Sally Beauty acquires Midwest beauty supplies distributor

Sally Beauty Holdings Inc.’s subsidiary Beauty Systems Group LLC has acquired Aerial Co. Inc. for $70 million. The addition of Aerial will extend Beauty Systems Group’s distribution and professional beauty product offerings in the Midwest region of the U.S.

Aerial, founded in 1912 and based in Marinette, WI, employs more than 700 people, including over 70 direct sales consultants. Revenue in fiscal 2009 was approximately $100 million. The company sells only to professional beauty salons through 82 stores located in Wisconsin, northern Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, and North and South Dakota, and online at AerialCompany.com. The company operates two distribution centers, one in Marinette and one in Lincoln, NE.

“Aerial is a leading distributor in the professional beauty products industry,” says Gary Winterhalter, CEO of Sally Beauty Holdings, No. 361 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide. “The addition of Aerial will complement BSG’s portfolio and expand its geographic footprint in the Midwest, directly supporting our objective to grow Sally Beauty Holdings over the long-term.”

Sally Beauty Supply sells and distributes beauty products through more than 4,000 stores, including approximately 200 franchise stores in the U.S., U.K., Belgium, Chile, France, Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Ireland, Spain and Germany, and its e-commerce site SallyBeauty.com.

For the third quarter ended June 30, Sally Beauty Holdings reported

• Sales of $742.9 million, up by 10.3% from $673.3 million in the prior year quarter. The company does not break out web sales in its quarterly reports.
• Net income of $41.11 million a 30.6% increase from $31.48 million in the prior year quarter.

For the first nine months of 2010, Sally Beauty Holdings reported:

• Total sales of about $2.1 billion for the first nine months of 2010, up by about 10.6% from $1.9 billion in 2009.
• Net income $101.8 million, up by 41.1% from $72.1 million.