Business Wire

NY-WELLA

Share
Wella Company Celebrates Its First Year as an Independent Company by Exceeding Growth Targets, Introducing Breakthrough Innovation and Broadening Leadership Capabilities

Wella Company, a global leader in the $100 billion beauty industry, today celebrates its one-year anniversary as a stand-alone company. Wella Company has a top professional and retail hair, beauty tech and nail portfolio of iconic brands including Wella Professionals, Clairol, OPI, Nioxin, Sebastian Professional and ghd. The Company, founded in Germany in 1880, returned to independent operating status on December 1, 2020, led by global investment firm Kohlberg Kravis and Roberts (“KKR”) investing a majority-equity stake, which they have twice increased over the past year.

Wella Company emerged in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, during which almost the entire professional salon industry – the company’s core customer base – was in lockdown. Despite this challenging global environment, the company set its growth strategy, focused on building the operating foundation for stand-alone success, and hired nearly 1,100 people across the globe, including a roster of top beauty, retail and Consumer Packaged Goods leaders on its executive team.

“In our company’s first year, our team has much to be proud of. We achieved independent status at a difficult time for the beauty industry and have posted strong revenue growth compared against both 2020 and 2019. Our fiscal year, which began on July 1st , has started strong. Our overall business is very healthy, and our financial performance is over-delivering against our annual targets across every business and every geography,” said Annie Young-Scrivner, CEO of Wella Company. “We are poised for growth across the globe. We remain focused on delighting customers and consumers with differentiated product innovations, and we will continue to expand across channels and geographies as we unlock the potential of our brands.”

Product Performance and Innovation

Wella Company has a robust product innovation pipeline which is already producing results in this first year.

Highlights from our Wella Professionals flagship umbrella brand, include:

  1. True Grey , for consumers who embrace their greys, signed up 10 salons every hour in the first two months across the EMEA region.
  2. Koleston Perfect , the world’s best-selling permanent professional hair color, has reached a new benchmark – one tube is purchased every second globally.
  3. Wella Professional Hair Care line sales continue to deliver strong double-digit growth worldwide.

The two biggest brands in the company’s retail hair portfolio, Clairol and Wella, have benefited from reinvestment and brand overhaul. Clairol is now posting strong share gains over seven consecutive months. On the Wella Retail front, the brand delivered a record market share of 24 percent in Mexico and currently holds the No.1 market position in the Middle East and is also the No. 1 premium brand in Brazil.

OPI , Los Angeles-based leading nail brand known for its memorable shade names, launched its first natural-origin vegan nail lacquer, Nature Strong, in over 20 markets this summer. Nature Strong has performed even better than anticipated, helping the portfolio grow double digits.

Throughout 2021, Nioxin grew net revenue double-digits over 2020, as more consumers focused on in-home self-care and treatments, including for scalp care and hair loss, during the pandemic.

London-based ghd (good hair day) is redefining beauty tech. ghd leveraged its proprietary hair technology to launch Unplugged, a cordless styler that is coveted across the globe. Their consistent double-digit growth increased as they launched into the China market, selling 2,500 stylers in five minutes.

Industry Commitment

Supporting the salon industry artists to stay ahead of trends and hone their craft and skill sets is part of Wella Company’s DNA. Throughout the last year, Wella Company offered hundreds of online education classes to inspire and train stylists. In April, when most of the world was still in lockdown, the Company produced its first global virtual event “WeCreate,” convening industry-leading stylists and educators to tap new skills and rediscover their passion for the craft to enable successfully reopening their salons after lockdown. WeCreate reached more than 100 thousand beauty professionals across 100 countries, and the company donated the course fee to give back to the industry – an investment worth approximately $30 million.

“We are privileged to support the salon industry and believe in the power of lifting up the stylists and technicians who make it so unique,” said Young-Scrivner. “These small business owners are the backbone of their communities. We believe that when the industry succeeds, we do too. Our support for beauty salon owners across the globe is just one way we are building a purpose-led business.”

