Estee Lauder sells Stila to Stila Corp
Estée Lauder Companies has sold its Stila brand to Stila Corp, an affiliate of venture capital group Sun Capital Partners. Stila will be run by a management team led by Jane M McKellar, former md of Elizabeth Arden in Australia.
Lauder bought Stila in 1999 and distributed it in some 13 countries as well as through travel retail. However, the company announced in October 2005 that it was putting the make-up artist brand up for sale and has accounted for it as a discontinued operation since the quarter ended 30 September 2005. It expects to take an additional charge to discontinued operations as of the end of the fiscal third quarter related to the sale.
Despite the sale, Lauder says that it "remains committed to growth in the make-up artist category through its MAC and Bobbi Brown brands, and looks to achieve continual performance improvement from each of its divisions, consistent with their business plans and long-term strategic objectives".