Updated March 12 5:23 p.m. EST
After stepping in for the short term, Marla Beck has been appointed permanent president and chief executive officer of BeautyHealth, home to the Hydrafacial.
Already a board director, Bluemercury founder Beck was tapped as interim CEO in November, after former CEO Andrew Stanleick departed the company.
“Over the past few months, the board has undertaken an extensive search to identify BeautyHealth’s next CEO,” said Brent Saunders, chairman of the board. “The board unanimously agrees that Marla has done an outstanding job during her tenure as interim CEO and that she is the right person to lead BeautyHealth into the future.”
Marla Beck and her husband Barry Beck cofounded Bluemercury in 1999 and sold it to Macy’s Inc. in 2015 for $210 million in cash. The duo continued to lead the beauty retailer until 2021. Prior to founding Bluemercury, Marla Beck was a consultant at McKinsey & Co.
“It is an honor to step into the role of CEO of BeautyHealth,” said Marla Beck. “The company and our brands intrigue and inspire me, much like they do the entire beauty and aesthetics industry. As I have spent time in the day-to-day operations, I am more confident than ever in BeautyHealth’s growth potential and Hydrafacial’s particular competitive positioning with providers, partners and consumers.”
In its fourth quarter results released Tuesday, net sales were $96.8 million, a decrease of 1.3 percent compared to the prior year period, beating Wall Street forecasts for $87.2 million. The company recorded a net loss was of $9.4 million, compared to net income of $6.5 million in Q4 2022.
In the previous quarter, the company highlighted restructuring charges related to device upgrades of early generation Syndeo Hydrafacial devices. The company plans to only market and sell Syndeo 3.0 devices due to provider experience issues with earlier generation Syndeo devices. It has designated all Syndeo 1.0 and 2.0 devices on-hand as obsolete, resulting in an inventory write-down.
“To close 2023, we delivered fourth quarter financial results consistent with the expectations we outlined on our last earnings call,” said Beck. “While the results reflect a necessary operational reset, the underlying strength of our business remains—a clinically proven treatment, passionate provider community, unique partner portfolio, beloved consumer brand, and growing addressable market.”
During a call with analysts to discuss the results, on Syndeo she added: “The challenges providers experience with Syndeo 1.0 and Syndeo 2.0 have not impacted the consumer experience. We hear repeatedly from providers that Hydrafacial is a brand clients ask for by name.”
