A Publication of WWD

Clear IntentionsBeauty companies are being pressured by consumers like never before to address

systemic racism and a long-standing lack of corporate diversity — or risk alienating them for good. For more, see pages 9 to 11. PLUS: What worked (and what didn’t)

at Cosmoprof’s first virtual fair and inside the kitchen with Nordstrom’s Gemma Lionello. ILLUSTRATION BY D'ARA NAZARYAN

ISSUE #15JUNE 12, 2020

Beauty Bulletin

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2

JUNE 12, 2020

THE BUZZ

¬ Of the five largest prestige beauty markets in Europe, Germany has shown the most resilience in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the NPD Group, sales declined 65 percent in Germany over the brick-and-mortar closure period (March 16 to April 19), and 23 percent overall from January to May of 2020. By contrast, France, Spain and Italy declined 88 percent, 87 percent, and 86 percent, respectively, during their closure periods.

Germany had the shortest store closure period of the five countries, and the drugstore channel in the country remained open. The NPD Group attributes the industry’s bounce-back to factors like the e-commerce channel, which took on over 60 percent of the sales and doubled its growth rate during closures, despite growing only 14 percent as of Week 11 (March 15).

Prior to the pandemic, German Selective Beauty hadn’t demonstrated growth or decline from 2019, the group said. Pre-

pandemic, skin care and makeup were on the downward slope, while categories like fragrance and hair care indicated growth. During the pandemic, skin care outperformed beauty overall, which NPD attributes to consumers’ propensities to at-home, DIY beauty and spa treatments.

In the weeks following Germany’s reopening, e-commerce is continuing to take a larger role in sales than before the pandemic, said the NPD Group’s, Samantha Grand, in a statement. “The main question is how much of the brick-and-mortar decline will be compensated by the online dynamism, and how resilient could the prestige beauty industry be towards the new prioritization of consumer spend,” she said. “The beauty industry will have to engage with consumers in more creative ways, involve new technologies, and find ways to make the shopping experience appealing and enjoyable during these changing times.” — J.M.

¬ Meiyume has developed a touchless product sampler for the post-coronavirus retail landscape.

To match consumer concerns over the hygiene of traditional testers, Meiyume has come up with a touchless way for clients to test products in-store as the brick-and-mortar channel reopens, the company said in a statement. Its new, no-contact sampler is motion-activated, and works with fragrances and liquid product.

The testers are one-size-fits-all, both in terms of product sizing and retail environments. They are adjustable to various packaging sizes, and Meiyume is also offering customized designs for retail or brand partners. The testers can be placed on pre-existing displays or sit on counters. It requires product off-the-shelf, and doesn't require any tester product to be manufactured separately. Retailers can power them with either AC power or battery packs. They are expected to roll out in retail environments over the next few months.

As retailers rethink their in-store

environments, Meiyume's touchless device joins the ranks of low-contact machines with single-dose sample packets, expected to be another pillar of the sanitation-focused brick-and-mortar experience.

The announcement of the innovation comes after stores across the U.S. reopen either for in-store or curbside services, including New York City's nonessential businesses, which reopened on June 8 as the region entered phase one of a broader reopening strategy. — James Manso

Meiyume Launches Touchless Retail Sampler

Prestige Beauty in Germany Gets Boost From E-commerce

A Douglas store in Frankfurt, Germany.

By the Numbers: Black-owned Beauty Brands Spate’s data shows the most-searched brands. BY JAMES MANSO

A HANDFUL OF Black-owned beauty brands are getting an increase in awareness and consumer interest. According to search data from Spate, viral efforts on social media to get the word out about Black-owned businesses, as a part of larger Black Lives Matter efforts, paid off for some. Oui the People, for example, saw search growth of more than 1,000 percent. Also on the list: Uoma Beauty, founded by Sharon Chuter who also launched the “Pull Up or Shut Up” campaign, pressuring corporations to release the number of Black people working for them. Here, the most-searched Black-owned beauty businesses, ranked by percent growth, week-over-week from May 23 to June 6.

1. oui the people +1150%

2. uoma beauty +925%

3. black girl sunscreen +733%

4. knc beauty +567%

5. blk and grn +400%

6. nyakio +335%

7. mented cosmetics +257%

8. beauty bakerie +244%

9. plant apothecary +233%

10. buttah skincare +212%

Source: Spate

Oui The People saw a search volume increase of over 1,000 percent.

MONCLER INKS DEAL WITH

INTERPARFUMS¬ From puffer jackets to perfume: Moncler has inked a deal witih Interparfums for the production of fragrances and related products. The first fragrance is scheduled to launch in early 2022; the agreement calls for products to retail in both Moncler’s own boutiques, as well as select department and specialty stores, plus travel retail. Moncler CEO Remo Ruffini said fragrance is consistent with the brand’s strategy to “further enrich the clients’ experience with the brand. Interparfums holds the license for Coach, Jimmy Choo, Montblanc, Kate Spade and Karl Lagerfeld, among others. — Luisa Zargani

Meiyume's new touchless

sampler works with off-the

-shelf product and does

not require tester units.

Backstage at Moncler Genius, fall 2020.

https://bit.ly/3ffUm84

4

JUNE 12, 2020

NEWS FEED

ENVISIONING THE beauty

industry in 2030 was supposed to

be the theme of the annual edition

of Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna

but a pandemic and three date

postponements later, the Italian

beauty trade show format had to

deal with a shorter-term forecast and

question what the cosmetics world

will look like after COVID-19 instead.

The coronavirus crisis permeated

every aspect of the WeCosmoprof

weeklong event that ended on June

10. The format represented a digital

alter ego of the physical trade show,

whose 53rd iteration was originally

slated to run March 12-16 in Bologna,

successively postponed to June and

September before eventually being

forgone.

