The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 1934–2009
Ellen Betrix was Germany's top makeup brand — Revlon and P&G dismantled it over 25 years
A family-owned German makeup brand that dominated department stores for 12 years was sold to Revlon, then P&G, and dismantled over 25 years, ending 1,000 jobs.
Ellen Betrix · Revlon · Procter & Gamble · 2009-03-03
What happened
Ellen Betrix was a German depot-cosmetics (department-store makeup) brand founded in 1934 by Fritz Segner in a Frankfurt cellar. By 1954 it had 1 million DM in revenue; by 1984, its 50th anniversary, it reached 200 million DM and employed nearly 1,000 people in Germany plus 400 abroad. It was Germany's No.1 cosmetics brand in the depot channel for 12 consecutive years, with subsidiaries in Italy, Austria, Sweden, Spain, Luxembourg, and Switzerland.
The founding family could not secure its next generation. In 1989, facing competitive pressure and succession issues, the Segners sold Ellen Betrix to Revlon. Revlon held it for only two years before selling it to Procter & Gamble in 1991 — along with the licences for Hugo Boss and Laura Biagiotti fragrances. P&G's global efficiency strategy had no room for a mid-sized German brand.
The dismantling was gradual but methodical. In 1995, 270 jobs were cut. In 1996, 540 jobs were lost and production was moved to England. The Sprendlingen site was reduced to a logistics hub. On 3 March 2009, the last 200 logistics jobs were eliminated and the site closed for good. The brand that had been Germany's department-store beauty leader for 12 years had been hollowed out over 25 years of ownership changes.
Why it happened
- The founding family could not secure a succession plan, leaving the company vulnerable to a sale under competitive pressure.
- Revlon bought Ellen Betrix for its German market access, not to build the brand — and sold it two years later when its priorities shifted.
- P&G's global efficiency model prioritised scale over local brands, so Ellen Betrix was gradually dismantled and production moved to lower-cost locations.
- A brand that is sold twice in three years has no strategic owner with a long-term interest — it becomes an asset to be rationalised, not a franchise to be built.
The lesson
A family-owned market leader that sold to a global owner lost its identity and was gradually dismantled — brand leadership without ownership control is temporary.
Aftermath
The Ellen Betrix brand ceased to exist as an independent entity. The Sprendlingen site was closed in March 2009, ending 75 years of cosmetics production in the town. The city of Dreieich lost a major employer and tax contributor. Several former employees started their own cosmetics businesses in the region, creating a small cluster of spin-off brands.
Sources
- Freunde Sprendlingens — Ellen Betrix: Schönheit made in Sprendlingen (full history, job losses, closure date)
- OP-Online — Kometenhafter Aufstieg: Die Blütezeit von Ellen Betrix (rise, 200M DM revenue, 1,000 employees)
- Wikipedia: Procter & Gamble — mentions Ellen Betrix acquisition in 1991
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