If you know anything about MAC Cosmetics, you know this world-famous brand has been around since 1984. It’s been around longer than I have, and it was actually one of the first makeup products I bought as a little girl, following in my mom’s footsteps.
MAC built its brand off of exclusivity, meaning if you ever shopped at a MAC Cosmetics store, the only brand you can purchase is MAC itself.
By huge surprise, MAC Cosmetics is joining the wave of other brands this spring and coming to Ulta Beauty, a chain of beauty stores carrying both high and low-end cosmetics for men and women.
Although everyone is cheering and getting their paychecks ready to splurge, I can’t help but wonder why is it that a makeup brand as prestigious and store exclusive as MAC Cosmetics is joining this cosmetics chain. I am not for one bit saying MAC is a dead-beat cosmetics line, but I have noticed a significant increase in other makeup brands and advertisements for them. So my question is, is MAC Cosmetics falling behind on this beauty phenomenon we are having now?
Well first, MAC Cosmetics is one of the only companies still standing tall since the 1980s. Many have dropped or gone bankrupt like King Cosmetics, mainly because some brands don’t follow trends. I don’t mean seasonal trends, I mean following the artistry trends as years go on.
Second, it’s important to know that MAC Cosmetics is actually a child company of Estee Lauder Company. Did I just blow your mind? Estee Lauder is actually the parent of brands like Clinique, Aveda and DKNY.
But let’s talk numbers. The net worth of Estee Lauder as of 2017, reported by Forbes, is set to be $10.6 billion, and this is also a family-run company so they distribute the wealth. According to Fast Company, a website giving annual reports on brands, MAC Cosmetics alone holds a net worth of $6.3 billion, a little over half of the money for the entire company of Estee Lauder.
I think this is the start of the beauty business booming. Estee Lauder can’t afford to lose such a wealthy business like MAC. If all brands are suddenly being put into beauty trade stores like Ulta and Sephora, Estee Lauder needs to grab a surfboard and follow the wave.
This is no longer a one-shot deal of manufacturing the product and simply selling it. Now we have huge trade stores like Ulta being that middle man, getting profit in return.
Although this may not be ideal to some brands, this is the future of the beauty business. All the beauty products you could think of conveniently in one place, who’s the genius behind this?
Huge props to Estee Lauder Company for noticing this huge transition in time and getting it settled before it’s too late. As far as I can see it, MAC Cosmetics will be slaying the beauty business for the next coming decades. They’re here to stay and joining an Ulta near you this coming spring.
