Revlon prepares to file for bankruptcy amid supply chain woes and debt load

Inflation is denting margins and the company has more than $3bn of long-term debt

Revlon’s shares plunged 53 per cent, the biggest one-day drop on record, on Friday to close at $2.05. Photo: Subhash Sharma for The National

Cosmetics company Revlon is preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as soon as next week as it battles supply chain problems and a heavy debt load, sources say.

Talks about the potential filing are not final and could change, the sources said, discussing private negotiations. A representative for Revlon declined to comment.

Distressed debt news provider Reorg first reported the matter.

Revlon’s shares plunged 53 per cent, the biggest one-day drop on record, on Friday to close at $2.05.

New York-based Revlon, owned by billionaire Ron Perelman’s MacAndrews & Forbes, struggled against competition from Estee Lauder and a host of smaller companies using social media to lure customers.

Sales had been declining years before the pandemic, which also hit the company hard.

Revlon’s chief executive Debra Perelman said in a May call to discuss quarterly results that demand for the company’s products was strong, but “supply chain challenges are putting pressures on our ability to meet this demand” and inflation was denting margins.

The company has more than $3 billion of long-term debt, and has narrowly averted multiple defaults by cutting debt deals with creditors.

Its annual interest expense was nearly $248 million last year, and it reported $132m of liquidity as of March 31.

Revlon is talking with creditors, and equity ownership of the company is likely to change, one of the sources said.

Revlon has more than 15 brands, including Elizabeth Arden and Elizabeth Taylor, which it markets in nearly 150 countries.