Tom Branna01.09.14
With Santa back at the North Pole, one elf is trying to hitch a ride on a different sleigh. Discount color cosmetics company E.L.F. Cosmetics has retained Financo LLC to sell the company for about $160 million, according a report in The Wall Street Journal. Private-equity firm TSG Consumer Partners LLC took a minority stake in E.L.F. in 2011. This isn't the first time that the cosmetic maker has been on the selling block. E.L.F. had attracted interest from Coty, L'Oréal and others a couple of years ago, but the multinationals passed on the brand.
The company was founded in 2004 by Joey Shamah and Scott-Vincent Borba when the $1 Essential line introduced 13 products with 67 SKUs. In 2006, sales surged 400% and the company entered Target, its first retail spot. The next year, E.L.F entered Kmart and began distribution in the UK. The brand won Allure's Best of Beauty award in 2009 and began distribution in Germany, Columbia, Spain, Romania, Australia, Czech Republic, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Slovakia.
The company was founded in 2004 by Joey Shamah and Scott-Vincent Borba when the $1 Essential line introduced 13 products with 67 SKUs. In 2006, sales surged 400% and the company entered Target, its first retail spot. The next year, E.L.F entered Kmart and began distribution in the UK. The brand won Allure's Best of Beauty award in 2009 and began distribution in Germany, Columbia, Spain, Romania, Australia, Czech Republic, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Slovakia.