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Bare Escentuals sold more women in more places on the mineral makeup concept, resulting in yet another quarterly sales surge.
"We continue to make progress on our goal to selectively increase our brand presence," said chief executive officer Leslie Blodgett during the company's earnings call Wednesday evening.
She also acknowledged the growing crop of beauty competitors looking to cash in on the mineral trend carved out by Bare Escentuals. "We view it as a validation of our brand," Blodgett declared, adding that Bare Escentuals is the number-one mineral makeup brand in the U.S.
Nevertheless, to keep those competitors at bay, the San Francisco-based beauty brand - which is carried on QVC, in the company's 33 freestanding boutiques and at Sephora and Ulta - is broadening its retail distribution and pushing into new markets.
During the quarter, Bare Escentuals opened in one Macy's store, located near the company's headquarters; aired a test informercial in Japan, and rolled out to 16 Sephora stores in France, where it plans to expand to about 150 doors. "We are already the number-three cosmetics brand in the stores where we've opened," said Blodgett, referring to Sephora France.
Bare Escentuals' retail expansion fueled net income for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 to $16.3 million, or 18 cents a diluted share, from $4.8 million, or 7 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The period resulted in operating income of $36.6...