Revolution Beauty buys US brand BH Cosmetics

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Feb 25, 2022

Britain’s Revolution Beauty Group has acquired has acquired US operation BH Cosmetics out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It said the deal will complement its existing portfolio and builds on its digital-first and global platform strategy.

It will also accelerate its expansion in key markets, particularly the US, and build brand reach in key categories.

The multi-brand, multi-category, and multi-channel mass beauty company has ambitious expansion plans and said it paid $3.9 million for the business from its existing cash resources.

BH — or Badass with Heart — was launched in Los Angeles in 2009, and “is a brand with a strong point of view, producing vegan and cruelty-free cosmetics for loyal Gen Z consumers seeking high quality cosmetics at attractive price points”. 

It has over 6.5 million social media followers and sells through its own direct to consumer channel, and several focused retailers across the US, and Germany. The brand, which is well known for its make-up brushes, “strengthens categories within the group's current portfolio”.

It delivered net revenue of $55.8 million in 2019, despite only being distributed across online and retail channels in the two aforementioned countries. 

But the pandemic significantly impacted the business with revenue decreasing to $33.7 million in 2020 and leading to a loss of $22.5 million.

Its new owner will consolidate BH into the wider group's operations over the course of 2022, “leveraging synergies across existing product development, supply and distribution”.

And it intends to “re-energise the BH brand with new products and utilise both Revolution Beauty and BH's relationships in the US, UK and internationally”. 

That said, sales attributable to the acquisition during the first half of the financial year ending 28 February 2023 are expected to be “minimal as Revolution Beauty onboards new BH suppliers, builds stock levels and integrates BH into the group's operations”.

Revolution CEO Adam Minto said: “BH Cosmetics is an iconic US-born brand with a loyal fan base across digital and social platforms and loved by celebs and make-up artists everywhere. As a cruelty-free vegan brand, BH aligns with our ethos. Its strong offering in colour cosmetics and brushes, perfectly complements our business. Bringing BH Cosmetics into the group will help us accelerate our growth trajectory in the US and leverage our existing global eco-system of distribution.”