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MD Beauty Inc. markets cosmetics and skin care products
under the Bare Escentuals / Essentials, i.d. bareMinerals and MD
formulations logos via direct marketing such as QVC, as well
as specialty stores, spas and its signature Bare
Essential cosmetic
boutiques. Bare Essential is a retail format of MD Beauty.
Bare Escentuals was founded in 1976 as a mineral and luxury
bath and beauty company. Though the brand was founded in
1976, it has exploded under Bare Escentuals' president and
chief executive officer Leslie Blodgett's 10-year
leadership, with sales increasing 18-fold during her tenure.
Blodgett joined the company 10 years ago after positions
with beauty companies including Neutrogena and Max Factor,
and oversaw the acquisition of MD Formulations.
Under her tutelage, sales have shot up from $6 million to
more than $200 million per year. Blodgett is known for
developing close ties with customers -- even naming products
after them.
Bare Essentials cosmetics is the number one beauty brand on QVC,
outranking Urban Decay, Philosophy, Prescriptives and
Bourjois. According to Blodgett, Bare Escentuals sold more
than US$12 million worth of product on one day alone on QVC
last December. She said she receives 1,500 e-mails a day
from devoted fans.
Twenty years ago, women were limited to department stores,
drugstores and the Avon lady. Today, shoppers have a surfeit
of options for buying makeup - the Internet, infomercials,
Sephora stores, hair salons, even warehouse clubs.
The new landscape creates both challenges and opportunities
for a small, independent company looking to make a name for
itself. There are more channels available, but it's harder
to stand out against the dizzying range of competitors,
which includes such other growing brands as Aveda, MAC and
Bobbi Brown. Freestanding cosmetics boutiques like Bare
Essentuals are experiencing "real growth." While they can be
a big financial risk - for instance, signing leases on
expensive real estate - they also allow companies full
control over design, service and marketing.
The success of Bare Essential could be attributed to two
things: a marketing message that ordinary women can identify
with, and a mineral-based product line that dovetails with
women's growing interest in natural products. For instance,
the line, called i.d. bareMinerals, eschews the
preservatives that are often found in liquid foundations. A
powder, it is composed of ground minerals such as mica and
iron oxide and contains no talc, fragrance or oils.
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