Elizabeth Arden history

1911: Company is founded in New York City by Canada-born Elizabeth Arden.

In 1912 she marched with 15,000 suffragettes in New York, many wearing red lipstick as a symbol of strength.

In 1914 she hired chemists to produce a fluffy face cream and an astringent lotion, the first products in a cosmetics line that eventually included some 300 items.

Also in 1915, she began opening more salons and introduced the concept of the “makeover”. She opened salons in many cities in the United States such as New York, Washington, Boston, Chicago and Beverley Hills.

She opened a Paris salon in 1922, and in later years she operated salons across Europe and in South America and Australia as well.

Meanwhile, American women were in fact spending $6 million annually on cosmetics by 1925, barely 15 years after Elizabeth Arden had hung up her shingle.

Friends and relatives had urged Arden to sell her profitable business as early as 1929, when a $15 million offer was made.

Unlike most American businesses, Elizabeth Arden's company earned handsome profits during those years, even making strides with innovative lipsticks which, until 1932, had come in only a few basic shades.

1934: Arden opens first beauty spa.

Fortune magazine said at the time she “earned more money than any other businesswoman in the history of the United States.” The New Yorker magazine did an article about her in 1936.

Arden was one of the nation’s foremost racehorse owners as well; she operated stables near Lexington, Kentucky, from which came Jet Pilot, winner of the 1947 Kentucky Derby.

Indra Nooyi, (born October 28, 1955, Madras [now Chennai], India), Indian-born American businesswoman who was instrumental in the lucrative restructuring and diversification of soft-drink manufacturer PepsiCo, Inc.’s brands.

18, 1966, New York, N.Y., United States), Canadian-born American businesswoman who developed a successful line of cosmetics and a chain of beauty salons and spas.

1970: Firm is bought by Eli Lilly.

Nooyi earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Madras Christian College in 1976 and a master’s degree in business administration from the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta two years later.

In 1986, when the company was still a subsidiary of Eli Lilly, Ronchetti devised a five-year plan to revitalize Elizabeth Arden Co. and make it more competitive.

In addition, Elizabeth Taylor's White Diamonds became the number one selling fragrance in 1991 after the famous actress personally introduced the scent in ten United States cities.

According to a June 1992 New York Times article, Ronchetti had transformed the Arden brand from 'a line for grandmothers into a brand that younger career women wanted to wear.' Ronchetti claimed he wanted to leave Elizabeth Arden while everything was going well.

Sales volume was also estimated to have slid, from $1 billion in 1993 to only $850 million two years later.

In 1994 Nooyi joined PepsiCo as senior vice president of corporate strategy and development.

Kim Delsing was replaced in 1995, having lasted just a year.

Sales and profits at Arden improved in 1999, especially after the introduction of a new fragrance, Splendor.

Peter W. England served as president and chief executive officer for five years, before resigning in January 2000.

In 2001 she was named president and chief financial officer of the company.

Nooyi assumed the title of CEO in October 2006 and the next year became chairman of the board as well.

In July 2012, as the first ever "Pin to give it" campaign on Pinterest, Elizabeth Arden aims to supply women with cancer with confidence-boosting make-up products.

On December 2, 2014, the company announced Karlina Caune would be the new face of the brand.

Reply Cynthia Chambers August 24, 2016 at 3:49 pm Always wondered about the story behind the product, how fascinating.

The following year it was announced that Nooyi would be stepping down as CEO in October and as chairman of the board in early 2019.

Nooyi’s memoir, My Life in Full: Work, Family, and Our Future, was published in 2021.