BeautyCo

beautyco is the registered trademark of whoever owns it now.

beautyco.com/org/net/biz/info hosting expired on June 20, 2005. This is all that is left.

Gone but not forgotten

The final vestiges of Beautyco vanished on May 27, 2005. The office and warehouse were empty and turned over to the new owners. There are a few signs/awnings left here and there but they will probably vanish as the spaces are occupied by other tenants.

If you have any articles or other Beautyco memorabilia, email it to me at psawin@cox.net. If it is not in an electronic format, mail it to me at 1420 Evergreen Circle, Midwest City, OK 73110 and I will scan and return it.

Pete Sawin

HTML clipboard

About Beautyco

(from beautyco.com website)

Beautyco is one of the leading retailers of professional beauty supplies in the United States. Beautyco was founded over a third of a century ago with a simple mission: Provide products, service and enthusiasm to help each customer look and feel her very best.

From our humble beginnings making deliveries from a converted horse trailer, to our present day state-of-the-art distribution facility which can serve as many as 500 stores, Beautyco remains focused on that same mission of serving the customer…At Beautyco, We love to see you look your best!

Whether you are the top stylist in your region, or you are just having a ‘bad hair day’, we have the products you need, when you need them, at the prices you deserve! You will enjoy a shopping environment that makes you comfortable from the moment you step through our doors. We have an educated and friendly sales team ready to answer any questions. And we have stores that are located where you like to shop. By providing you with convenient locations, the best selection, industry-leading service, comfortable surroundings and some of the most knowledgeable Sales Associates in the industry, Beautyco will provide you with an unforgettable ‘shopping experience’.

We are presently located in strip malls and shopping centers throughout Oklahoma, Texas, and Mississippi, and will soon be coming to a neighborhood near you!

Oklahoma City Store's Executive Calls People Key to Success.

(from Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News; 2/9/2003)

By Laura Hinson, The Daily Oklahoman Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Feb. 9--When Ron Glass was being recruited to lead Beautyco Inc. in 1997, the main factor that prompted him to take the job was the people who work there, he said. Glass, 58, came to Oklahoma City to be president and chief executive of the beauty supply chain after serving as CEO of Bay Area Foods, another large retail chain in San Francisco.

He said Beautyco, which was founded in 1970 by Larry Rhodes, has been a successful chain because of its employees and customers. But few Oklahomans ..

New Beautyco 42nd for Chain in Oklahoma

(from The Ponca City News, Tuesday, March 30, 1999)

The 42nd Oklahoma Beautyco store opened last week in Ponca City and they are glad to be here.

“We’re thrilled to be here in Ponca City,” says Beautyco Advertising Director Robyn Healy. “The rural communities are the mainstream of our customers and we look forward to a partnership with the community in beauty and pride.”

According to Healy, Beautyco Inc. is Oklahoma’s fastest growing professional quality beauty supply store.

The new Ponca City location, 2906 North Fourteenth Street, is the ninth new Beautyco store to open within the past three months.

“Beautyco is in the business of beauty, catering to women’s wants, needs and desires,” Healy says. “Beautyco has such a diverse product line, that is so extensive with every possible type of taste, personal preference and life style considered. Women can find an abundant supply of hair colors and highlights to the professional quality nail products in one convent location Beautyco is Beauty Solutions.

The stores carry more than 7,500 hair, nail, face and body products, providing an array of retail beauty merchandise, with the professional quality supplies emphases.

“Beautyco is for every women! We have over 800 nail polishes, over 900 hair care products, and over 300 bath and body items. Every line imaginable for daily beauty care,” states Beautyco CEO Ron Glass

Beautyco Vice President of Store Operations Kathy West said, “Beautyco has been a part of Oklahoma beauty history since the 1970 with the most loyal of customers. Our company’s friendly, knowledgeable staff is what makes our business so successful here in Oklahoma.”

The manager of the store, Kay Lantz, was particularly anxious for the grand opening. “It has been a long process waiting to open,” Lantz said. “I’m absolutely thrilled that we are open here in Ponca City. The people here gave been so great.”

Oklahoma City Beauty Supply Firm Files for Bankruptcy Protection

(from Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News; January 03, 2004)

By Larry Levy, The Daily Oklahoman Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Jan. 3--TULSA, Okla. -- An Oklahoma City beauty supply company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Tulsa.

Beautyco Inc. filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma late New Year's Eve. The company, which has 36 stores in the state, listed debts in excess of $1 million.