Intended to ensure a continuity

of business relationships among

beauty operators, WeCosmoprof

attracted more than 40,000 users

from 100 countries who subscribed

to the show's web site to access to

information of more than 3,000

international exhibitors. Last year, the

physical event registered more than

265,000 visitors from 150 countries.

In particular, the format offered

companies and buyers a virtual

environment that facilitated networking

and negotiations, and provided

insightful content and discussions via

a packed schedule of webinars.

“The support of international

players hailing from the world

of design thinking and digital

innovation has been essential to

launch this initiative,” said Enrico

Zannini, general manager of the

show's organizer BolognaFiere

Cosmoprof. “The teamwork with key

players has represented a significant

change of perspective for us: we

don't work as a single institution

anymore, but as a leading group

integrated with international entities.

The market is demanding solutions

made by the whole industry, so to

meet these needs and offer growth

opportunities to our community,

the best way is to create synergies,”

he added, underscoring that the

format's reception was positive and

in line with his expectations.

The Cosmoprof My Match software

was at the core of the experience:

After filling out an extensive form

to indicate preferences and areas of

interest, users were able to access a

private section of the web site where

they could find companies matched to

their needs selected by an algorithm.

In this digital space, visitors could

also browse through the rich directory

of products, connect directly with

exhibitors via private messages and

schedule meetings in virtual rooms

for one-to-one presentations.

Exhibitors joining the digital

showcase ranged from established

players to emerging labels.

“We decided to participate because,

in this unprecedented moment in

history, investing our energy in digital

events is key to maintain visibility and

allows us to welcome new commercial

opportunities,” said Gianandrea

Ferrari, vice president EMEA strategic

marketing and account development

of Intercos Group.

“The pandemic has prompted many

companies in the beauty sector to

revise their marketing, communication

and sales strategies, taking maximum

advantage of digital channels. From

the very beginning of the pandemic,

Intercos Group launched and

implemented its own digital wave in

order to stay close to clients, creating

a promotional plan and a tailor-made

reorganization to support the business

in this crucial moment.”

He pointed to WeCosmoprof as

“an example that there are still many

opportunities and new forms of

interaction to explore even in the world

of cosmetics, where in-person meetings

have traditionally been essential” and

praising the platform as it “was well

done and facilitated interaction.”

Ferrari said the group is “already

planning to unite digital events —

which allow us to create new content

and opportunities — and in-person

experiences, which satisfy the need to

feel and hold the product. It is vital that

these two strategic realities live side-by-

side in order to truly satisfy the needs

of our clients, today more than ever.”

“We are convinced that the

traditional physical format, is more

productive, but we're also aware

these new ways of communicating

and developing the business will

be increasingly used to reach sales

goals,” echoed Valentina Dragoni,

marketing manager of cosmetics

packaging specialist Lumson.

The executive called WeCosmoprof

“an opportunity to communicate

outward, widen our client reach

and implement new contacts” and

praised its intuitive and easy-to-use

format. Yet she had concerns on the

event as “there have been very few

contacts, so it didn't resulted into a

real business opportunity.”

As Dragoni suggested to pivot the

platform toward a more business-to-

business approach and to implement

the “the opportunity to filter more

the contacts to avoid the ones too

generic or not akin for business

[purposes],” Zannini replied that

perfecting the match-making tool is

among the priorities for the future.

Brands joining a Cosmoprof event for

the first time had disparate feedback,

too. While the founder of the 001

Skincare London brand Ada Ooi valued

the experience positively as it enabled

her to connect with new customers and

retailers from outside the U.K., Mathieu

Marcoulides, chief executive officer of

Swiss skin-care label Virisens, pointed

out that “the functionalities of the tool

deserve to be refined to be faster and

more user-friendly.”

QVC Italy's senior beauty buyer

Silvia Gatti echoed the sentiment

acknowledging the organizer's efforts

but noting that the digital experience

needed to evolve in a more agile and

efficient way. “Searching new brands

and companies can be improved since

opening new conversations virtually

was very challenging,” she said.

Some buyers might not have

used the platform to finalize orders

but still found it instrumental for

scouting and networking purposes.

Mario Parteli and Luca Della Croce,

founders of Italian start-up Abiby that

offers beauty-box subscriptions and a

dedicated e-commerce, said the event

was helpful to lay the foundations of

future collaborations and to introduce

themselves to new brands.

The educational component was

the strongest asset of the digital

experiment. Supported by an app, the

schedule of more than 30 webinars

attracted between 200 to 500 users

per talk.

Overall, the discrepancy between the

business and educational axis showed

the event's increasing need of providing

informative moments beyond mere

trade opportunities to stay relevant and

upgrade its status in helping firms.

This dichotomy additionally

proved that the beauty industry

couldn't rely solely on digital — at

least not in the near future. The lack

of physical experience and product

testing influenced the WeCosmoprof's

assortment as well. For instance, the

absence of many fragrances companies

was tangible, while skin care was

among the most popular categories.

The increased number of sanitizing

hand gels and products also signaled

the impact of the virus on this edition.

The product directory,

conceived as a basic e-commerce

display, additionally highlighted

the importance of efficient

communication, visual assets and

packaging for a brand. With no

customized booth designs luring

buyers on the hunt for novelties,

companies that invested in

developing a strong visual identity

had an extra advantage.

Assessing The First Digital Beauty Trade Show The weeklong WeCosmoprof digital event centered on forecasting the impacts of COVID-19 on the industry. BY SANDRA SALIBIAN

5

JUNE 12, 2020

NEWS FEED

“BY THE GRACE OF GOD, the

salon was not touched,” said hair

colorist Jason Backe alongside his life

and business partner, hairstylist Ted

Gibson. The couple, married in the

summer of 2014, are the owners of

Starring by Ted Gibson in Los Angeles.

