15. Alticor
(parent company of Amway, Access Business Group LLC, and Alticor Corporate Enterprises)
Ada, MI
www.amway.com

Corporate Sales: $10.9 billion

Beauty Sales: $2.8 billion (estimate)

Key Personnel: Steve Van Andel, chairman; Doug DeVos, president; Bill Payne, chief of staff; Candace Matthews, chief marketing officer; John Parker, chief sales officer and Michael Cazer, chief financial officer; Maud Pansing, vice president–global beauty; Claudia Poccia, president and chief executive officer, Gurwitch Products (Laura Mercier and RéVive), Dr. Gregory Bays Brown, founder and chief of creative services, RéVive Skincare.

Major Products: Artistry skincare and cosmetics, Laura Mercier, RéVive.

New Products: Artistry Youth Xtend, Artistry Time Defiance UV Defense SPF 50, Artistry Escape to Paradise Fall 2012 Trend Collection, Laura Mercier Soufflé Body Crème, Laura Mercier Illuminating Eye Color, RéVive Pore Correctif Multi-action Repair Serum.

Artistry has licensed a patented anti-aging technology for its anti-wrinkle firming serum.

Comments: Nine out of 10 of Amway’s top markets grew last year—including China and the U.S., as well as emerging markets, leading to parent company’s Alticor breaking the $10 billion mark for global sales for the first time. Global market share grew to 10%.

Amway’s Artistry brand, sold in more than 50 countries, grew at record levels, and generated more than $1.7 billion in annual global sales, leading health and beauty sales at direct-seller Amway. According to data from Euromonitor International, Artistry is among the world’s top five, largest-selling premium skincare brands.

Gurwitch Products, acquired by Alticor in 2006, owns and markets Laura Mercier and RéVive cosmetics and skincare products, two global brands that rank highly in the prestige cosmetics arena. Gurwitch was reported to have topped $1 billion in sales in 2011.

In May 2011, Amway ranked No. 1 in online Health & Beauty sales for the eighth consecutive year, according to Internet Retailer’s annual Top 500 Guide to the web.

This month, Artistry signed on as the “Diamond Premier Exclusive Sponsor” of the 17th annual Busan International Film Festival in South Korea. Hollywood actress Teresa Palmer, the brand’s new global face, traveled to Korea to debut her film, “Wish You Were Here,” and support the festival. Palmer plays a key role in Artistry’s positioning as a major global player.

In June, Artistry announced the appointment of Rick DiCecca as global makeup artist.

The Artistry brand will “relaunch” late this year in Korea, Japan and Thailand, with an advanced range of skincare products called Youth Xtend, bringing the results of high-tech R&D to direct sales. The collection includes 11 skincare products ranging in price from $38-$113. Said to be at the heart of the brand’s new signature look is a new package design, called Crescendo, named for the grace and height of its upward-slanted caps. A sleek new logo will identify the brand, which is scheduled to arrive stateside in 2013.

In March 2013, Artistry plans to introduce the products in Australia/New Zealand and in the fourth quarter, in China, Europe and The Americas.

Also in March, Amway teamed up with the University of Michigan to license an anti-aging technology for its newest Artistry anti-wrinkle firming serum. According to the company, this will be the first and only anti-aging product to utilize a breakthrough patented targeting complex technology that reduces the common side effects found in retinol treatments. The serum is said to increase collagen activity by 300% overnight.

The Artistry brand is sold through a network of more than three million distributors worldwide. New digital tools such as the Artistry Virtual Makeover and Skin Care Recommender, help distributors and enable women to “sample” and find products that meet their personal needs.