Beautycounter founder Gregg Renfrew is buying her brand back from foreclosure, she said Thursday.
In a statement, Beautycounter said due to various circumstances, the business’ holding company, Counter Brands LLC, is winding down and Renfrew, founder and chief executive officer, is creating a new entity and has entered into a separate transaction to buy the business.
As part of the changes, the company cut jobs Wednesday, but as of now, it is not know how many staffers were impacted. Its two freestanding stores in New York and Denver will close as it evaluates its retail strategy, but its seasonal store on Nantucket will remain.
Renfrew was an early pioneer in the clean beauty space when she launched Beautycounter, creating the first of its kind “Never List,” with more than 2,800 questionable or harmful ingredients that the brand does not use in the company’s product formulations.
It initially launched as a direct-to-consumer business, expanding to a salesforce of 65,000 direct sellers, and subsequently entered retail distribution, most recently with Ulta Beauty. As of January, it was in around 550 Ulta Beauty doors.
In 2021, Renfrew sold a majority stake in the brand to private equity firm The Carlyle Group in a transaction that valued the business at $1 billion. In January 2022, industry veteran Marc Rey was brought in as CEO, but he departed a year later. Renfrew returned as CEO in January 2024.
The Carlyle Group has been public about its change in strategy away from U.S. consumer, media and retail companies since late 2023, instead focusing on technology and financial services.
It’s not know what is happening with its investment in Every Man Jack.
Source: WWD