Leadership

Wella Company’s leadership team includes executives from across Europe, Asia, Brazil and the U.S. and nearly half are women. The company continues to invest in top talent. The most recent appointments made in November extend the global beauty industry capability of the management team:

Yannis Rodocanachi , who has been appointed President, Americas. Yannis brings extensive global beauty experience, having worked with both blue-chip consumer products companies and in high growth private equity-backed hair and beauty startups. He spent nearly 20 years at L’Oréal, expanding hair and beauty portfolios globally, and worked across sales, marketing and general management in Europe, Asia and the U.S. For the last two years, he has been CEO of LA-based BH Cosmetics, where he led the Gen Z-targeted company’s transformation to a diverse, equitable, and sustainable business, while scaling for growth in direct-to-consumer.

Emmanuel Marin , who has joined in the newly created role of Chief Global Technology Officer, a move integrating and accelerating the company’s digital and technology ambitions under one organization. Marin brings extensive beauty, CPG, media and healthcare experience, and has served in multiple leadership roles including CIO, CTO and CDO, leveraging and monetizing data and technology to drive growth. He spent more than 16 years with L’Oréal in digital and technology leadership roles. Prior he served as Chief Technology and Digital Officer for Mondelez International, News Corp. and most recently International SOS.

The Company’s management team also includes the additions of Global Chief Financial Officer Virginie Costa; Global Chief People Officer Gretchen Koback Pursel; and President of Global Brands and Global Chief Marketing Officer Hugh Dineen, who all joined in August. Costa is one of only seven female global CFOs among the top 25 beauty companies.

Wella Company now has more than 6,000 employees across more than 100 countries. Currently, 57 percent of Wella’s employees globally are women and 45 percent of the women at Wella are at the Director level and above. Since December 1, 2020, nearly 70 percent of new hires have been women and about 60 percent of the total promotions at the company have been earned by women.

“We are an industry built on the backbone of women – salon colorists, stylists, nail technicians. In fact, nearly 90 percent of the professional salon industry in the US and UK are comprised of women – but a negligible number are owners of the businesses,” noted Young-Scrivner. “We want to support the success of the industry overall and believe that means doing our part to support women in this industry.”

About Wella Company

Wella Company is one of the world’s leading beauty companies, comprised of a family of iconic brands including Wella Professionals, Clairol, OPI, Nioxin, Sebastian Professional and ghd. At Wella Company, we are innovators who seek to inspire consumers and beauty professionals through our brands to look, feel, and be their true selves. We are committed to building the best beauty company in the industry where our 6,000+ employees across more than 100 countries can bring their best selves to work. Guided by our company values and led by purpose to deliver positive impact on people, through our products and towards our planet and society, we deliver sustainable growth to all stakeholders. For more information on Wella Company, visit www.wellacompany.com and follow us on LinkedIn , Instagram and Facebook .

About Business Wire

Business Wire
Business Wire
101 California Street, 20th Floor
CA 94111 San Francisco

http://businesswire.com

Subscribe to releases from Business Wire

Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Latest releases from Business Wire

Frontline International Names Zack Palazzo Vice President of Sales and Finance26.8.2025 20:14:00 CEST | Press release

Frontline International, a leading maker of smart solutions for management of fats, oils, and grease in restaurants and commercial kitchens, has promoted Zack Palazzo to vice president of sales and finance. Palazzo has been with the company for more than a decade, previously serving as director of sales and finance. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250826298027/en/ Zack Palazzo, Vice President of Sales and Finance A Purdue University graduate with a degree in industrial technology, he earned his MBA from Kent State University. In his new role, Palazzo will continue to lead sales efforts while taking on increased responsibility for the company’s financial health. He will focus on driving business growth, supporting customers, and developing strategies for long-term success. Palazzo has deep experience overseeing a range of initiatives focused on developing Frontline’s customer base, growing sales, and enhancing

