Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Cosmetics |
Founded | 1999Washington, D.C. | , in
Founders | Barry J. Beck and Marla Malcolm Beck |
Headquarters | , United States |
Number of locations | 158 [1] (Q3 2022) |
Key people | Maly Bernstein (CEO) |
Brands | M-61, Lune+Aster |
Parent | Macy's Inc. |
Website | Official website |
Bluemercury is a chain of American beauty stores founded in 1999 by Marla Malcolm Beck and Barry J. Beck in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. The stores sell cosmetics, as well as in-store facials and spa treatments. In addition to selling products from other brands, the company developed its own M-61 skincare line in 2012 and Lune+Aster make-up line in 2015.
The company was acquired in 2015 by Macy's, which opened in-store Bluemercury shops in its department stores, as well as expanding the number of free-standing stores.
Bluemercury was founded in 1999 as an online shopping website for luxury cosmetics. [2] The co-founders Marla Malcolm (later Marla Malcolm Beck) became CEO and Barry J. Beck became COO. [3] [4] [5] However, luxury brands that Bluemercury courted were unsure whether they wanted to sell their goods on the internet, while consumers were not accustomed to buying cosmetics without trying them first. [6]
The couple found two struggling independent beauty boutiques in Georgetown and Dupont Circle called EFX, which they used to help fill their online orders. They bought and rebranded the stores "Bluemercury," converting them to their developing concept, a neighborhood store offering beauty products, personalized advice and samples. [7]
By 2006, Bluemercury was generating $17 million in annual revenue and operated 12 stores. [8] In June 2006, the Becks sold a stake in the company to the private-equity firm Invus Group. [8] [9]
In July 2021, Maly Bernstein was announced as new CEO effective September 2021. [10]
The Becks sold the company to Macy's Inc. for $210 million in 2015, while retaining their positions as CEO and COO. [7] [8] Macy's added Bluemercury stores, called "shop-in-shops", inside some of its own department stores; the first, three in California and one in Houston, were launched in 2016. [11] As of October 29, 2022, there are 20 Macy's locations that feature a Bluemercury store-within-store. [12]
Bluemercury stores are designed to be small, drugstore-like shops near residential and business areas. [13] Each store location has a spa and provides other services. [6] The stores' collection of brands includes SkinCeuticals, Nars, Bobbi Brown, and Laura Mercier, among others. [4] [14] [15]
In 2016, the company opened its 100th store, in Savannah, Georgia. At 2,400 square feet, it was their first entry into a larger store-size retail format. [16] In 2017, the company opened a 2,700 square-foot flagship store in Manhattan, its 145th store. [17]
Bluemercury opened its own cosmetics design laboratory, M-61 Laboratories, in 2006. [18] In 2015, the company launched Lune+Aster. The company's cosmetics are not tested on animals; are paraben-free and phthalate-free; and most are vitamin-infused, vegan, and gluten-free. [19]
Saks Fifth Avenue is an American luxury brand associated with Saks, a luxury ecommerce platform, and SFA stores, a chain of high-end department stores in North America. Founded by Andrew Saks, it is headquartered in New York City. The original Saks opened in the F Street shopping district of Washington, D.C. in 1867. Saks expanded into Manhattan with its Herald Square store in 1902 and flagship store on Fifth Avenue in 1924. The chain was acquired by Tennessee-based Proffitt's, Inc. in 1998, and Saks, Inc. was acquired by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in 2013.
Nordstrom, Inc. is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original Wallin & Nordstrom store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and a second Nordstrom's shoe store opened in 1923. The growing Nordstrom Best chain began selling clothing in 1963, and became the Nordstrom full-line retailer that presently exists by 1971. The company founded its off-price Nordstrom Rack division in 1973, and grew both full-line and off-price divisions throughout the United States in the following years. The full-line division competes with department stores including Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue, while the off-price division competes with retailers including the TJX Companies and Ross Stores. Previous expansions beyond the contiguous United States include Puerto Rico (2015–2020) and Canada (2014–2023).
Macy's, Inc. is an American holding company of department stores. Upon its establishment in 1929, Federated held ownership of the regional department store chains Abraham & Straus, Lazarus, Filene's, and Shillito's. Bloomingdale's joined Federated Department Stores the next year. Throughout its early history, frequent acquisitions and divestitures saw the company operate a number of nameplates. In 1994, Federated took over Macy's, the old department store chain originally founded in 1858 by American entrepreneur Rowland Hussey Macy. Despite Federated's long history of preserving regional nameplates, its acquisition of the May Department Stores Company in 2005 marked the end of those nameplates. By the following year, both the Macy's and Bloomingdale's brands had replaced them nationwide. Ultimately, Federated itself was renamed Macy's, Inc. in 2007, an acknowledgment of the old store's venerable name.
Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It has been a sister brand to the Bloomingdale's department store chain since being acquired by holding company Federated Department Stores in 1994, which renamed itself Macy's, Inc. in 2007. It is the largest department store company by retail sales in the United States as of 2015.
Toys "R" Us is an American toy, clothing, and baby product retailer owned by Tru Kids and various others. The company was founded in 1948; its first store was built in April 1948, with its headquarters located in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area.
The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. is an American multinational cosmetics company, a manufacturer and marketer of makeup, skincare, perfume, and hair care products, based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is the second largest cosmetics company in the world after L'Oréal. The company owns a diverse portfolio of brands, including La Mer, Jo Malone London, Clinique and Tom Ford Beauty, among many more, distributed internationally through both digital commerce and retail channels.
Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain founded in 1861 by Joseph Bloomingdale and Lyman Bloomingdale. It was acquired by Federated Department Stores in 1930, which acquired the Macy’s department store chain in 1994, when they became sister brands. Ultimately, Federated itself was renamed Macy’s, Inc. in 2007.
Harvey Nichols is a British luxury department store chain founded in 1831, at its flagship store in Knightsbridge, London. It sells designer fashion collections for men and women, fashion accessories, beauty products, fine wines and luxury foods. It is owned by Hong Kong luxury goods company Dickson Concepts. The chain has 14 locations worldwide across Hong Kong, Ireland, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom, including a Beauty Bazaar in Liverpool and a brasserie in the OXO Tower, London.
Lenox Square is a shopping mall in the Buckhead district of Atlanta, Georgia. With 198 tenants and 1,558,678 square feet (144,805.9 m2) of gross leasable area, it is the third-largest mall in Georgia. The mall is currently owned and managed by Simon Property Group, and is considered a sister mall to the adjacent, Simon-owned Phipps Plaza. The mall features Macy's, Bloomingdale's, and Neiman Marcus.
Sephora is a French multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products, offering nearly 340 brands alongside its own private label, the Sephora Collection. Its product range includes cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, nail color, beauty tools, body products, and hair care items.
Barneys New York is an American department store chain founded in 1923 by Barney Pressman. The company operated full-line department stores in the United States from 1923 until 2020. Authentic Brands Group acquired Barneys' intellectual property in 2019, and has licensed the brand to Saks Fifth Avenue for specialty departments within its flagship stores since 2021.
Belk, Inc. is an American department store chain founded in 1888 by William Henry Belk in Monroe, North Carolina, with nearly 300 locations in 16 states. Belk stores and Belk.com offer apparel, shoes, accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, and a wedding registry.
Filene's is an American department store chain; it was founded by William Filene in 1881. The success of the original full-line store in Boston, Massachusetts, was supplemented by the foundation of its off-price sister store Filene's Basement in 1908. Filene's, in partnership with Abraham & Straus, Lazarus, and Shillito's, was an original member of the holding company Federated Department Stores upon its establishment in 1929.
L. S. Ayres and Company was a department store based in Indianapolis, Indiana, and founded in 1872 by Lyman S. Ayres. Over the years its Indianapolis flagship store, which opened in 1905 and was later enlarged, became known for its women's fashions, the Tea Room, holiday events and displays, and the basement budget store. As urban populations shifted to the suburbs, Ayres established branch stores in new shopping centers in several Indiana cities. Ayres also acquired retail subsidiaries in Springfield, Illinois; Fort Wayne, Indiana; and Louisville, Kentucky. Ayr-Way, the Ayres discount store subsidiary, became the first discount store launched by a full-line department store. By the end of the 1960s Ayres had become a diversified merchandising business with retail department stores, a chain of discount stores, specialty clothing stores, a home furnishings showroom, and a real estate holding company. A long-time Ayres slogan, "That Ayres Look", promoted the company as a fashion leader, and by 1972 it had become the oldest continuous retail slogan in the United States.
Terrence James Lundgren is an American business executive who retired on January 31, 2018, as executive chairman of Macy's, Inc. the parent company of fashion retailers Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury. He had served for 14 years as chairman and chief executive officer of Macy's, Inc., becoming the company's executive chairman in 2017. He was named an executive in residence at Columbia Business School in 2017.
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Aritzia LP is a Canadian clothing retailer targeted towards young North American women. The company was founded in Vancouver, British Columbia, by businessman Brian Hill in 1984. Aritzia sells a variety of lifestyle apparel through various upscale retail stores across Canada and the United States and online. Aritzia describes itself as "everyday luxury" brand at attainable prices.
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Marla Malcolm Beck is an entrepreneur based in the United States. She co-founded the beauty company Bluemercury in Washington, D.C. alongside her husband, Barry J. Beck in 1999. Bluemercury was acquired by Macy's in 2015. Beck retained her position as CEO until 2021.