08.19.11
Estée Lauder has big plans for Smashbox Beauty, but to build it up, it first had to tear it down. A year after acquiring the cosmetics brand, Lauder is restaging it with new products and packaging, a new national advertising campaign and a revamped website, which went live Thursday. It's all part of CEO Fabrizio Freda's plan to make it a prime vehicle for Estée Lauder’s future expansion. Some observers think Smashbox could one day rival the size of its behemoth sibling, MAC Cosmetics (which sources estimate is a billion-dollar-plus business), and lessons gleaned from the Hollywood brand could present additional distribution opportunities for Lauder’s other brands.
The Lauder team considers Smashbox to have huge global potential. Brothers Davis and Dean Factor, the great-grandsons of legendary makeup artist Max Factor, opened their Smashbox photography studios in 1990 before founding the cosmetics brand in 1996. In 2006, private-equity firm TSG Consumer Partners acquired a minority, noncontrolling stake in Smashbox; they are no longer involved.
The Lauder team considers Smashbox to have huge global potential. Brothers Davis and Dean Factor, the great-grandsons of legendary makeup artist Max Factor, opened their Smashbox photography studios in 1990 before founding the cosmetics brand in 1996. In 2006, private-equity firm TSG Consumer Partners acquired a minority, noncontrolling stake in Smashbox; they are no longer involved.