Stila saved from foreclosure

I've just discovered that Stila have been saved from foreclosure by private equity firm Patriarch Partners.


Now, I'm no business tycoon but I didn't need to have a finger on the pulse of the stock market to suspect Stila were on the rocks. Shopping is my style of market research and I've watched this once popular, innovative brand become ghettoised in the darkest, smelliest department store corners before disappearing altogether, its products surfacing on fell-off-a-lorry discount websites in the US for a fifth of their retail price.


Stila was the girlish hip young thing on the cosmetics scene ten years ago and was acquired by Estee Lauder in 1999. Since then Stila's whimsical retro-girlie USP has been adopted by successful brands like DuWop and Benefit who have effectively run with their baton.


But Stila have a few cult classics up their sleeve that haven't been replicated by the newer kids on the block and I'm excited to see how it will benefit from their new owner's apparent specialism in rebuilding troubled companies.


And to stocking up on more of their classic shimmer shadow in Kitten which is like gold dust due to distribution issues since my own is looking VERY thin on the ground these days. I'll be looking out for a replacement when I'm next doing some "market research".