Though L.A. county had given

beauty salon owners the clearance

to resume business on May 29,

vandalisms and lootings in the city

began the very next day. “Saturday

night was pretty much the worst of

it in our neighborhood,” continued

Backe, whose salon is located on South

La Brea Avenue, by West 3rd Street.

The duo boarded up their

storefront and officially reopened on

June 3. Like many, they were eager to

get back to work, though they had a

leg up from most salon owners.

“We had no idea it would be a

COVID-19-safe concept,” Backe said.

It’s a “smart” salon with technology

(including voice-commanded lighting

and music) that distinguishes it from

others facing these unprecedented

times. By appointment-only, the

boutique business is cashless, and has

five chairs, each 8.5 feet apart, with

no front desks or assistants. In fact,

there are only two employees, and

when it comes to retail, merchandise

(like Gibson's own product, the $52

Shooting Star Texture Meringue)

can be purchased through a digital

booking platform, a partnership

with Amazon. The business, opened

last year, is their fourth salon after

previous endeavors in New York City,

Florida and Maryland in the outskirts

of Washington, D.C.

“We have had to modify our

booking time and salon schedule

[to allow fewer clients a day],”

Backe said. On the Wednesday they

reopened, the salon was at capacity

with six appointments. “While we

can still be profitable, a lot of people

won’t be able to do that, so I have

a lot of concern for my fellow salon

owners, and how they’re going to

pull through this.”

The duo fell on hard financial times

themselves during the coronavirus

pandemic. “We’re not big savers,”

Backe said. “When we had to close

the salon and Hollywood shut down,

and we couldn’t go to New York to do

clients, we literally had $2,000.”

They’re recovering, one client at a

time. They've raised the price of cuts

and color by 20 percent to meet the

higher cost of conducting business.

Gibson’s cuts, known to be on the

higher end, cost $2,400 (though the

starting price at the salon is $180),

while color by Backe is $500 for

every half hour.

“If a woman didn’t value her

hairdresser in January, in June she

definitely does,” Gibson joked. Along

with taking the necessary protocols

outlined by the state, all clients are

given a hot towel and hand sanitizer

as they enter the salon, he said, and

along with their masks, they're given

face shields to wear when hair is

shampooed and conditioned.

The industry knows Gibson as

one of the leading names in the

profession, from his work backstage

during fashion weeks to his long list

of Hollywood clients, Angelina Jolie,

Lupita Nyong'o, Anne Hathaway,

Priyanka Chopra and Jessica

Chastain, to name a few. He's also

made a number of TV appearances;

viewers may remember him best

from TLC’s “What Not to Wear.”

Still, Gibson has not garnered many

of the accolades of his peers and

spoke candidly about the challenges of

being a Black hairstylist in the fashion

and beauty industry. “I still have not

necessarily gotten the recognition from

the fashion or the beauty business that

I feel I deserve, and I know it’s because

I’m Black and because I’m gay,” he

said as the conversation turned to the

recent protests, sparked by the police

killing of George Floyd, in support of

Black Lives Matter.

“If I was white and had a French

accent, and I was 5’8’’ and blonde-

haired and blue-eyed and 160

pounds, it would have been different,”

continued the 54-year-old, who’s been

working in the industry for more than

two decades. “It would have been

different,” he repeated, with emotion.

“But I know I have to be better,

that I’ve always had to be better than

my white counterpart at the same

level as me because of the color of

my skin,” he went on. “I haven’t used

it as a crutch, if you will. I’ve used

it to my advantage. I knew that it

was important for me to have this

platform that I’ve created to be

able to show the next generation

of hairdressers that they can do

whatever it is they want to do in the

business. I think I’ve done that, but I

haven’t gotten the recognition that I

feel like I deserve. I haven’t.”

“Just as an example,” jumped in

Backe, “Ted has worked with the

most famous, beautiful, well-known,

respected women in the world but

never once has had an American

Vogue cover.”

Gibson agreed: “Vogue always

thought of me as a Black hairdresser.

I’ve done Anna Wintour’s hair. I’ve

done her hair several times, but they

only ever thought of me as a Black

hairdresser.”

Whether working with Jolie,

Hathaway or Chastain, “I never got

an option to do [those Vogue covers],

even if I had a relationship with the

actresses,” he shared. “They would

never hire me for the job. Meanwhile,

if Oprah or a Black woman would be

on the cover, what would happen is

a white hairdresser would do it. The

only one — and this is probably in

the last five or six years — if Beyoncé

would have a cover, Kim Kimble

would do it. And it’s because Beyoncé

would demand it.”

How can industries improve? “Stop

denying it,” he said. “It's the first part

of healing, in racism and segregation.

It does exist.”

Ted Gibson Speaks Out: ‘I Know It’s Because I’m Black…’ The hairstylist and his husband and business partner, Jason Backe, discuss racial injustice and the reopening of their "smart" salon, a "COVID-19-safe concept" that's arguably the beauty shop of the future. BY RYMA CHIKHOUNE

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Ted Gibson and Jason Backe at Starring by Ted Gibson on June 6, 2020.

6

JUNE 12, 2020

NEWS FEED

RICHELIEU DENNISFounder & chair, Essence Ventures; @richelieudennis

How Did You Build Your Brand?

I’ve established a few businesses,

but the brand that I built almost

30 years ago — one that has been a

consistent part of all my businesses

— is Community Commerce. I’ve

always fundamentally believed that

economic equity is a human right and

that businesses have a responsibility to

meaningfully invest in the communities

where they operate with more than

occasional philanthropic efforts or

donations, but with meaningful

economic opportunities and access.

As much as business in general

has tried to separate itself from the

societal ills that undermine equality

and justice, my family and I have

taken a different approach, one that

recognizes the role that business can

and should play in society and that

also uses business as a vehicle to create

sustainable economic opportunities in

and for underserved communities.

