Catch up on this week’s industry chatter with these click-worthy links:
- Like any up-and-coming demographic, Millennial consumers pose a unique set of challenges for the beauty world. One of them, says fashion and beauty hub Women’s Wear Daily, is the younger generation’s approach to skin care. In a departure from their Baby Boomer parents, Millennial women are seeking out natural or clinical brands that deliver instant results, in lieu of antiwrinkle, age-specialist products—a category that declined in 2015 for the first time in two years.
- The three-years-long-and-counting battle between Herbalife and hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman has made its way to the big screen in “Betting on Zero,” a new documentary by filmmaker Ted Braun (“Darfur Now”). The film premiered at last weekend’s Tribeca Film Festival and, like its source material, has stirred up a fair amount of controversy. The nutrition company, whose executives declined to participate in the project, has called into question the objectivity of the film and the motive of its anonymous financiers. To make its case, Herbalife even launched a designated website: bettingonzero.com.
- With the spotlight once again on Herbalife and Ackman, Bloomberg’s Matt Townsend took a look at the company’s ties to some of the world’s top sports figures, particularly soccer stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo. The Real Madrid player—who boasts more social media followers than any other athlete—is a paid Herbalife endorser who also lent his name to one of the company’s newest sports performance products. Townsend argues that the brand’s partnerships with top athletes have enabled it to expand beyond the U.S. despite criticism of its business model.
- Crafting company Stampin’ Up! entered Japan, its sole Asian market, back in October 2014. In a conversation with Japan Today, Yukiko Okubo, Business Development Manager for the country, discussed the challenges of introducing the business to a new culture and plans to ramp up operations in the coming year.
- Colombia native Claudia Gutierrez is one of the latest entrepreneurs to embrace direct selling with her line of genuine leather bags and accessories, Claudia G. A former banking professional now living in Houston, Gutierrez launched the line in 2010, selling to traditional retailers. Four years later, she pulled the line out of stores in favor of a direct selling model, which she describes as “the perfect way to merge design and giving back.”
