2010 has been a rough year for beloved beauty brands and the customers who covet them. Less than three months after Estee Lauder ceased global sales of Prescriptives, L’Oreal has now announced that Shu Uemura operations will be ending in the US.
The news comes two years after the death of Shu Uemura’s namesake founder, a makeup icon since the 1960s, although there was no mention of his passing in L’Oreal’s statement. Instead, their luxury division president, Carol Hamilton, said, “Going forward, we decided that L’Oreal USA would be better served by focusing on our other strategic luxury brands like Lancôme, Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren, Kiehl’s, and fragrances.”
There is some good news: L’Oreal, which acquired the brand in 2004, assured fans that Shu Uemura products will still be available for purchase online at shuuemura.com, where they will continue to launch new products. Furthermore, their Art of Hair collection will continue being stocked on select US salon shelves and on shuuemuraartofhair-usa.com.
However, Americans who love the zen-like Shu Uemura store and counter experience will no longer have the opportunity for in-person purchasing unless they travel to one of the 18 other countries where the brand will continue to operate.
What’s your favorite Shu Uemura product? Are you OK with shopping for Shu Uemura online? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
