Sigma Beauty
Sigma Beauty (also known as Sigma) is an international cosmetics company, selling brushes, makeup, skin care and accessories. Sigma reaches a wide variety of customers through its presence on social media outlets.
History
Sigma was founded in 2008 by Brazilian natives Simone Oliveira Xavier and her husband, Rene Xavier Filho, in their basement in New Brighton, Minnesota. They serve as Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Executive Officer, respectively. Oliveira, who holds a PhD in infectious diseases, was previously working as a clinical professor at the University of Minnesota. She received two patents in the field of swine medicine. Filho is a civil engineer and longtime entrepreneur.
The couple combined their knowledge of engineering and scientific research to pioneer the company, which began as a way to simply export American cosmetics to family members in Brazil. Seeing an opening to expand, Oliveira and Filho quickly grew the business, designing brushes and sending products to influential fashion bloggers, earning strong reviews.
Products
Sigma’s brushes and kits are designed in the United States. Some of their unique items include the Dry ‘n Shape, a patent-pending brush care product that dries and reshapes brushes 4 to 6 hours after cleaning them; and a vegan line of brushes made with synthetic fibers, for improved makeup application. These “superstars of the beauty world” have been recommended by American beauty magazines and websites like Glamour and xoJane.com, as well as international outlets such as Folha de S. Paulo and Shine Latina from Yahoo! Kim Kardashian’s makeup artist, Mario Dedivanovic, has said that Sigma’s are one of his favorite lines of brushes, and that he and Kardashian love the Sigma extravaganza body brush in particular.
Store
Sigma has signed a deal to open its first physical store, in the Mall of America in Minnesota, the most visited shopping mall in the US annually. The Sigma store will be located next to Sephora, MAC, and other similar makeup stores.
Financial
Aided by social media and positive word of mouth from bloggers, Sigma vastly increased its sales from 2009 to 2011, and expects to increase by at least 50% from 2011 to 2012. They have over 13,000 online affiliates, who earn a commission by generating sales of Sigma products from new customers through affiliate links on social networking sites such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The company ships products to over 150 different countries; as of 2012, 60% of the company’s revenue is earned overseas.