Stila Cosmetics Firm Acquired

[astronaut]

To possibly shed some light to the "Stila folds" thread:

Stila Cosmetics Firm Acquired - Beauty Industry News - WWD.com

Stila Cosmetics Still Alive?

Quote:

Struggling indie brand Stila Cosmetics has found a last-minute savior: venture capital firm Patriarch Partners LLC. The deal is expected to be finalized on Monday. According to several sources, it’s been a rocky several weeks for the brand, which is said to have furloughed its entire workforce the last week in March due to the company’s inability to make payroll. Former owner Sun Capital Partners, which had acquired the brand from the Estee Lauder Cos., is said to have pulled the plug on the company’s financing at that time. The deal was confirmed late Sunday afternoon by Stila ceo Deanna Kangas and Patriarch Partners spokesperson Taylor Griffin. — WWD

Stila Cosmetics Sold Again, This Time to Patriarch - WSJ.com
Quote:

By PETER LATTMAN and ELLEN BYRON Patriarch Partners, the New York-based private-equity firm, agreed to acquire Stila Cosmetics, a high-end makeup brand once owned by Estée Lauder Cos. Patriarch is expected to acquire the makeup company from Wachovia Corp. and CIT Group for an undisclosed sum. The lenders took the company over from Sun Capital Partners through a foreclosure sale after Stila defaulted on a loan. Stila, based in Glendale, Calif., has changed hands several times over the past decade. Estée Lauder acquired the company from founder Jeanine Lobell in 1999, and then sold it to Sun Capital in 2006. Traditionally, beauty products have proved relatively resilient during difficult economic times as women sought small, affordable pick-me-ups. But this recession is proving more challenging for high-end beauty lines, particularly as drugstore offerings have improved in quality. Stila, which maintains a cult following with products such as brown sugar lip gloss and pale seafoam blue eyeshadow, joins other high-end niche beauty lines struggling to tempt cash-strapped shoppers. The brand is sold in department stores and through specialty retailers such as Sephora. Patriarch Partners is owned by Lynn Tilton, whose holdings include Rand McNally maps and MD Helicopters, formerly a unit of McDonnell Douglas. The Stila acquisition comes as somewhat of a consolation prize for Patriarch, which narrowly lost an auction for the assets of Polaroid Corp. in a St. Paul, Minn., bankruptcy court this past Thursday. Sun's failed Stila investment is the latest in a string of disappointments for the turnaround firm. The firm, which has more than 80 companies in its portfolio, has seen at least 12 of them file for bankruptcy-court protection since January 2008, including retailer Mervyn's LLC and Jevic Transportation, a trucking company.

 

[coachkitten]

Stila is not my favorite brand by any means but I am do hope that they get back on their feet. I know a lot of people that would be sad to see stila gone.

 

[SMMY]

I agree. There are a lot of cosmetic brands that I wouldn't miss if they disappeared and some are disappearing (Napoleon Perdis - I'm talking about you!), I would miss Stila. Hopefully the new owners figure out a way to promote Stila better.

 

[Susanne]

We haven't got Stila here - but everyone who goes to Sephora in the US must see Stila - don't know why they have problems anyway.

 

[L1LMAMAJ]

i like stila. it's not my favorite. most things are a hit or miss. i do like their eyeshadow singles. they suit me very well because i'm more into smokey or nude looks rather than bright colorful ones. i'm happy they're gonna stick around longer. =)

 

[TISH1124]

Who?


again j/k

 

[hawaii02]

^

 

[All_drama]

I wonder if because of this happening the summer launches will be delayed if not canceled?

 

[Shimmer]

They're a bit delayed, but definitely NOT cancelled.

 

[RedRibbon]

Mr RR works for a private equity fund and was mentioned something about that this morning but I thought he was taking the piss.

I think Stila is like the makeup equivalent of Primark, does no obvious advertising but everyone knows of it.

I picked up their lip gloss set for a steal recently in TK Maxxx and it's on par, if not better than my YSL gloss.

 

[MzzRach]

I think Stila is very high quality brand. I hope their new owner/financing stabilizes their situation. I would miss their line if they went under.

 

[HeatherAnn]

There's a rumor floating around that stila may be introducing a drugstore line called "Simply Stila" Not sure if it's true- bit if it is, I hope is doesn't mean that stila is finished with it's high-end line.