As part of an undisclosed sale to a third-party, Beautycounter has informed its Brand Advocates they’ve been terminated.
As per the above email sent out, BeautyCounter terminated its Brand Advocates effective April 17th, 2024. Around 65,000 Brand Advocates are believed to have been affected.
Who BeautyCounter has been sold off to is unclear but “in connection with the terms of the sale, the company is shutting down its operations”.
Commissions and bonuses in Beautycounter’s now defunct MLM opportunity are tracked through April 17th. Beautycounter advises it expects to pay these commissions and bonuses on or around April 26th.
Beautycounter was founded in 2011 by former CEO Gregg Renfrew (right).
Renfew sold Beautycounter to private equity firm Carlyle Group in 2021. At the time Beautycounter had a billion-dollar valuation.
Renfew stepped down as Beautycounter’s CEO afew months after the sale. Renfew reprised her role at Beautycounter in January 2024 at the request of Carlyle Group.
When Carlyle approached Renfew, she tells CNBC Make it, she was just “crazy enough” to accept.
She aims to continue shepherding Beautycounter through what she hopes will be a new stage of growth, while burnishing her own legacy as its founder.
“At the end of the day, I believe in the company. I believe in the mission. I set out to change the world [and] I really mean that,” she says.
Just a few months later, Beautycounter is over and its disengagement from Brand Advocates is clinically cold.
From and after the Termination Date, you shall not hold yourself out as a Company brand advocate or as otherwise engaging in business for, or on behalf of, or otherwise affiliated with, the Company or its affiliates.
As a reminder, you remain bound by all post-termination obligations under the Brand Advocate Agreement, you remain bound by all post-termination obligations under the Brand Advocate Agreement, including your confidentiality obligations under paragraph 10 of the Brand Advocate Agreement.
It’s the email equivalent of getting called into the boss’ office, getting fired and returning to your desk to find building security waiting.
Presumably Beautycounter’s executives have been taken care of as part of the sale, so there’s no reason to continue keeping up appearances.