"We have plans to continue operations and keep all our stores open," said Ron Glass, Beautyco's president and chief executive officer. "It's just a financial restructuring and something we needed to do. We're looking forward to going on and helping the Oklahoma consumer from here forward."

In its filing, Beautyco listed assets exceeding $1 million. The company said it estimates it has sufficient funds to pay its unsecured creditors.

It has sought permission from Bankruptcy Judge Terrence L. Michael to pay employees their wages, sales

Bankrupt Beautyco beauty products retail chain shuts stores across Oklahoma

(from The Daily OklahomanKnight Ridder/Tribune Business News; January 11, 2005)

Jan. 11--Phones rang with no answer and windows were darkened Monday in Beautyco stores across the state.

An employee who would not give his name said the store's locks were changed Sunday night, leaving employees and customers locked out Monday morning.

Company representative Stan Curtis said Beautyco's 34 stores are closed temporarily while the chain negotiates with possible buyers.

"Beyond that I have no further comment," Curtis said.

The closings come as the Oklahoma City-based beauty products retailer wrangles its way through bankruptcy court.

Beautyco Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Dec. 31, 2003, listing $3.3 million in assets and $8.7 million in debts. Beautyco Investments filed separately on the same day, reporting assets of $5.2 million and debts of $50,000.

Beautyco, which listed more than 300 creditors in its filing, sought to reorganize the company with an original plan to continue operating stores.

The company has proposed two reorganization plans, with the most recent filed in November 2004. The second plan proposed to reduce the company's secured debt from $6 million to $2 million and to sell newly issued stock in the company to an investor for $2 million. The plan also proposed unsecured creditors receive 5 cents on the dollar for their claims.

The bankruptcy court rejected that plan Dec. 9.

The denial came after an objection was filed by Beautyco's largest creditor, Colorado-based LINC Aquisition One, which is owed $5.5 million, secured by all property and inventory, including Beautyco's home office and warehouse space at 2600 S Meridian.

At the Beautyco store in Belle Isle Station shopping center Monday confused customers barraged neighbor Mike Garretson, who manages The Mattress Firm next door.

"I've probably had 20 to 25 women poke their head in to ask what's going on," Garretson said. "At first I just thought someone didn't show up to work."

Garretson was surprised by the company's bankruptcy problems.

"The store stayed busy all the time," Garretson said.

Carl Wayne Wester, a stylist at the Hair Store on N Western, said he shopped occasionally at the store in the Belle Isle shopping center but not enough for the store's closing to make a difference to his business.

"They can't carry many of the products we use," Wester said. "It's mainly the public that shops there."

Wester said he's not saddened by the store's situation.

"This actually helps our business -- and Wal-Mart's," Wester said.

Larry Rhodes founded Beautyco in 1970. In 2003, the company reported it employed more than 214 people in five states and recently had opened 12 stores.

The company's Web site lists 34 stores -- 32 in Oklahoma and one each in Texas and Mississippi.

HTML clipboard

Beautyco up for Sale

(from beautystorebusiness.com, March, 2005)

Beautyco looked to provide a one-stop shop for open-line professional beauty supplies before closing its doors in January, 2005.

Oklahoma City-based Beautyco abruptly went out of business on January 11, 2005, shutting the doors on its 34 stores throughout Oklahoma and laying off more than 100 employees.

Launched almost 35 years ago by Larry Rhodes, Beautyco at one point had close to 50 open-to-the-public stores in Oklahoma, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas, in addition to a 54,000-square-foot warehouse and its 14,000-square-foot corporate offices and company store. In a January, 2001 interview with Beauty Store Business, former CEO Ron Glass stated that Beautyco was looking to open upwards of 2,500 stores across the U.S., but after nearly two years of dwindling profits the company filed for bankruptcy protection in late 2004. Andy Howe, a former buyer for the chain, told us that “too many attorneys and too many agendas” eventually killed the business.

Four Beautyco stores re-opened on January 17 to liquidate inventory, but the company’s financial backer, Link LLC, in Denver, is looking to save as much of the company as possible. Stan Curtis of SEC Liquidations, retained by Link to help locate a buyer, confirms that approximately 20 stores had profits of over $200,000 per year, with several approaching $500,000. He estimates the company’s total assets at over $5 million, with $1.3 million worth of merchandise still in the warehouse. “My goal is to try to find someone to buy this thing,” he states. “At the store level there were some very good people involved, and we’d like to get them back to work.”

At press time several offers had been made for the Beautyco operation, but none accepted. Interested buyers can contact Stan Curtis at 574/607-1166.