Oakland, CA
www.elfbeauty.com

Sales: $318 million

It was a good year for e.l.f. Cosmetics. Net sales for the year ended March 31, 2021 increased 12% to more that $318 million, primarily driven by strength in e-commerce, international and national retailers.

“Our fiscal 2021 results demonstrate that our business model and competitive advantages are robust, as we strengthened our position in a challenging environment,” said Tarang Amin, e.l.f. Beauty’s chairman and chief executive officer. “Our fourth quarter net sales growth of 24% marked our ninth consecutive quarter of growth. For the year, e.l.f. Cosmetics was the only top 5 U.S. color cosmetics brand to post growth and gain share.”

“We’re pleased with our outstanding results and believe that we can continue our business momentum in fiscal 2022 as we advance our transformation to a multi-brand portfolio,” said Mandy Fields, e.l.f. Beauty’s chief financial officer. “We currently expect net sales growth of 8-10% in fiscal 2022—at the top end of our long-term economic model.”

For the three months ended March 31, 2021, net sales increased 24% to $92.7 million, primarily driven by strength in e-commerce, international, and the company’s national retailers.

The company hit it big this year with its new Keys Soulcare lifestyle beauty collection. Developed alongside celebrity musician Alicia Keys. The wellness-inspired products include skin care, body care, home fragrance and more.

“The initial idea was to create a skin care line,” commented Keys Soulcare president Kory Marchisotto. “But it soon became clear that Alicia’s vision had the power to transcend beauty, to create something deeper, and that is when we became divinely aligned around our vision to blaze a new trail in beauty with Alicia as our guiding light.”

In Spring 2021, e.l.f. launched a new channel on Twitch that champions female empowerment with a focus on female gamers.

Oakland, CA
www.elfbeauty.com
Sales: $282 million

e.l.f. Beauty reported favorable results for the 12 months ended March 31, 2020. Sales rose in all four quarters, culminating in a 16% increase in the fourth quarter versus prior year. The company’s gross margin rose 300-basis points, too.

Citing Nielsen, Tarang Amin, e.l.f. Beauty’s chairman and CEO, said that of the top five color cosmetics brands in the US, e.l.f. Cosmetics grew the most market share in fiscal 2020 with 4.8% of the market, up 50 basis points.

“Given our results and execution of our five strategic imperatives, we believe we are well positioned relative to the category to navigate the challenges posed by COVID-19,” he added. “Our mission to make the best of beauty accessible to every eye, lip and face is more important than ever. While the current environment is challenging, we believe our talented team, digital strength and core value proposition will enable us to continue to gain market share.”

Net sales increased 6%, primarily driven by increased productivity across retail and e-commerce channels, partially offset by the closing of all 22 e.l.f. retail stores in February 2019.

More recently, the company reported a significant decline in retail sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It anticipates its sales results to be negatively impacted until consumers return to normal shopping patterns.

Now more than ever, it’s critical for beauty businesses to connect with the consumer via social media, and e.l.f. Cosmetics works hard to meet these needs. The company hosted its fourth annual Beautyscape, a four-day event and competition to win a product collaboration with e.l.f. for 25 micro-influencers. e.l.f. says it hosts Beautyscape every year as a unique experience to nurture the next generation of digital beauty influencers by providing access to industry experts, new product innovations, networking experiences and opportunities to learn valued skills in the space. The winner would walk away with a product collaboration and a $10,000 cash prize. Also influencer-oriented is the Summer 2020 rollout of the e.l.f. Cosmetics x Jkissa cosmetics collection. Building on the success of their 2019 collaboration, animal-lover Jkissa and e.l.f. Cosmetics created a collection that they say celebrates color, positivity and “expressing who you are inwardly and outwardly.” Each piece of the e.l.f. x Jkissa collection is vegan, cruelty-free and affordable.

Oakland, CA
www.elfbeauty.com
Sales: $267 million

Sales: $267 million.

Last year was a challenging one for e.l.f. Beauty, admitted chairman and CEO Tarang Amin when the company released its most recent full-year results back in February. Sales fell 1% to $267 million.

“Despite this, we improved our overall margin profile and delivered strong operating cash flow,” added Amin. “We also made significant progress on initiatives that we believe will better position e.l.f. in the rapidly evolving mass beauty landscape.”

The company’s net sales decline of $2.5 million was primarily driven by declining trends at select national retailers and a $4.9 million decrease in sales to discount channel customers, but these impacts were mostly offset by increases in shelf space and distribution in new accounts.

To get back to growth, the company is closing its 22 stores (they contributed 5% of net sales in 2018). Shuttering shops will enable a reallocation of investment against the e.l.f. brand and prioritization of national retailer and digital channels, according to the company, which said it expects to incur one-time accounting charges associated with the closings of $23-25 million.

John Bailey, president and chief financial officer, stepped down from his role effective March 31, 2019. Mandy Fields has since been hired as senior vice president, chief financial officer.

Earlier this year, e.l.f. tapped seasoned beauty executive Kory Marchisotto as chief marketing officer. Marchisotto’s beauty experience spans a diverse portfolio of brands, business models and distribution channels. She joins e.l.f. from Shiseido Americas, where she served most recently as SVP, US marketing, for its Bare Minerals brand. Prior to Bare Minerals, she spent 16 years in Shiseido’s Beauty Prestige Group, supporting Shiseido’s growth through strategic brand portfolio management, new brand integration, and multi-channel business development. Marchisotto started her beauty career in marketing and sales at Puig and LVMH.