When Santa Clarita-based cosmetics firm Mirabella Beauty was sold to Bellami Hair, a Simi Valley hair extensions manufacturer earlier this year, the buyer got more than just the firm.
“They came in and asked me to run their company,” said Mirabella founder John Maly. “I was too busy running my company, so they bought me out.”
Maly’s now CEO of the Bellami operation.
His office has moved to Simi Valley, but the Mirabella warehouse and their 10 employees will remain. Mirabella Beauty was established in 2002, according to the company’s website.
Prior to opening Mirabella, Maly ran his family’s hair care distributorship on the West Coast, Maly’s. That company was acquired by L’Oreal in 2007.
With his move to Bellami, Maly will be handling the company’s ongoing move into brick and mortar stores, which is a sales channel he knows well. Bellami, on the other hand, developed its business through online channels and built its clientele via “influencers” – Internet personalities who influence public opinion.
In the past year, Bellami opened its first store in West Hollywood called the Bellami Beauty Bar. Now, around 10 more Beauty Bars are in the works at locations that include Miami, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago and another at an additional California location. The Bellami Beauty Bar sells all the brands under its umbrella, including Mirabella products.
Name won’t change
Mirabella products will continue to be sold under that brand name, according to Maly. All of the mineral brands formulas will stay intact and will remain gluten-free, paraben-free and talc-free.
As for the future, Maly said he looks forward to a February launch of Bellami products on the QVC channel. Also in the coming year the approximately 800 Ultra stores around the country will carry their brands.
Still, the company’s online presence will continue to be significant. Bellami says that its “community of influencers” has 100 million followers including Kylie Jenner and Guy Tang.
According to Maly, Bellami’s experience in online sales will come in handy as the company branches out with more brick and mortar stores.
“All of our business is direct and we know where our customers are,” said Maly. “So we pretty much know where to put the stores.”
