional capital into the business to support these initiatives along the way.
However, the business continued to lose ground. With the backdrop of significant near-term capital needs, we determined that exiting the business through a sale back to Gregg was in the best interest of all parties and ensured business continuity. We look forward to following Beautycounter’s next chapter and wish every success to Gregg and her team.”
The company’s situation appeared alarming according to a confidential email shared with the company’s distributors and reported by Business For Home. This development suggested a more definitive outcome and sparked concerns within the beauty industry. The email made it sound like the company was ceasing operations entirely.
The email read: “This email constitutes written notice of the termination of your Brand Advocate Agreement with Counter Brands, LLC (d/b/a Beautycounter) (the ‘Company’), effective as of April 17, 2024 (the ‘Termination Date’).
“In connection with a sale, the Company is shutting down its operations and intends to wind-down and dissolve in the near-term. You will receive payment of all accrued and unpaid commissions through the Termination Date, and you shall otherwise have no further rights to any bonuses, commissions, or other compensation [following] the Termination Date.
“Payment is expected to be made on or about April 26, 2024. From and after the Termination Date, you shall not hold yourself out as a Company brand advocate or as otherwise engaging in business for, or on behalf of, or otherwise affiliated with, the Company or its affiliates.”
This news came as a surprise to consumers, particularly considering the brand’s recent expansion into the fragrance category with the launch of its five-piece Clean Eau de Parfum collection. And it’s also been growing. February of lats year, the brand announced a partnership with Ulta Beauty, launching its products both in stores and online.
Over the past year, its products have amassed thousands of five-star reviews at Ulta Beauty. One of its longtime bestsellers—it’s vitamin C serum—continues to lead the pack at Ulta Beauty, as well.
“Our partnership with Ulta Beauty is an exciting step toward achieving Beautycounter’s mission of getting safer products into the hands of everyone,” said former Beautycounter CEO Marc Rey in a statement last year. “We’re looking forward to introducing new consumers to our award-winning products. We believe that this partnership–and the resulting growth of our community – will allow us to have an even greater impact on the future of beauty as we lead the industry beyond clean where all beauty is uncompromising.”
