Earlier this week, Estée Lauder Companies Inc. announced that it plans to end the Prescriptive brand worldwide by Jan. 31. Prescriptives will sell its wares until they run out, and the brand will be no more.
The decision “will allow us to redirect our resources to key strategic imperatives where we see the highest growth potential,“ said Fabrizio Freda, the cosmetic giant’s president and CEO. ”Ultimately this action allows us to focus on those areas which we expect to benefit the Company, our shareholders, and business partners.”
Prescriptives, sold in department stores, is known (but to Estée Lauder, not known enough) for its custom color matching, skincare, and its fragrance Calyx. On the floors of both Nordstrom and Macy’s, it is the only makeup brand that creates foundations, powders, bronzers, and lip color on the spot at a customer’s request. A color specialist will often spend over half an hour with a single customer to match, blend, and rematch foundation colors.
According to the Prescriptives color-matching philosophy, colors should match harmoniously with a wearer’s natural skin tone. All its face, eye, and lip colors are categorized by undertone. Wearing shades in your color group will make you look natural, and the further away the colors get from your natural colors, the more intense or dramatic the look will be. The system is meant to be user-friendly and foolproof, not restrictive.
A Close Following
Loyal customers get frustrated when a favorite product is discontinued, much less a brand, said Andrea, a sales associate for Prescriptives. She said she found out about the close just this week, along with the general public. “I like my team and I like the brand,” she said wistfully, adding that she intends to continue working with the company.
The brand has a loyal following. “We have customers from Europe, Asia, and Australia. The Europeans come for the perfume and Asians come for the skincare. We have customers for life,” she said. Prescriptives is currently sold in the United States, Canada, the U.K., Ireland, and Australia.
Weaknesses in Marketing
The way Andrea sees it, part of the reason why Prescriptives’ sales are sub-par is that unlike other brands, Prescriptives offers few complimentary samples and gifts—a strategy popularized by none other than Estée Lauder.
On any given week, Estée Lauder ads can be seen in the newspaper inserts advertising “free gift with purchase” deals. “Lots of people go for that,” Andrea said.
Confounding the brand’s sales problem is its lack of strong branding. The packaging artwork (when there is artwork) is not consistent throughout the line. Rarely does Prescriptives put out a strong marketing campaign. The brand does do events, said Andrea, but that’s not too often.
With the imminent close of Prescriptives, customers requiring custom-blend makeup can order items in their recipes for as long as supplies last. After that, there are other companies on the market that provide similar color-matching services: Three Custom Color Specialists is a major one; MIX Makeup Studio and www.makeupmania.com also make custom blends.
Founded in 1947, Estée Lauder owned 45 percent of the cosmetics market in department stores by the 1990s. Currently it owns 27 beauty, fragrance, and haircare brands including Estée Lauder, Clinique, Origins, M-A-C, Bobbi Brown, Tommy Hilfiger, La Mer, Donna Karan, and Aveda.
Prescriptives online: www.prescriptives.com.