I developed Community Commerce

as the purpose-driven way of doing

business that guided our vision, strategy

and operations. It resulted in Sundial’s

ability to not only build a thriving

business, but to also create sustainable

community and economic development

through entrepreneurship, education

and commerce.

What's different now?

The goals of Community Commerce

remain the same, but what’s different

now is that the model is more

than a concept and an aspiration.

It is proven. I’m encouraged to

now introduce new industries and

companies to this approach, because

we have demonstrated its impact

over the course of years.

Our community is largely aware of

the impact we made via this approach

in the beauty industry, and the

expectation is that we will do the same

via our businesses now — helping to

open economic access, opportunity

and equity in Black communities. And

we will. That includes not only the

businesses we own, but those we’ve

invested in. Thirty years ago, we had

an idea. Today, we have a solution.

That is the difference.

What needs to come next?

More companies need to adopt

a Community Commerce approach

to maximizing their societal impact and

business performance.  The two are not

mutually exclusive.  The responsibility

of business in society does not conflict

with its responsibility to shareholders

and other stakeholders.  Never in this

generation has this issue been

more urgent.

The nation has a new awakening to

the inequalities suffered by Black people

in America that are rooted in years of

legislated, between-the-lines, corporate-

sanctioned, ignored and denied

affronts. These are not Black America’s

problems to solve — they are America’s

problems to solve, and that includes

its businesses. Any business that says

it can’t isn’t trying hard enough and

isn’t being truthful enough — and

Community Commerce proves it.

The Trailblazers Starting a successful company is a daunting challenge for anyone. For Black people, the hurdles are even greater. Here, Richelieu Dennis and Cashmere Nicole — leading founders in beauty — share how they built their companies — and the change that needs to happen moving forward so that more people can follow in their footsteps. BY JENNY B. FINE

Richelieu Dennis with Sundial's cofounders Nyema Tubman and Mary Dennis. Cashmere Nicole in the early days of her business.

CASHMERE NICOLE President, ceo and founder, Beauty Bakerie @beautybakeriemakeup

How did you build your brand?

I was just a girl with big dreams that

was also wildly in love with creating.

I built this brand in my downtime

brick by brick each day while

managing a full-time job and full-

time motherhood as a single parent.

It would be similar to playing a

game of Monopoly and going around

the board without instructions

unsure of where you're going and

where you'll end up, winning or

losing at each turn, but mostly losing.

What's different now?

I went from being an artist who

loved the idea of entrepreneurship

to being a ceo leading a team in a

matter of months.

There was so much I didn't know

or understand about myself that I

was forced to learn on that journey.

The artist in me felt that it was unfair

in some ways to be forced out of my

safe cocoon, yet the entrepreneur

in me was so ready and remains so

enthusiastic about the challenges

before me. I now have an amazing

community behind me and that

support is just powerfully surreal.

What challenges have you faced as

a Black entrepreneur that others

don’t have to contend with?

Seeing no other Black entrepreneurs

meant I had to come up with the

dream of my own volition. My white

professor was the one who informed

me that I’d have trouble getting calls

back for jobs due to my name, and I

often did. It took me months or years

at times to get calls.

Not having any income delayed

the dream. When it came to funding,

investors often assumed my brand

was only for Black people simply due

to the fact that I am Black. It gave me

the impression those investors weren’t

actually interested in what change my

brand could bring to the industry. This

made it difficult to get buy-in during

the times of tremendous growth and

opportunity; they couldn’t see beyond

my skin color.

I’ve had others assume that in

working alongside my brand that

they are superior to me due to their

skin color. Dealing with issues like

this in private is difficult. There’s no

best practice written for these types

of situations.  Also, when the brand

style or creative is copied by a larger

brand, it is very damaging to the

economic advancement of all of the

people who work for the brand and

rely on it for their income.

What needs to come next?

I think we all believed that the mere

presence of opportunities somehow

equaled fair access. That's hardly the

case. What needs to come next needs to

begin at the top, in the “heart” of who's

at the top. The top of anything, that is

— the top of the family, of the business,

of the communities, of the country. So

with that, I implore myself and others

to lead, not just in answering that

question, but making it actionable.

V I R T U A L C O N F E R E N C E

we nessJ U L Y 1 5

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CHRISTOPHER GAVIGANCEO & Founder PRIMA

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ASHLEY MILLS Co-CEO & Co-founder OBÉ

NINA MULLEN Co-CEO & Co-founder HILMA

MARK MULLETT Co-CEO & Co-founder OBÉ

ERIC RYAN Chief Growth Officer OLLY

TRINITY MOUZON WOFFORD CEO & Co-founder GOLDE

8

JUNE 12, 2020

WEEKLY ROUNDUP

MACY’S SEES A FEW

HOPEFUL SIGNS

¬ Macy’s stores reopening around the country are down 50

percent at the outset — but for chairman and chief executive officer

Jeff Gennette that is actually good news.Gennette told WWD

that stores were first anticipated to be

down 80 to 85 percent. “Business in the stores

is getting better — three to five points each week. At some point, they will be plateauing,” he said. “Customers love being

back in stores. They are happy to be out of

their houses and doing a familiar activity again.

There is optimism here.” As of June 1,

about 450 doors had reopened.

On Tuesday morning, Macy’s Inc. reported a loss of $652 million, or

$2.10 a share, for the first quarter ending May 2, compared to

profits of $137 million, or 44 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Net sales amounted

to $3.02 billion, a 45 percent decline.

But adding a dose of optimism, this week the retailer closed on

$4.5 billion in financing, to fund operations,

bring in fresh inventory, cover debt, resolve

payables and enable the department store to weather the pandemic.

— David Moin

¬ Customers have taken notice of how brands react to the killing of George Floyd, and plan to spend accordingly.

