Tengram Capital Adds RéVive to Its Luxury Beauty Portfolio

Private equity firm sees strong growth potential in luxury skincare brand founded on Nobel Prize-winning technology


NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tengram Capital Partners today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire luxury skincare brand RéVive from Shiseido Americas Corporation. 

Under the terms of the agreement, Tengram will run the company as an independent and stand-alone entity based in New York City. Closing is expected to be completed by the end of November.

“We are delighted to add RéVive to our strong and growing portfolio of beauty brands,” said Richard Gersten, a Partner at Tengram Capital. “As an investor in consumer brands with a deep knowledge in beauty, I have watched RéVive for a long time. We believe it is a gem, thanks to Founder Dr. Gregory Bays Brown, its exceptional products based on Nobel prize-winning technologies, a loyal consumer following, and its impressive distribution. The RéVive brand has strong growth prospects, and we look forward to investing in key areas to enable the brand to thrive.”

Tengram Capital is a private equity firm that invests in companies in the branded consumer products and retail space and acts as a catalyst to drive growth. Its current beauty portfolio includes Nest Fragrances, Algenist, specialty beauty retailer Cos Bar, and natural beauty brand This Works. 

The new company will be led by Elana Drell Szyfer, who worked with Tengram as the CEO of Laura Geller New York, which Tengram sold in 2016. She is currently an Operating Advisor to the firm. Szyfer’s industry experience includes executive roles on the Lancôme and Estee Lauder brands.

She will be joined by John Elmer in the role of CFO and COO of RéVive and Mary Rodrigues as SVP of Marketing and Ecommerce.  Elmer served in this same role at Laura Geller with Drell Szyfer.  Prior to Laura Geller, he was the CFO/COO for Carol’s Daughter and was instrumental in the brand’s growth, resulting in a sale to L’Oreal in 2014.  Rodrigues is an experienced beauty industry executive. 

“RéVive has always been known for the quality and efficacy of its products. Its performance and positioning is well poised to appeal to a discerning skincare consumer domestically and internationally via both current and new channels of distribution,” said Szyfer. “Finding a brand like RéVive is rare – we are extremely excited about the opportunity to partner with the existing team, partners and of course, Dr. Brown.”

“RéVive is the culmination of my academic research, my surgical expertise, my personal passion for healing and my love of the customer,” said Dr. Brown. “I am so excited for this next chapter in the brand’s journey. I have enjoyed getting to know Tengram and have great respect for Rich Gersten and what he and the Tengram team have accomplished with their brands. Elana and I have a shared vision of success and I'm excited to see the great things the future holds.”

To ensure continuity for customers, Shiseido Americas will continue to provide supply chain, distribution and other support services during the transition.

“RéVive is a wonderful skincare brand.  We are confident it will be well supported by Tengram while Shiseido focuses on continuing growth across our strategic portfolio of brands and businesses,” said Marc Rey, President & CEO of Shiseido Americas.

RéVive was acquired by Shiseido Americas as part of its 2016 acquisition of Gurwtich Products LLC from Alticor.  Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

ABOUT RÉVIVE
RéVive is a luxury skincare line developed by Dr. Gregory Bays Brown, a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon, created to bring back the glow of youth.  Each product has been scientifically formulated with Bio-Renewal Technology, inspired by patented and Nobel Prize winning science, that Dr. Brown used to heal burn victims. This breakthrough technology delivers fast results to help change the behavior of skin and restore skin’s youthful glow. Launched in 1997, RéVive is distributed domestically at luxury retailers Neiman Marcus, Saks, Bergdorf Goodman, Barney’s, Blue Mercury and Cos Bar and at select retailers in Canada, UK, Europe and Asia.

Tengram Capital Partners is a private equity firm that focuses exclusively on leading consumer and retail companies that own strong recognizable brands. The team has a diverse background of consumer investing and operating expertise that assists and guides company management to unlock the true potential of their brand. Tengram invests in both traditional “growth” and “restructuring/turnaround” situations in either the public or private sectors. Current investments for Tengram include Earth Treks, NEST Fragrances, Algenist, Active Ride Shop, Cos Bar, This Works,  Differential Brands Group,  Zanella,  Luciano Barbera,  Tommie Copper, and Sequential Brands Group. Prior investments include DevaCurl and Laura Geller Beauty

ABOUT SHISEIDO AMERICAS CORPORATION
Shiseido Americas Corporation is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Shiseido Company, Limited (TSE:4911), a leading global beauty company.  Shiseido Americas’ portfolio of prestige beauty brands includes Shiseido, NARS, Clé de Peau Beauté, bareMinerals, Laura Mercier and several prestige fragrance brands including Issey Miyake, Narciso Rodriguez and Dolce & Gabbana. Shiseido Americas is headquartered in New York City and employs more than 5,000 individuals in the United States, Canada, and throughout Latin America. In early 2017, Shiseido Americas acquired MATCHCo, a technology company and JWALK, a creative agency. 

For Shiseido Americas:
Jadzia Zielinski Tirsch, +1-212-805-2357
SVP, Corporate Communications
Shiseido Americas
jtirsch@sac.shiseido.com

or

For Tengram:
Bob Friedland
Group Vice President
Kaplow Communications
Tengram@kaplow.com