New York, NY
www.revlon.com
Sales: $2.5 billion

Sales: $2.5 billion.

Key Personnel: Debra G. Perelman, president and chief executive officer; Michelle A. Adams, senior vice president, external affairs and corporate communications; Chau Banks, chief technology officer; Ely Bar-Ness, chief financial officer; Meagan Fitzsimmons, chief compliance officer; Silvia Galfo, president, Revlon brand; Gillian Gorman Round, general manager, American Crew, CND, Flesh and Gatineau brands; Mitra Hormozi, executive vice president and general counsel; Ava Huang, general manager, Elizabeth Arden brand; Serge Jureidini, chief marketing officer; Pete Laport, chief manufacturing and supply chain officer; Eric Lauzat, president, international; Keyla Lazardi, chief scientific officer; Jon Levin, general manager, U.S., Mass; Catherine Roggero-Lovisi, president, North America.

Major Products: Consumer—Revlon, Almay, SinfulColors and Pure Ice color cosmetics, Revlon Colorsilk hair color, Revlon beauty tools, Charlie fragrances, Mitchum antiperspirant and deodorants, Ultima II and Gatineau skin care; Professional—Intercosmo, Orofluid, American Crew and UniqOne hair care; CND nail polishes; Elizabeth Arden—Elizabeth Arden, Red Door, Halston, Elizabeth Taylor, Brittney Spears, Visible Difference, Prevage, Elizabeth Arden Ceramide.

New Products: Revlon—So Fierce! Mascara, So Fierce! Vinyl Eyeliner, Kiss Cushion lip tint, Ultra HD matte lipcolor, Super Lustrous lipstick, Balm Stain, Colorstay Overtime lipcolor, Kiss Exfoliating balm, Mega Multiplier and Volumazing mascaras, Colorstay eyeshadow primer, crème gel pencil, brow kit, brow mousse and brow tint, Colorstay Full Coverage foundation, Photoready Insta-Filter foundation, Youth FX Fill+Blur foundation, Colorstay Prep & Protect primer, Photoready Prep Set Refresh mist, Youth FX fill + blur primer for face/neck and forehead, Photoready Color Correcting pens, Youth FX fill + blur concealer, Photoready Highlighting palettes; Elizabeth Arden—Skin Illuminating Brightening Hydragel Cream, Ceramide Lift and Firm Day Cream, Prevage City Smart Skin Detox set, Statement Brow Gel, White Tea Eau de Toilette Spray; Almay—Make Them Jelly Hi-Lite, Palette Pops and Shadow Squad eyeshadow; Mitchum—Triple Odor Defense; CND-Boho Spirit nail color.

Comments: After taking over as president and CEO of Revlon in May 2018, Debra Perelman has been unable to stop the slide at the venerable cosmetics company. Last year, sales fell 4.8% and net losses jumped more than 60% to $294 million. Sales in North America dropped 5.5% to about $1.3 billion and International sales declined 4% to $1.2 billion. Worse, in a March filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Revlon said it needed more time to file its Q4 and full year 2018 audited results as it reviews the “effectiveness of internal control” over its financial reporting for the past year. A few days later, Revlon filed another report with the SEC explaining its reason for the delay. According to the company, it has found a “material weakness” in its financial reporting for last year “primarily related to the lack of design and maintenance of effective controls” resulting from its problems implementing a new enterprise US resource planning (ERP) system. Despite the problems, some analysts have praised the company’s digital and e-commerce initiatives, such as its collaboration with Sapient Razorfish to create a stronger digital presence.

In the first quarter of 2019, Revlon reported net sales of $553.2 million, a 1.3% decline from a year ago. Both the Revlon and Elizabeth Arden segments delivered strong net sales growth versus the prior-year period, but this was offset by declines in the portfolio and Fragrances segments. In fact, Revlon’s sales rose 11.7% to more than $247 million on higher net sales of Revlon color cosmetics and Revlon-branded professional and hair care products. Elizabeth Arden’s sales rose 9.5% to more than $111 million, driven by higher net sales of EA skin care products and Arden-branded fragrances. These gains were more than offset by a nearly 13% decline in portfolio sales, a drop blamed on lower sales of CND nail products and SinfulColors color cosmetics, which was partially offset by increased sales of American Crew grooming products and Mitchum AP deodorants. A 15.4% drop in fragrance sales was blamed on retail store closures.

Operating loss was $23.3 million in the first quarter of 2019, compared to a $61.7 million loss during the prior-year period, or a 62.2% improvement. The improvement in operating loss was driven by lower selling, general and administrative expenses, mainly attributed to lower overhead costs and planned lower brand support in the quarter to align marketing initiatives with in-store customer resets and new product launches, as well as lower acquisition and integration costs.

“We are very pleased with the continued momentum in our business during the first quarter of 2019 driven by strong growth in Revlon and Elizabeth Arden,” said Perelman. “We also remain encouraged by the positive consumer response to our first half 2019 new product introductions. Our strategic focus areas of e-commerce, Elizabeth Arden skincare, China and travel retail continued to perform exceedingly well, and as a result of improved operational performance, we achieved our third consecutive quarter of year-over-year Adjusted EBITDA growth.”

A class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of investors who purchased Revlon, Inc. securities between March 12, 2015 and March 28, 2019. The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the class period, the defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the company’s business, operations, and prospects, thereby injuring investors.