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business Friday 17 June 2022
Revlon, beauty icon in crowded market, files for bankruptcy

By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO the business through a
AP Retail Writer hostile takeover in the late
NEW YORK (AP) — Revlon, 1980s. Revlon went public
a cosmetics maker that in 1996.
broke racial barriers and Perelman said that de-
dictated beauty trends for mand for its products re-
much of the last century, main strong, but its "chal-
has filed for Chapter 11 lenging capital structure"
bankruptcy protection. offered limited ability to
The company has been a navigate.
mainstay on store shelves During its heyday in the
since its founding 90 years 20th century, Revlon trailed
ago in New York City as it only Avon in sales. It now
oversaw a stable of house- holds the 22nd spot among
hold names, from Almay to cosmetics makers, accord-
Elizabeth Arden. ing to a recent ranking by
Revlon failed to keep pace fashion trade journal WWD.
with changing tastes, how- Revlon became the first
ever, slow to follow women beauty company to fea-
as they traded flashy red ture a Black model in 1970,
lipstick for more muted Naomi Sims. In the 1980s,
tones in the 1990s. the company energized
In addition to losing mar- the cosmetics industry
ket share to big rivals like by putting both famous
Procter & Gamble, new- Revlon CEO Debra Perelman, the company's first woman CEO in its 89-year-old history, show and yet-to-be-discovered
comer cosmetic lines from products during an interview, Wednesday Aug. 18, 2021, in New York. models like Iman, Claudia
Kylie Jenner and other ce- Associated Press Schiffer, Cindy Crawford
lebrities successfully capi- and Christy Turlington front
talized on the massive so- recent reporting year with holders to extend its matur- day operations running. and center, promising to
cial media following of the vaccines widespread. ing debt. "Today's filing will allow make all women "unforget-
famous faces that fronted In the latest quarter that There may be more cor- Revlon to offer our con- table."
the products. ended in March, sales rose porate restructurings in the sumers the iconic products Perelman, in an interview
Already weighed down by nearly 8%, but still lag pre- consumer products sector we have delivered for de- with The Associated Press
rising debt, Revlon's prob- pandemic levels in excess ahead with the threat of an cades, while providing a late last year before glob-
lems only intensified with of $2.4 billion a year. economic recession and clearer path for our future al supply chains locked
the pandemic as lipstick The global supply chain the rising costs of borrowing growth," said Debra Perel- up, said she was optimistic
gave way to a new era in disruptions that are hob- money. man, who was named Rev- about the future. The com-
fashion, this one featuring bling hundreds of interna- Revlon said Thursday that lon president and CEO in pany doubled-down dur-
medical-grade masks. tional companies in recent upon court approval, it 2018. ing the pandemic to get
Sales dropped 21% in 2020, months were too much for expects to receive $575 Her father, billionaire Ron more online with services
the first year of the pan- Revlon, which barely es- million in financing from its Perelman, backs the com- like one-on-one virtual con-
demic, though those sales caped bankruptcy in late existing lenders, which will pany through MacAndrews sultations through its Eliza-
rebounded 9.2% in its most 2020 by persuading bond- allow it to keep its day-to- & Forbes, which acquired beth Arden line, she said.q

Court: Amazon customers can sue over lack of toxic warnings

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — ant knowingly allowed skin- vent suspicious or non-
The California Supreme lightening creams to be compliant products from
Court has left intact a ruling sold on its website for years being listed and we moni-
that allows customers to despite being aware of tor the products sold in our
sue Amazon.com for failing concerns about toxic mer- stores for product safety
to warn buyers that some cury levels in such creams. concerns," the statement
products it sells may con- Mercury can harm preg- said.
tain hazardous substances nant women and their fe- The Supreme Court's action
such as mercury. tuses. The suit alleged that allows the previous court
The court in its decision some of the products pro- ruling to be used as prec-
Wednesday denied a re- duced by third parties but edent in state courts.
quest by Amazon's lawyers sold on Amazon contained However, California has
to review a lower court rul- mercury levels that were such a large market share
ing that said Amazon vio- thousands of times the U.S. that any actions Ama-
lated the state's Proposition federal legal limit. zon takes to comply with In this Oct. 23, 2018, file photo, an Amazon logo is seen atop the
Amazon Treasure Truck The Park DTLA office complex in down-
65, which requires com- Amazon said in a state- Proposition 65 could have town Los Angeles.
panies to warn consumers ment Thursday that safety is a much wider impact on Associated Press
about products they make a top priority and that the consumers, said Rachel
or sell that contain chemi- products in question have Doughty, a plaintiff's attor- measures to ensure that a 2019 by a judge who found
cals known to cause can- long since been removed. ney in the suit. warning is provided ... so Amazon was protected
cer, reproductive harm or "We require that all prod- "That could look like remov- consumers can take steps by a section of the federal
birth defects. ucts comply with applica- al of products containing to avoid exposure to such Communications Decency
The case involved a lawsuit ble laws and regulations, carcinogens or reproduc- chemicals," Doughty said in Act that shields websites
filed in Alameda County and we have proactive tive toxins from Amazon's an email. from liability for content
that said the online retail gi- measures in place to pre- site, or Amazon taking The lawsuit was dismissed in posted by other parties.q