NY-WELLA
1.12.2021 12:02:06 CET | Business Wire | Press release
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:
- True Grey , for consumers who embrace their greys, signed up 10 salons every hour in the first two months across the EMEA region.
- Koleston Perfect , the world’s best-selling permanent professional hair color, has reached a new benchmark – one tube is purchased every second globally.
- 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 .
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211201005310/en/
About Business Wire
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
Beacon Acquires Haize Labs to Power AI for the Real Economy17.9.2026 16:30:00 CEST | Press release
Haize Labs leadership will anchor Beacon’s new applied AI research group, accelerating the deployment of AI across the essential businesses Beacon owns Beacon Software (Beacon), the first centralized AI holding company, today announced that it has acquired Haize Labs, an AI reliability company that tests and safeguards AI agents for real-world deployment. The Haize Labs team will join Beacon to form its Applied AI Research Group, with co-founder and CEO Leonard Tang joining as VP of AI Research to lead the AI operating system that is deployed across Beacon’s companies. Beacon believes that the fastest way to bring AI to the traditional economy is through the software businesses that essential industries already use and trust, equipping them with AI infrastructure. Beacon acquires these businesses for long-term growth and connects them to a centralized AI operating system that compounds with each additional acquisition and industry. The addition of the Haize Labs team will strengthen th
TIMELAB Develops OEM/ODM Hair Straightener Reaching 200°C at All Three Measured Points in 15 Seconds17.9.2026 16:00:00 CEST | Press release
Testing at 230 V with a 260°C setting confirmed at least 200°C after 15 seconds at all three measured plate locations (front, center and rear), not just a single point. TIMELAB Co., Ltd., a Japanese beauty-appliance OEM/ODM provider, has developed a hair straightener for OEM/ODM customization for international hair care brands and professional markets. In testing at 230 V with a 260°C setting, all three measured plate locations reached at least 200°C after 15 seconds. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260914187865/en/ Three-Point Plate Testing A European-market development unit with a maximum setting of 260°C was tested at 230 V. Fifteen seconds after power-on, readings at the front, center and rear were 212.5°C, 227.5°C and 200.0°C, respectively. From around 60 seconds onward, temperature differences among the three points narrowed, indicating a stable trend. Precision Temperature Control An NTC sensor inside t
Earnix Brings Agentic AI to the Decisions That Drive Insurance Performance17.9.2026 15:09:00 CEST | Press release
Agent Hub, part of Earnix AIOS, brings more than 25, insurance-specific agents and apps into Earnix’s governed pricing, underwriting, and customer decision solutions- improving workflows and business performance Earnix today announced the introduction of Agent Hub, a curated catalog of insurance-specific AI agents and apps within Earnix AIOS — the AI Orchestration System powering Earnix’s pricing and rating, underwriting, and customer engagement solutions. Agent Hub brings agentic AI directly into these solutions, enabling more intelligent workflows and strengthening the high-stakes decisions that shape pricing, underwriting, customer engagement, growth, and profitability. In an increasingly turbulent insurance environment, the useful life of an insurance decision is getting shorter. Risk and market conditions are changing faster, making growth, profitability, and portfolio performance harder to manage. AI is increasing the speed and scope of what insurers can analyze, recommend, and i
Medisca Launches Global Peptide Division17.9.2026 15:07:00 CEST | Press release
New division brings API-grade peptides and Medisca’s quality-first pharmaceutical expertise to a rapidly evolving area of personalized medicine Medisca today announced the launch of Medisca Peptides, a dedicated global division focused on expanding access to API-grade peptides and building an integrated peptide platform for pharmaceutical and personalized medicine markets worldwide. As the peptide landscape evolves, Medisca is proactively building the capabilities and infrastructure needed to support API-grade peptides within applicable regulatory frameworks. The launch represents a significant long-term commitment to peptides, including the expansion of Medisca’s portfolio, strategic manufacturing relationships, and the pharmaceutical infrastructure needed to support the category’s growth. It also signals Medisca’s ambition to become a leading force in the next generation of peptide innovation. For Medisca, the opportunity is familiar. More than 35 years ago, the company was founded t
Elliptic Launches Its Decode Agent to Answer On-Chain Risk Questions and Shows Its Work17.9.2026 15:00:00 CEST | Press release
Hours of tracing, answered in seconds, with the evidence attached Elliptic, the global leader in on-chain risk, today launched Decode, an AI agent built on Elliptic’s intelligence platform. The Decode agent answers natural-language questions about cryptoasset addresses and their exposure in seconds, and returns the evidence behind every answer. Compliance and investigations teams need answers to questions nobody planned for. Getting them out of the data is now a specialist skill, so the questions wait for someone who has it, or go unasked. Meanwhile illicit actors move at machine speed, and agents are starting to sit on both sides of a payment. General-purpose AI assistants can produce an answer. They cannot show where it came from. A fluent response with nothing behind it cannot be put in front of a second-line reviewer, an auditor, or a regulator. “The market is full of AI that asks to be trusted. That is not good enough when someone asks how you reached a decision,” said Jackson Hul
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
