Cradle Holdings, New York, has spun off its wholly owned subsidiary, L’Artisan Parfumeur, as an independent, privately held company effective immediately. L’Artisan Parfumeur is a prestige personal and home fragrance company.

The ownership and operational leadership of the companies will remain substantially the same. Alan Fearnley will serve as president and chief executive of Cradle Holdings and Remi Clero will continue as president and CEO of L’Artisan Parfumeur. Fox Paine & Company LLC, a San Francisco-based
private equity firm, will remain the controlling shareholder of Cradle Holdings and L’Artisan Parfumeur.

Rip Mason, former CEO of Cradle Holdings, has joined Fox Paine as senior managing director and will be involved with Cradle Holdings and L’Artisan Parfumeur, as well as with a number of additional Fox Paine investments.

Cradle said that Penhaligon’s and Erno Laszlo will remain its subsidiaries. Mason has also been appointed co-vice chairman of Cradle Holdings and non-executive chairman of Penhaligon’s and Erno Laszlo. Prior to joining Fox Paine, he served as vice chairman and executive vice president of Jafra Cosmetics International.

“Approximately three years ago, during a period of significant upheaval in the luxury goods sector, Fox Paine backed an idea conceived by Robert Nielsen, former group president of Estee Lauder, with more than 40 years of cosmetic industry experience, to invest in promising prestige brands in need of experienced cosmetic industry management talent and growth capital,” explained Saul Fox, chairman of Cradle Holdings and L’Artisan Parfumeur and CEO of Fox Paine. “To this end, Cradle Holdings acquired three unique luxury brands, Erno Laszlo, Penhaligon’s, and L’Artisan Parfumeur. These companies have rewarded Cradle Holdings for its investment of capital and management attention with their prodigious growth.”

Nielsen, former CEO of Cradle Holdings, remains co-vice chairman of Cradle Holdings. In addition, Robert Trauber, Cradle Holdings’ executive vice president since January 2004, will assume the roles of general manager of Erno Laszlo and U.S. general manager of Penhaligon’s.

Perfumania Marketing’s Retail Sales Up in December 2004
E Com Ventures Inc., Sunrise, FL, reported that retail sales of its wholly owned subsidiary, Perfumania Marketing, were up 6.1% to $48.4 million for the month of December, compared to sales of $45.6 million for the prior year. Comparable store sales increased by 5.3% to approximately $44.4 million from $42.2 million reported in the prior year.

“Our improved assortment of product offerings, along with the efforts of our administration and committed sales team, enabled us to deliver this performance, ” said Michael W. Katz, president and chief executive of E Com Ventures Inc.