Nudestix to Premiere on QVC

No-makeup makeup has a brand to call its very own: Nudestix. Created by beauty industry veteran Jenny Frankel with her teenage daughters Ally and Taylor, Nudestix is banking on the unassuming aesthetic signaling a generational shift in beauty habits rather than being a fleeting runway fad. Retailers are buying into that premise: The brand will premiere in May on QVC after making its debut at Space NK in the U.K. last May and entering Sephora in September. Nudestix crystallized during a two-year break Frankel took from the beauty business following private equity firm Catterton Partners’ 2011 purchase of CoverFX, the brand Frankel cofounded in 2000, to decompress and spend time with Ally and Taylor. “They were my sources of inspiration,” she said. “They have no interest in being makeup artists and using tools. They have no interest in precision lines or in spending more than 5 minutes. They would rather scroll Instagram.” Taylor and Ally were an in-house focus group for Frankel. Here are the insights Taylor gave her mother on the beauty preferences of members of the Millennial and Z generations or, in other words, her peers: “For my friends and me, brushes were extremely intimidating. None of my friends know how

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Investors Bullish on Zale’s Impact on Signet

Signet Jewelers Ltd. likes what it’s getting out of its May 2014 acquisition of Zale Corp., and apparently investors do, too. With eight months of Zale ownership behind it, the retailer behind such brands as Kay and Jared ended the year with a fourth-quarter earnings “beat” and revenues that fell just short of analysts’ consensus estimates, boosting its sales for the year 36.3 percent to $5.74 billion, with an expected decline in gross margin attributable to Zale’s lower margin operations one of the few drawbacks to come out of the deal. Shares closed at $135, up 6 percent in New York Stock Exchange trading, and reached a 52-week high of $135.98 as afternoon trading began. Mark Light, chief executive officer, told analysts on a Thursday morning conference call that the firm appears on track to recognize about 20 percent of the $150 million to $175 million in synergies expected from the deal by the end of the current fiscal year with another 40 percent to be realized next year. Of the total amount, “roughly 20 percent will be achieved from expense reductions, 30 percent from repair services and brand cross-selling and 50 percent from supply chain and purchasing initiatives,” Light said. In the three months

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Italia Independent Profits Rise

MILAN — A strong eyewear business, a solid foothold in Italy and expansion around the world helped Italia Independent Group SpA report a 14 percent gain in 2014 net profit to 610,000 euros, or $811,300, from 540,000 euros, or $713,000, in 2013. In the 12 months ended Dec. 31, revenues climbed 32.1 percent to 32.9 million euros, or $43.7 million, compared with 24.9 million euros, or $33 million, in the previous year. Andrea Tessitore, the group’s cofounder and chief executive officer, told WWD he was especially pleased with the performance in light of the difficult local market. “The weather factor was terrible last year, one of the worst in the past 30 years,” said Tessitore, referring to prolonged months of rain that hit Italy in 2014. The group’s eyewear business accounted for 79.4 percent of total sales. Tessitore pointed to a 13.6 percent growth in Italy of the eyewear division, which reached 12.7 million euros, or $17 million. The company has also been expanding outside the country. In the U.S., the eyewear channel climbed 81.1 percent to 1.9 million euros, or $2.6 million. In April, a store will open in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood, followed by a unit on Melrose Avenue in

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