November 10, 2005
Cosmetics Company Based
on Branding a Vision
by Sandie Taylor
When Janet Gurwitch, CEO of Gurwitch Products, graduated from the
University of Alabama in 1974, she sent her resume to Foley’s,
hoping to get her first job at a department store. Instead, she
received a discouraging response.
“Foley’s sent me this letter,” Gurwitch said, displaying the note
for a room full of undergraduates at the Oct. 27 VIP Distinguished
Speaker Series lecture. It read: “We at Foley’s interview on eight
select college campuses, and the University of Alabama is not among
them. We thank you for your time and wish you the best of luck in
your future career.”
Disappointed, Gurwitch was ready to move on—but her father told her
to throw away the letter, fly to Houston and appear at Foley’s for
an interview. She heeded her father’s bold advice and got the job.
This position marked the start of an 18-year career at Foley’s. By
age 35, she was senior vice president of merchandising and
responsible for $350 million in sales.
“I keep that letter to remind me that throughout one’s career, there
will always be people who will doubt your strengths,” Gurwitch
explained. “Whether you are launching a cosmetics company or
applying for a new job, you must first believe you deserve the
position, you deserve the promotion or that your idea has
validity—and then persevere, persevere, persevere.”
In 1992, Gurwitch left Foley’s to become executive vice president at
Neiman Marcus, where she handled $1.5 million in sales. “I went from
planning Foley’s Red Apple Sales to the runways of Paris and Milan,”
she said.
Gurwitch was poised to become CEO of Neiman Marcus, but in 1995, she
resigned from one of retail’s top jobs to co-found her own cosmetics
company, Laura Mercier Cosmetics.
“Why would I leave this position that came with the accoutrements of
a rose-filled suite at the Ritz in Paris and my own Parisian
chauffeur for a middle seat in coach?” Gurwitch said. “I had an
idea.”
In the early 1990s, Gurwitch had noticed a major shift in the
cosmetics industry—traditional names such as Estee Lauder and Chanel
were being challenged by new lines like M.A.C. and Bobbi Brown.
Within a few short years, these start-ups were performing at
high-volume levels, and Gurwitch wanted to get in the game. She
asked editors from top fashion magazines to name the top five
make-up artists in the industry and chose Laura Mercier to be the
face of her new line.
Though she entered a mature industry, she still found room for
innovation. “Was there any shortage of mascara when I decided to
enter the makeup industry?” she asked. “No, we decided to market it
differently.”
She built her company around a clear vision she outlined from the
beginning: a highly credible make-up artist, superior quality
products and selling the products in an upscale market.
Today, the 350-employee company sells Laura Mercier Cosmetics in 22
countries, with projected wholesale revenues of more than $70
million and retail sales of $120 million. By 2008, Gurwitch aims to
achieve wholesale revenues of over $100 million, with product
diversification and global development.
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