From its earliest days, the beauty industry has been a place where beauty has a way of shining.
As a global beauty empire, Revlon is a prime example.
But the beauty giant’s long-term survival is in doubt.
In an article published Tuesday, Fortune reported that Revlon, the largest beauty brand in the world, is in danger of being acquired by a global cosmetics giant, and that the two companies may be in talks about a merger.
In the article, Fortune’s Andrew Cunningham writes that a deal for Revlon could be in the works by 2017.
In addition to Revlon and the cosmetics giant De La Roche-Posay, Revlons owner, Chinese-American investor George Soros, has a stake in the company.
Revlon was founded in 1966, and the company is owned by the L’Oréal brand.
Revlones current product lineup includes lipsticks and skincare, a makeup line, a fragrance and a fragrance-free moisturizer.
A brand spokesman told Forbes that a sale of Revlon to the cosmetics company would not affect Revlon’s global reach or its presence in the beauty market.
“The cosmetics business has not been on our radar, but we would not rule out a potential sale to a global company in the future,” the spokesman said in an email.
The cosmetics giant has also been on the lookout for a buyer for Revlón since the end of 2017, and in a press release this month, the company said it was seeking a buyer.
“We believe that a global buyer will be able to enhance the company’s global brand and further its value proposition,” the release reads.
“As we continue to explore all possible potential buyers for our business, we remain focused on ensuring our business continues to grow.”
The news comes on the heels of the news that Revlone, the only beauty brand to make it to the top 50 of Fortune’s list of the 500 fastest-growing companies in the U.S., will have to raise $5 billion to stay afloat.
Revolones market value dropped 8% last year, as it struggled to stay relevant and retain customers, according to Forbes.
Revlos revenue is expected to fall 7% this year.
The company’s business, which it is in the process of expanding to include a range of products, was built on the back of its beauty brand, but it also benefited from the launch of Revlon’s first ever beauty product, Revolone’s Perfect Lipstick, in 2008.
“A lot of the beauty products we were selling were very low-end products,” said John McWilliams, who was a vice president at the company at the time and has since left to join the cosmetics firm L’Oreal.
“That’s how the industry was.
It wasn’t the best way to get consumers into the stores.
The beauty market was the one thing that made money for people.”
McWilliams said he believed the company would be in trouble once the cosmetics giants realized the value of their brands, especially Revlon.
“Revlon’s brand was very high-end,” he said.
“And we saw that the beauty brand was not making enough money.”
McWilliam said that, for many consumers, RevLons beauty was too expensive, but he didn’t see the company going bankrupt.
“It was just a matter of time before it got taken over by another company,” McWilliams told Forbes.
“They just couldn’t do it.”