Dynata, worked with DeVries Global to gain insight over consumer sentiment, surveying 1,000 Americans online. More than half (58 percent) of Black Lives Matter supporters want to see brands “encourage people to vote”; 48 percent want them to look at their own company and diversify hires; 36

percent to make donations; 34 percent to share links/petitions, and 29 percent to reevaluate the diversity of product offerings.

Generation Z and Millennials often disagree with previous generations, but Black Lives Matter has created an almost unprecedented rift. Per the survey, younger consumers are 3.2 times more likely to suggest that the movement is going to change their purchase behaviors. — Lisa Lockwood

¬ In its most recent “SpendingPulse” report, Mastercard said retail sales were bolstered by an additional $53 billion in additional U.S. e-commerce sales in April and May.

Mastercard noted that consumer spending also “appears to be normalizing in a number of markets,” and said total retail sales in May “saw a marked improvement

from April (-5.6 percent ex-auto year over year compared with -14.1 percent, respectively) as states started the reopening process and stimulus funds continued to buoy consumer spending.”

In regard to e-commerce, Mastercard said online sales soared 92.7 percent in May, which the company said underscored “the broader shift to digital in how we work, live and shop.”

E-commerce has doubled in its share of total sales. “E-commerce in April and May made up 22 percent of all retail sales, up from 11 percent.” Mastercard said. — Arthur Zaczkiewicz

¬Simon Property Group has had second thoughts on its $3.6 billion on its

¬ Samira Nasr was named Bazaar’s new editor in chief — the first Black editor in chief in the history of the 153-year-old publication. She joins from Vanity Fair, where she has worked as executive fashion director since 2018.

Nasr is no stranger to Hearst Tower, having worked as Elle’s fashion director for five years. Prior to that, she was style director for InStyle and has also styled campaigns for fashion and beauty brands.

The appointment of Nasr,

will widely be viewed as a move to attract a younger audience to Bazaar.It also comes at a time when the police killing of George Floyd and subsequent nationwide protests have led many staffers to call out media companies for their record on diversity and treatment of people of color. Already, this has led to the ousting of Bon Appétit editor in chief Adam Rapoport and Refinery29 editor in chief Christene Barberich. — Kathryn Hopkins

Samira Nasr Leads Harper’s Bazaar

Consumers Respond To Brands’ BLM Efforts

Mastercard Sees Spending Growth

Simon Terminates Taubman Takeover

Protesters demonstrate against police brutality at the Governor's Residence, one week after George Floyd's death while under arrest, in St Paul, Minn.

Taubman Centers' Mall at Short HIlls in New Jersey.

The Latest From WWD Fashion.Finance.Media.Retail.

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deal to buy mall competitor Taubman Centers Inc., saying it “exercised its contractual rights to terminate” the deal.

To help make that stick, the company also filed suit in Michigan requesting a declaration that “Taubman has suffered a Material Adverse Event under the merger agreement and has breached the covenants in the merger agreement governing the operation of Taubman’s business.”

Simon based its move on two grounds and said, under the terms of the deal, it specifically has “the right to terminate the transaction in the event that a pandemic disproportionately hurt Taubman.” — Evan Clark

9

JUNE 12, 2020

DEEP DIVE

BEAUTY COMPANIES ARE

pulling up the curtain on the makeup

of their staff.

The move to make diversity

head counts transparent has been

a widespread response to beauty

veteran and Uoma Beauty founder

and chief executive officer Sharon

Chuter’s “Pull Up for Change”

campaign. The social media initiative

asks companies to reveal how many

Black employees they have and

further specify how many Black

employees hold leadership positions.

Major beauty businesses such as Estée

Lauder, Shiseido, Revlon, Tatcha and

Beautycounter have revealed their

numbers, many of which are in the

single digits at the c-suite level.

“Some of the numbers are

downright appalling considering the

changing face of the target consumer,”

said Ella Gorgla, cofounder of

25 Black Women in Beauty, a

professional organization for Black

women in the beauty industry.

While Black consumers comprise a

growing part of the U.S. population and

sizable amount of total beauty spend —

$473 million on hair, and $573 million

on personal care, per Nielsen — Black

employees are underrepresented in the

beauty industry, across all levels of the

business.

But it’s not just representation of

Black employees that’s a problem, said

Gorgla — it’s treatment, too.

In the fall of 2019, Gorgla left her

job as an executive director at the

Estée Lauder Cos. Inc. to start 25BWB

after sensing a deep inequity for Black

women working in the beauty industry,

she said. Gorgla is a mechanical

engineer by trade and has worked

across several industries, including

consulting and financial services. The

beauty industry, she said, proved the

most uncomfortable environment as a

Black executive she experienced.

“There is a ceiling for Black women,”

said Gorgla. “I know my credentials are

above par and I do excellent work, but

why am I in the same role for five-plus

years, not getting promoted? I don’t see

any Black people being promoted

around me.”

There is now an unprecedented

sense of urgency among beauty’s power

players, sparked by Chuter’s campaign,

to reverse the part they have played in

perpetuating systemic racism. Beyond

revealing employee statistics, some

companies have outlined additional

steps they plan to take — some of

which start now.

The Estée Lauder Cos. reported this

week that it and its brands collectively

have a 12 percent Black workforce. At

Lauder, 4 percent of Black employees

are executive director level and above,

with 14 percent of Black employees at

executive officer level. The company

sent an internal memo across U.S.

teams this week committing to hire

more Black employees over the next

five years. The business also said it

would increase sourcing from Black-

owned ingredients and packaging

suppliers, and donate $10 million — up

from its previously reported $1 million

— to causes such as the NAACP Legal

Defense and Educational Fund.

L’Oréal Paris has responded

to public backlash from Munroe

Bergdorf, the Black transgender

model who was fired by the company

in 2017 after speaking out publicly

about racism at a white supremacy

demonstration in Charlottesville, Va.

