Lauder Promotes Amber Garrison, Corey Reese
The Estée Lauder Cos. Inc.-owned Origins and Bumble and bumble have new heads.
Amber Garrison will become the global brand president of Origins, and Corey Reese has been promoted to senior vice president, general manager, Bumble and bumble. The promotions take effect July 1, and both will report to Jane Hertzmark Hudis, executive group president.
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The reshuffling comes as both skin care and hair care show no signs of abatement.
“Origins and Bumble and bumble are very strategic in our portfolio,” Hudis told WWD. “We have big plans for Origins, and are building on the brand’s DNA to take it into the future. And Bumble and bumble is very strategic because hair care is fast growing, and Bumble and bumble plays very successfully, especially in North America.”
Garrison previously led Bumble and bumble, and Hudis noted her brand-building capabilities and product development prowess. “She launched several very successful hero products, like Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil,” Hudis said. “There is so much she’s done in terms of improving product quality, creating the heroes and modernizing the storytelling, incredibly exciting ways of entering new channels.”
The brand is also benefiting from the boom in prestige hair care. “The hero products are growing, incredibly strong, double-digits,” Hudis said. “They recently launched bond building, which is a top-five franchise across multiple retailers.…There’s great momentum in this brand. It’s an engine of growth for our business.”
In its most recent earnings report, Lauder also said Bumble and bumble grew hair care sales for the quarter ended March 31, in conjunction with Aveda.
Last year, WWD reported that brands under the Estée Lauder Cos. Inc. continue to drive growth with hero products, which see repeat purchase rates between 35 and 50 percent. That strategy is also working at Origins, where Hudis said the Mega Mushroom Treatment Lotion’s relaunch was “a big success,” and its Ginzing franchise performs “extremely well” in North America.
“It’s at the sweet spot of what consumers want today,” Hudis continued. “Both brands have lots of runway for the future.”
To that end, Reese’s founder-led approach to agility will be essential to keeping momentum high at Bumble and bumble. “He has been working with founders and indie brands very closely and carefully over the last few years, and he understands the magic of a brand like Bumble and bumble,” Hudis said.
The promotion isn’t just about sales performance, though, it is also driven by shared values. Hudis described prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion — and hiring heads of brand who do so as well — as a “key leadership strategy.”
“Our philosophy is that the strength in our brands and in our company is having a diversity of backgrounds, a diversity of perspectives, different points of view, that represent our consumer base. We like to have those different points of view at the table,” she continued, adding that Garrison’s development of the Bb. Curl franchise has “resonated with a broader base of consumers.”
Internally, Garrison has participated in the women’s leadership program Open Doors as a speaker and sponsor, as well as serving as a mentor for From Every Chair.
Reese has also worked as a sponsor for Open Doors and mentors employees at Lauder. “Corey is responsible for leading the creative and brand pillar of the company’s commitment to racial equity,” Hudis said. “He has been a personal advocate to establish a way for brands to accurately, consistently represent, engage and meet the needs of diverse consumers.”
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