Jill Scalamandre is expanding her role at Shiseido. Today, the company named her as president of Bare Escentuals, overseeing the BareMinerals and Buxom brands — a position she will take on in addition to her duties as president of Shiseido’s Global Makeup Center for Excellence.Scalamandre succeeds Susan Jurevics, who joined Shiseido as president of Bare Escentuals almost one year ago. Jurevics was previously the ceo and board director of Pottermore, J.K. Rowling’s digital news company.Scalamandre’s appointment comes during a challenging time for Bare Escentuals, which has struggled since Shiseido acquired it in 2010. In November, Shiseido announced that it would close about 100 BareMinerals company-owned stores in the U.S. and in February, it posted nearly a 30 percent drop in annual profit due in large part to the laboring of the Bare Escentuals brand.The company remains committed to a turnaround.”BareMinerals and Buxom are fundamental parts of the Shiseido Group portfolio and Shiseido Americas,” said Marc Rey, president and ceo of Shiseido Americas. “While there have been challenges to the BareMinerals business, in view of the recent promising results on both brands, I am extremely confident we have the best team in place to drive growth and build on the unique DNA of these brands. With Jill at the helm and the tremendously talented team in place, we are absolutely ready as ever to put BareMinerals and Buxom back on the path toward excellence.”In a statement, Scalamandre, who joined Shiseido in 2016, said she plans to increase Bare Escentuals’ growth and consumer engagement on a global scale.”We’ve made significant headway on a number of important initiatives, including sharpening the brand strategy, positioning, storytelling, and 360 degree activation which will be rolled out in early fall,” she said. “I am committed to building on this momentum to maximize BareMinerals and Buxom’s success in beauty in a way that is both fresh and innovative yet true to the essential, genuine and enduring strength of their original roots.”Shiseido is positioning itself for future growth. Last year, the company acquired MatchCo., a California start-up providing digital technology that allows women to accurately identify the proper shade of makeup foundation, and selected BareMinerals as the brand to debut the technology. In March, president and chief executive officer Masahiko Uotani unveiled a three-year plan to make Shiseido the most trusted company in beauty. Part of the plan involves an increased focus on prestige brands and namesake brands, including BareMinerals.
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