L’Oréal Paris announced this week

that it has added Bergdorf to the board of L’Oréal Paris U.K. �

Historically White Beauty Industry Promises To Diversify Workforce The disproportionately white beauty industry is actively looking to hire more Black employees. For some, it’s the first time. BY ALLISON COLLINS, ALEXA TIETJEN AND ELLEN THOMAS

ILLUSTRATION BY D'ARA NAZARYAN

“It has to happen top-down. There

has to be a conscious effort,

specifically for the Black community.”

-sharon chuter, uoma beauty

10

JUNE 12, 2020

DEEP DIVE

In an e-mail to L’Oréal USA’s 12,000

employees this week, president

and ceo Stéphane Rinderknech

and chief diversity officer Angela

Guy announced the formation of

a Diversity and Inclusion Advisory

board. The board will be made

up of members from inside and

outside of the organization. It will

be responsible for developing a

“comprehensive, company-wide

action plan on anti-racism,” according

to a spokesperson.

Some of those initial plans include

investing in “community-based

organizations, nonprofits, civic

and cultural institutions” and the

creation of a training program “to

support employees with information,

research, resources, professional

development and education on topics

such as unconscious and implicit

bias, cultural sensitivity and

anti-racism.”

While some beauty businesses

are already implementing changes,

the majority have not yet outlined

the steps they will take to increase

diversity and anti-racism.

But sources said beauty businesses

big and small are looking — some

for the first time — to diversify their

ranks across all levels by actively

recruiting and retaining Black

employees and executives. To do

that, it will take a commitment to

fostering young Black talent and

filling high-ranking roles with Black

executives, outreach to universities

and professional organizations and a

top-down shift in culture.

“It’s always been a part of the

conversation. Has it been treated

with the level of commitment? No,”

said Lisa Marie Ringus, executive

vice president at recruiting firm 24-7.

“You can definitely sense in some of

those responses [from large beauty

companies] the tone and the tenure

of how they’re responding — it’s

almost like the establishment has

been shaken.”

“I feel like this moment will force

systemic change,” agreed Gorgla. “It

won’t pass [for] the brands that are

hoping it will pass. Folks are going

to keep the foot on the gas until they

start seeing changes — seeing a Black

woman head a major beauty brand.”

Shella Abe, co-head and partner at

True Search, an executive search firm

that works with beauty companies,

said change is inevitable.

“I’ve never seen anything like this

before, never,” Abe said. “Change is

coming and it’s being implemented

whether you’re forced to do it or not.”

“It’s an open and productive

discussion — it’s not like ‘check-the-

box, I sent Shella and her team an

e-mail about hiring Black candidates,’

— it’s like, ‘we want to be part of

this change, teach us how we can go

about doing that,’” Abe said. “I have

one [client] saying, ‘In light of recent

events, this is something we’ve been

thinking about, we’d like to see more

Black candidates in the pool that

you’d present. I’ve never gotten that

request before.”

Starting this summer, True Search

will begin working exclusively

with a start-up that centers around

diverse executive hiring. Abe said

the business is still in stealth mode.

Diverse candidates will be invited

to the platform, and companies and

private equity firms with jobs can

upload them there.

Search firms don’t have a way to

tick a diversity box in their systems to

identify candidates because of reverse

discrimination laws, but recruiters

are finding other ways to make

sure they put forward more Black

candidates for beauty positions.

For their part, companies should

be having discussions on multiple

levels — actively considering Black

candidates for open roles, and

building out pipelines of Black

candidates, Abe said.

Partnering with professional

organizations like 25 Black Women

in Beauty and recruiting from

historically Black colleges and

universities are places to start,

experts said. But companies also

need to make meaningful anti-racism

change inside their organizations.

That includes bias training across the

board, especially in recruitment.

Companies need to do internal

trainings and partnering with outside

organizations, said Ringus.

“The quick response is like, OK we

have to partner with 25 Black Women

in Beauty, but doing that alone without

the internal training development

and evaluating recruitment and how

[companies] promote within has to

be coupled together, it can’t just be

one without the other,” Ringus said.

“There’s not an organization out there

that the partnership alone is going to

solve the problem. You still have the

hiring problem, the evaluation, vetting

of employees, the bias there is

in recruitment.”

On the culture side, Abe

recommends companies tap a

diversity and inclusion consultant to

help institute changes and cut out

biases in the hiring process.

“That person will help you put in

the right programs to build a culture

that’s very open, collaborative, that

isn’t hostile because it’s so systematic.

If the ceo isn’t wired that way, you

need the consultant coming in with

that expertise to help implement

that change,” Abe said. “If you don’t

create an environment where your

employees feel safe and motivated

that’s when you basically fail. It starts

with a lot of communication from the

top — a ton.”

Neal Semel, cofounder of Diversity

Matters, an Ohio-based diversity and

inclusion training consultancy, said

changing a company’s culture is often

“a slow build.”

“Messaging of ‘this is for you’ needs

to be consistent,” Semel said. “Right

now, the competition for qualified

minority candidates in every industry

is tremendous. We’re seeing people

aren’t as interested in salaries as they

are in all of the other things that

contribute to a nice life, like finding

other people to socialize with and

having an upward trajectory in a

career path.

“You’ve got to think on all levels

of what things are keeping folks out

of your industry,” Semel continued.

“Very often it’s, no one’s been there

before. Nobody wants to be the first

in the door. Once you have people

within the organization, it gets

a lot easier.”

Representation in the c-suite is

an important factor in changing

company culture, said Chuter.

“It’s easier for a Black person to

feel comfortable in an organization

where [there is] a Black executive

who understands my unique issues,”

said Chuter. “It has to happen top-

down. There has to be a conscious

effort, specifically for the Black

community. A lot of people are

not understanding that the Black

situation in America is unique. There

was no other race in America that

America had a civil war for.”

