Andrew Fitzsimons and Maesa have parted ways.
The celebrity hairstylist, along with cofounder and director Julian Fallon, has purchased his brand from the beauty incubator behind Kristin Ess Hair, fragrance brand Fine’ry and skin care brand ITK.
Terms of the deal could not be learned.
“Over the past few months, I have been in discussions with my partners at Maesa regarding the future of the Andrew Fitzsimons brand,” Fitzsimons said. “We have reached a mutually beneficial agreement while continuing to deliver on our promise to our loyal customers.”
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“We are very proud of the foundation we’ve built with the Andrew Fitzsimons brand. After a fantastic launch in the U.S. at Ulta, the brand quickly rolled out successful expansions into U.K. and Europe,” said Scott Kestenbaum, chief growth officer at Maesa, via email. “While no longer part of Maesa’s brand portfolio, we are cheering Andrew on and can’t wait to see where this exciting journey takes him and the brand next.”
The brand debuted in 2022 with 26 stock keeping units and an exclusive retail partnership with Ulta Beauty; Fitzsimons said the brand will be picking up launch cadence starting in the first quarter of 2025.
Fitzsimons didn’t quantify sales, though the brand was estimated to reach $20 million in its first year at launch. He did say turnover would double in the next 12 months, and swell up to 300 percent in the next five years.
Renewed focus on international markets will play a key role in that growth. Ulta and Boots are the brand’s largest retail partners, and it recently launched in Dunnes in Ireland. That market, where Fitzsimons hails from, will also see the brand enter travel retail, with plans to expand in the U.K. In the U.S., the plan is to double down on its Ulta partnership with a greater focus on marketing and education.
“The U.S. is still our biggest market — it’s where our clients live, it’s where I live, and it’s where I will be doing the most work in terms of education,” said Fitzsimons, who has almost 1 million followers on Instagram and whose clients include Khloe Kardashian and Megan Fox, among others. “Ulta has given us so much visibility, and the thing I’m focusing on is hair education. People want to know not only which products will improve the health of their hair, but also how to use innovation in their day-to-day lives to achieve the styles they want.”
That will dictate the brand’s marketing strategy going forward. “Andrew launched with 26 skus and education is the major key to what our plans are for this year,” Fallon said. “When you look at skin care and the ingredients behind it, Andrew did the same thing with hair, and that’s something we need to educate women about.”
The duo have also set up a headquarters in Ireland, and hired Primark alumna Caroline Dalton to lead the all-female team as chief executive officer. Fitzsimons will continue to be based in Los Angeles.
“The most important thing to me is that this brand was a contribution not only to hair care, but also to women,” Fitzsimons said. “Ireland is such a small country, but there’s so much creativity and talent that it made total sense to move. Now, everything that comes from the brand will be coming from the same place.”