Revlon takes axe to marketing

Revlon has axed its chief marketing officer Stephanie Klein Peponis as part of a cost-cutting management restructure at the cosmetics giant.

The company is making 250 staff – 8% of its workforce – redundant and chief creative officer Rochelle Udell is also leaving. The brand marketing team will now report directly to new chief executive David Kennedy, who was promoted from chief financial officer last week to replace ousted chief Jack Stahl.

News of the job cuts follows Revlon’s decision to axe the recently launched Vital Radiance cosmetics line aimed at older women in the US. The new line reportedly drained the group’s operating profit by $40m (£21m)in the second quarter of this year.

Kennedy says: "The announcements represent important and necessary steps forward for Revlon. We are moving forward with a clear focus on leveraging the tremendous equity of our established brands – particularly Revlon – and without the burden of the operating loss we anticipated from Vital Radiance in 2007."

Klein Peponis was promoted to the role of chief marketing officer from chief planning and business development officer in 2003 (MW October 2, 2003).