Ringus said employing a “forward-

thinking, inclusive leader” is

“paramount” to whether companies

can move forward.

“The shift that has to take place

from vetting and recruitment and

organizational design, there has to be

that empathetic leadership in place in

order to really support the long-term

opportunity for really changing the

fabric of what inclusion means for a

company,” said Ringus. “If you’re not

an empathetic leader of your people

[with] an authentic leadership style

and willingness to hear the thoughts

of your employees, there’s going to be

some challenges,” Ringus said.

Abe said that some change could

potentially be seen within the next

six months, especially given faster

recruiting processes due to the

coronavirus and Zoom meetings. But

for big change, Ringus said it would

probably take years. “This shift in the

systemic behavior of how companies

operate is a very long-term ongoing

commitment. There is no short fix

because this has gone on for such a

long time,” Ringus said.

Having a diverse talent base can

make for an easier workflow, too.

Lela Coffey, vice president, hair care

portfolio and multicultural beauty,

P&G North America, underscored the

importance of having an employee base

that reflects the consumer.

“We’ve got to be able to have

depth of diversity in the businesses

if we’re going to serve this diverse

consumer. That’s not only the people

that are marketing the product, I'm

talking about the people that are

designing the products,” Coffey said.

“For our multicultural hair portfolio

— [Pantene] Gold Series, My Black

Is Beautiful, [Head & Shoulders]

Royal Oils — the people who are

designing those products, the

scientists, the Ph.D.s behind those

are Black women with a multitude of

hair types. We don’t just look at the

diversity on the marketing team, but

all through the team — and diversity

of our agency partners.”

Outsourced talent is an equal part

of P&G’s overall approach to diversity.

The company makes an active effort

to ensure the creative agencies with

which it works are diverse, said

Coffey, vice president, hair care

portfolio and multicultural beauty,

P&G North America.

That involves “making sure

we’re using diverse people in front

of the cameras as well as behind

the cameras.”

“For my multicultural brands, we

are using agencies that are Black-

owned or Black-led to make sure we

are connecting with those partners

in the way that we should be and

making sure we’re sensing where the

consumer is going,” Coffey said.

Diversity is certainly needed in

the c-suite to drive change, but

change needs to happen beyond the

c-suite level, said Gorgla, adding

that creative and communication

departments across the industry are

severely lacking in Black talent. The

25BWB job board shows director, vice

president and senior level roles across

businesses including Coty, Revlon,

Ulta Beauty, Glossier, Amazon, Maesa,

Hatch Beauty and Versed.

“Functional groups are key,” said

Gorgla. “We need more writers, more

creative — it’s so odd for beauty,

with these forward-facing campaigns

[featuring Black women] to not have

Black people in marketing.” ■

1. The beauty industry is more aware of systemic racism than ever before, but sti l l lacks meaningful representation. 2. Depth of diversity, from the c-suite through to the entire organization, is needed to create a truly meaningful cultural transformation. 3. Short-term fixes won't be enough. Companies wil l need to commit to long-term solutions, and be held accountable if change doesn't continue to happen.

Key Takeaways

11

JUNE 12, 2020

DEEP DIVE

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SEVERAL WEEKS INTO peaceful

protests after the police killing of

George Floyd, some beauty companies

are starting to outline change, with

plans to hire more Black employees

and stock more Black-owned brands.

On Wednesday, Sephora became

the first major retailer to sign on

to Brother Vellies founder Aurora

James’ 15 Percent Pledge, which asks

major corporations to dedicate 15

percent of shelf space to majority

Black-owned businesses.

The business has committed to all

three stages of the pledge, including

taking stock of the current percentage

of shelf space and contracts dedicated

to Black-owned businesses, taking

ownership of findings, blind spots

and disparities, and identifying

concrete next steps, and taking action

to publish and execute a plan to grow

the share of Black-owned businesses

to at least 15 percent.

Sephora said it will also help connect

Black-owned brands to the venture

capital community and help launch

and develop Black-owned businesses.

Accelerate, Sephora's internal

incubation program dedicated to

female founders, will focus exclusively

on women of color next year.

“We were inspired to make the 15

Percent Pledge because we believe it’s

the right thing to do, for our clients,

our industry and for our community,”

said Artemis Patrick, executive vice

president and chief merchandising

officer at Sephora in a statement.

“Ultimately, this commitment

is about more than the prestige

products on our shelves, it starts with

a long-term plan diversifying our

supply chain and building a system

that creates a better platform for

Black-owned brands to grow, while

ensuring Black voices help shape our

industry. We recognize we can do

better and this pledge builds on our

ongoing work to use our resources

to drive meaningful and long-term

change for Sephora and our industry.

Some don’t see Sephora’s actions as

enough — beauty retailer The Brown

Beauty Co-op issued a statement

asking for Sephora to complete its

#PullUpforChange submission by

releasing the number of Black people

in senior positions at the company.

Sephora’s contribution gave figures for

the U.S., where 14 percent of workers

are Black or African American, and

for leadership in stores distribution

and warehouses, where 6 percent

of employees are Black or African

American, but didn’t disclose the

number of Black employees in

corporate senior leadership. The

Brown Beauty Co-op, a retailer

centered on women of color, also

asked for Sephora to address in-store

practices to ensure fair treatment of

Black and Brown shoppers.

Over at the Estée Lauder Cos.,

executives committed to hiring more

Black employees across all levels of the

business, aiming to reach parity with

the U.S. population within the next

five years. The company also upped

its donations to Black community

causes after employees complained

about Ronald Lauder, son of Estée

and member of the company's board,

donating $1.75 million to President

Donald Trump while the company had

only pledged $1 million to Black causes.

At L’Oréal, Black trans model

Munroe Bergdrof has been added to

the diversity and inclusion advisory

board of L’Oréal Paris UK after being

fired in 2017 after speaking out against

racism following a white supremacist

rally in Charlottesville, Va.

