NEW YORK — Caswell-Massey, the personal care brand that was founded 253 years ago in Newport, R.I., has regained its independence after ending an 18-month alliance with BFMA Holdings and is now poised for growth.
After acquiring the $20 million brand in July 2003, the Pompano Beach, Fla.-based BFMA has spun off the personal care company into Caswell-Massey Holding Co.
Caswell-Massey’s top executives have stated that their goal is to triple the firm’s revenues in the next five years.
Fresh off the relaunch of its men’s shaving line, called 1752, Caswell-Massey is relaunching its Greenbriar men’s fragrance collection. Set to debut next month, the line will feature a new scent with citrus, floral and woody accords. Also, a new SPF 30 face and body lotion is being added to Greenbriar, bringing the line up to seven items, including two kits. The collection ranges in price from $7.50 for a bar of soap to $69.99 for the so-called Masters Collection, a cologne, aftershave, lotion and soap all packaged together.
Greenbriar has been repackaged and features rectangular green glass bottles with a ribbed texture. The outer packaging design features a Twenties-era golfer on an argyle background, which replaces a Caswell-Massey emblem design.
Caswell-Massey’s full assortment of some 1,300 men’s and women’s stockkeeping units are distributed through four main channels: the firm’s 13 freestanding stores; its catalogue business; a company Web site, and about 2,000 wholesale doors including Ulta, L.L. Bean and Anthropologie. The extensive product lineup is divided into numerous men’s and women’s personal care subcollections. Caswell-Massey’s full men’s assortment of 400 products generates 35 percent of the firm’s business.
Barry Florescue, chairman and chief executive officer of Caswell-Massey — who oversaw the Caswell-Massey acquisition 18 months ago as ceo of BFMA — established a direction for the brand by naming Edward J. Coleman as the new president and chief operating officer in the fall.
Florescue was ceo of BFMA when it acquired Caswell-Massey and subsequently devoted himself to running Caswell-Massey when he spun it off.
Coleman, 57, succeeded Wayne Garten who had been named president and chief operating officer last January. After five months, though, he was recruited to the post of president and ceo of Hanover Direct Inc., the multibrand, multichannel direct marketer.
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Coleman, so far, has overseen the relaunch of the brand’s 20-year-old shave line, called 1752. He said the men’s grooming market “already has come into its own. It’s a significant opportunity.” The 31-sku collection has been repackaged, with burgundy packaging giving way to tan graphics on black backgrounds. A new, unscented group of products has been added to the line, which features existing almond and sandalwood fragrance families.
1752 is grouped into products such as shave creams and an aftershave balm, which are priced from $9 to $16; implements such as a razor handle and a badger hair brush, which are priced from $5 to $35, and kits for between $19.99 and $69.99, which include both the pre- and post-shave products and the implements.
“It’s our way of leveraging the company’s history while staying current with the men’s grooming market,” Candiss Lynch, director of marketing for Caswell-Massey, said of the relaunch of 1752 — named for the year the brand was founded. Greenbriar and 1752 are among Caswell-Massey’s seven major men’s lines. The other five are Newport, Almond & Aloe, Sandalwood, Number Six and Jockey Club.