Trouble in California?

While the Estée Lauder Cos. has been grappling with much talked-about issues in China as its travel retail market did not bounce back after the coronavirus pandemic, it’s also been quietly coping with other struggles out West.

Its California brands — Smashbox, Too Faced and Glamglow — have all initiated layoffs previously 12 months as those businesses face challenges, while international operations have also been scaled back for some.

As a part of that, there shall be 22 employees laid off at Too Faced’s office in Irvine, in accordance with filings by the California Labor Department first reported by Retail Dive. The makeup brand founded by Jerrod Blandino and Jeremy Johnson within the ’90s was acquired by Lauder in 2016 for $1.4 billion, its largest purchase ever on the time.

At Smashbox, the Los Angeles-born cosmetics brand best known for its primers that was acquired by Lauder in 2010, 37 employees at its Culver City office shall be impacted.

In a press release, Lauder pointed to its Post-COVID Business Acceleration Program, set as much as realign its business to deal with the shifts in distribution landscape and consumer behaviors within the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“ELC made the choice to strategically reposition Smashbox, which unfortunately involved worker impacts. This decision was made to make sure Smashbox stays a lovely business within the competitive landscape, reinforcing the brand’s heritage and roots through a contemporary lens,” it said.

“Also under the PCBA Program, Too Faced implemented a restructure of positions primarily inside creative, and although these changes also involved worker impacts, they are going to help us speed up growth, make sure the brand is digitally focused, and continues to be relevant and exciting to recent and existing consumers,” it added.

Glamglow, the one-time hot indie skincare brand which Lauder acquired in 2014 for an undisclosed amount, initiated layoffs in 2022, although exact numbers are unknown.

At the identical time, Lauder took the choice to cut back Glamglow’s international presence, meaning that it’s now only sold within the U.S., with sales having been impacted by changes within the brand’s retail space and site, combined with competitive challenges in key subcategories.

Glamglow may even streamline its product offering to an estimated 13 top sellers, specializing in hero and high replenishment.

“This initiative will help return Glamglow to profitability and can leave a distribution point for loyal consumers to experience and buy the brand and support future growth opportunities,” Lauder said in a press release.

This comes after Glamglow and Smashbox each exited the U.K. market last 12 months, with Lauder citing “accumulation of challenges” as the rationale on the time.

Lauder didn’t immediately reply to request for comment Thursday on whether Smashbox has made any further changes to its international distribution.

It’s not only the California brands which have been impacted by the Post-COVID Business Acceleration program. Over the course of the pandemic, Lauder has scaled back or closed multiple brands, including Deciem, which narrowed its brand assortment, and Becca and Rodin Olio Lusso, which were each shut down.

Nevertheless, Mark Astrachan, an analyst at Stifel Financial Corp., told WWD that Smashbox, Too Faced and Glamglow are too small to significantly move the needle. “Historically you’ve seen some ebbs and flows within the more trendy brands……It’s not that significant. The most important brands are still most significant. Estée Lauder, La Mer, Clinique, Tom Ford.”

In May, the wonder giant once more slashed its full-year forecasts for each the highest and bottom lines because of a slower-than-expected recovery in travel retail in Asia, causing the corporate’s share price to say no around 18 percent to $202.70 that day.