And at Shiseido, offices will be

closed to observe Juneteenth —

June 19, the date that marks the

anniversary of the emancipation

of millions of enslaved people in

America — this year and all years in

the future.“All U.S. employees will be

given this day off to reflect not only

on the current social movement and

the historical significance of the date,

but on what we can all do to educate

ourselves and initiate meaningful,

necessary conversations,” wrote

Shiseido Americas chief executive

officer Marc Rey in an internal memo.

Companies Take Action In addition to pledging to diversify their workforce, some companies committed to broader initiatives, too. BY ALLISON COLLINS

12 OF THE LARGEST BEAUTY MANUFACTURERS

"PULL UP"In the wake of the Black

Lives Matter protests following the killing of

George Floyd by Minneapolis police, Uoma Beauty

founder Sharon Chuter's created the "Pull Up or Shut Up" campaign, challenging

beauty companies to disclose the number of Black people employed

and in leadership positions. As of Tuesday afternoon,

12 of Beauty Inc's Top 100 manufacturers have participated, and almost 80 companies. Here, see the percentages of Black employees provided by

participants. For the full list, see WWD.com.

BY JAMES MANSO

“We were inspired to make the 15 Percent Pledge

because we believe it’s the

right thing to do, for our clients, our

industry and for our community.”

-artemis patrick, sephora

Inside Sephora on 34th Street.

l'oréal usa: 9% of employees;

7% of corporate employees,

8% of executives.

unilever usa: 8% of employees; 17% of leadership.

the estée lauder cos.

12% of employees; 3% of executive directors

and above; 14% of executive officers are Black people.

procter & gamble usa: 13% of senior management.

shiseido usa: 10% of employees;

5% of professional population, manager and above.

revlon usa: 27% of employees;

5% of directors (and above).

lush cosmetics north america:

"limited" employees; 0 leadership.

morphe: 3% of employees.

anastasia beverly hills:

6% of employees and leadership.

e.l.f.: 7% of employees; 14% of

executive leadership.

huda beauty: 13% of employees.

kylie cosmetics: 13% of employees; 0% of leadership.

I S S U E 0 6 . 2 2 / C LOS E 0 6 .16MATE RIALS 0 6 .18

This June, WWD will honor Pride Month with a special issue centered around the

LGBTQ community and the celebration of all human rights. WWD will delve deep into

the history of NYC Pride, the celebration’s global impact on the fashion, beauty and

retail communities and how COVID-19 is affecting this year’s festivities.

PRIDEC E L E B R A T E S

MONTH

OPPORTUNITIES INCLUDE:

CUSTOM WWD STUDIOS FEATURE

BRAND AD ALIGNMENT

SOCIAL MEDIA COVERAGE

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT STEPHANIE SIEGEL, VP, SALES & MARKETING AT SSIEGEL@WWD.COM

13

JUNE 12, 2020

EYE CANDY

In the Kitchen With Nordstrom’s Gemma LionelloLionello's next-level Sunday night dinners are inspired by her childhood outside of Naples. BY JENNY B. FINE

SAY YOU WERE SCROLLING on Gemma Lionello’s Instagram feed and you didn’t know that she is the executive vice president and general merchandise manager for accessories and beauty at Nordstrom — you wouldn’t be remiss in thinking you’d stumbled upon the social media presence of a top chef. The account, @glionello, is filled with mouthwatering pictures of pollo arrosto con patate and tagliata di filetto e arugula and Lionello’s personal favorite, her signature ragu.

Lionello grew up in Fratta Minore, a small town about

12 miles outside of Naples, and there is nothing she

relishes more than re-creating the food of her youth.

“My mother was a fantastic cook and I was always her

assistant,” said Lionello. “After she passed away and I

moved to the U.S., cooking made me feel close to her.

Food is love for us Italians.”

During the quarantine, Lionello has been making

Sunday feasts for her son and husband (who is on weekly

dish duty), cooking both old family recipes as well as

those she’s inspired by from her collection of cookbooks.

“I have so many,” she says. “I love leafing through them in

the morning and deciding on what I’m going to make that

day.” Her current favorites are The Silver Spoon’s “Naples

and the Amalfi Coast,” “Amalfi Coast Recipes” by Amanda

Tabberer and “Naples at Table” by Arthur Schwartz.

(Notice a theme here?)

But her go-to is her mother’s ragu. Lionello happily

shares the secret — add water — that gives the sauce

what she calls “a freshness rather than the density of

some sauces” and she makes it year-round. “As soon as

I make it, it brings me back to Italy and makes me think

of my childhood,” she said. “It’s not just good food, but

good memories.”

GEMMA LIONELLO’S SIGNATURE RAGU: Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion (very thinly sliced, and then chopped)

10 Italian sausages, preferably mild (or 1 lb. of ground beef)

1/2 cup red or white wine

1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste, (no seasoning)

2 (29 oz.) cans tomato sauce, (no seasoning)

7 ¼ cups water

1 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1) Put the oil in a large pan, add the onion and lightly sauté on medium heat.

2) Add the sausage and brown on both sides, being careful not to burn the onions.

3) Add the wine and cook with the sausage until most has evaporated.

4) Add the tomato paste and stir until it’s mixed with the sausage.

5) Add the tomato sauce.

6) Fill each empty tomato sauce can with water and add to the sauce.

7) Add salt and pepper.

8) Stir and bring to a soft boil, then bring to the lowest heat so that the sauce barely bubbles; simmer for at least three hours. Stir often. Cook until the sauce reaches a good consistency, not too thick and not too dark. This sauce is a great base for lasagne, chicken or eggplant armigiana, baked pasta, cannelloni, ravioli etc. I usually toss pasta with two tablespoons of butter or ricotta in addition to the sauce.