The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 2012–2024
Nailmatic sold biosourced nail polish from vending machines — then the money ran out
The French brand built on eco nail polish and bath bombs, backed by the Rocher family, peaked at about €4M of sales. In December 2024 a court liquidated it.
Nailmatic · Groupe Rocher · 2024-12-29
What happened
Nailmatic was founded in Paris in 2012 by Boris Gratini and Lilian Monnier, and first made its name selling biosourced nail polish from automatic vending machines. It grew into a brand of eco-responsible beauty products — bath bombs, water-based temporary tattoo markers and nail care — and later moved into children's products, which came to make up about 90 percent of its sales.
The brand raised €2 million in 2017 and brought in Rocher Participations, the investment holding of the Groupe Rocher that owns Yves Rocher, as its majority shareholder. At its peak Nailmatic reported revenue of just over €4 million in 2021, sold in around 40 countries through some 3,000 points of sale, half of them in France. By the summer of 2024 it employed 15 people.
The growth proved fragile. Co-founder Lilian Monnier had left more than two years earlier, and in November 2024 Boris Gratini stepped down as president, replaced by Taroko, a firm that specialises in turning around distressed companies. A month later, on 29 December 2024, the Paris commercial court placed Nailmatic in judicial liquidation. Its assets were put up for sale, with the company saying it had already received expressions of interest.
Why it happened
- A niche eco nail-polish brand reached only a small revenue base of about €4 million, too little to sustain the cost of a multi-country business
- Heavy dependence on a children's line — 90 percent of sales — left the brand exposed to a single, price-sensitive segment
- The founders moved on and a turnaround firm took over late in 2024, a sign the business had already lost momentum
The lesson
A clever product and a famous backer are not a business. If revenue stays in the low millions across dozens of countries, the spread costs more than it earns, and one bad season ends it.
Aftermath
The Paris court's liquidation put Nailmatic's assets up for sale, and the company said it had already drawn expressions of interest, leaving open the chance that the brand could be revived by a new owner. The closure was felt across the French beauty sector, where Nailmatic had been held up as a pioneer of eco-responsible, made-in-France nail polish.
Sources
- FashionNetwork: Clap de fin pour la marque de cosmétique Nailmatic
- The Beauty Analyst: Nailmatic baisse définitivement le rideau
spotted an error? The club wants to know.
More like this
Lumene's sales recovered but its margins never did — Finland's cosmetics maker cut jobs
Revolution Beauty built a makeup empire on influencers — then sales fell a quarter
Nouba, Italy's pioneering makeup brand since 1978, entered liquidation in 2024
Somewhere, someone solved the problem this company failed at. 2nd Opinion →
Comments · 0
Sign in to join the comments.