Rigaku Launches Sales of the XHEMIS TX-3000, a TXRF Analytical System for Leading-edge Semiconductor Processes26.8.2025 16:00:00 CEST | Press release

Rigaku’s market dominance in TXRF technology powers up to 6× acceleration in analytical performance Rigaku Corporation, a global solution partner in X-ray analytical systems and a Group company of Rigaku Holdings Corporation (headquarters: Akishima, Tokyo; CEO: Jun Kawakami; hereinafter “Rigaku”) has launched sales of the XHEMIS (pronounced “ZEM-mis”) TX-3000, a total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) system that supports analysis of trace contamination on wafer surfaces in semiconductor manufacturing. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250826707850/en/ Measurement result of surface contaminant distribution Rigaku protects the quality with TXRF technology, a field where it holds overwhelming market share Analysis of trace contaminants on wafer surfaces is vital to semiconductor manufacturing. As production steps become increasingly detailed and quality standards grow ever more stringent, this process plays a s

Afton Chemical Launches HiTEC® 65522 Gasoline Performance Additive Series Approved for TOP TIER+™ Gasoline26.8.2025 15:16:00 CEST | Press release

Afton Chemical Corporation, global leader in Gasoline Performance Additives (GPA), is proud to announce the launch of its HiTEC® 65522 GPA series, now approved for use in TOP TIER+™ gasoline. This innovative additive series is designed to meet the evolving needs of modern engine technology, particularly Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) engines, which are now utilized in 74% of new vehicles in North America, according to the U.S. EPA recent automotive trends report. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250819002273/en/ Afton Chemical Headquarters, Richmond, VA USA Twenty years ago, a group of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) established the voluntary TOP TIER™ standard to enhance fuel detergency and optimize engine performance. Recognizing the advancements in engine technology and the need for updated standards, these OEMs have introduced the revised TOP TIER+™ standard. This new standard includes additional r

MariaDB Accelerates Cloud Deployments, Adds Agentic AI and Serverless Capability with Acquisition of SkySQL26.8.2025 15:00:00 CEST | Press release

Move delivers flexible cloud and hybrid solutions for AI-driven workloads MariaDB plc today announced it has acquired SkySQL Inc., the company behind an AI-powered, serverless database-as-a-service (DBaaS) platform. The acquisition brings SkySQL’s established DBaaS product back into the MariaDB portfolio. SkySQL was originally developed by MariaDB and, since being spun off as an independent entity in 2023, has significantly advanced its product offering. The acquisition of SkySQL enables MariaDB to meet customer and market expectations for greater flexibility and deployment choice, including a range of self-managed and fully managed cloud offerings. MariaDB Cloud will encompass the SkySQL capability and form a key part of the product portfolio. “Our customers have made it clear that they want flexibility, and they need powerful, reliable database solutions wherever their business takes them – on premises, in the cloud or in hybrid environments,” said Rohit de Souza, CEO, MariaDB plc. “

Chicago Atlantic Provides Term Loan to a High Performance Antenna Designer & Manufacturer26.8.2025 15:00:00 CEST | Press release

Chicago Atlantic announced its role as sole arranger and administrative agent in the funding of a senior secured term loan for TrueRC Canada Inc. (“TrueRC”). Founded by Hugo Chamberland in 2014, TrueRC is at the forefront of drone antenna design and manufacturing. “TrueRC’s reputation has been built on delivering high-quality products for both hobbyists and commercial applications alike. From drone racing enthusiasts to professional UAV operators, their antennas have become the trusted standard for performance, durability, and reliability,” said David Enright, Partner & Head of Direct Lending at Chicago Atlantic. “The Company’s commitment to innovation and quality has earned them a loyal global following, and we’re proud to partner with TrueRC as they enter their next phase of growth.” TrueRC specializes in high-performance antennas and related devices for the drone and FPV (First Person View) markets and continues to set the standard for innovation and reliability in the industry. Ope

In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.

Visit our pressroom
World GlobeA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye