I first heard about The Ordinary skincare brand by Deciem from make-up artist and YouTuber Wayne Goss in 2014. It was around this time that the brand started to gain traction on the internet, with its line of shockingly cheap yet effective skincare products. And it didn’t just offer your basic moisturisers, either; the not-so Ordinary portfolio included oils, retinoids, serums, acids, a couple of sunscreens and even foundations – things that are generally classified as “skincare investments” and often cost a pretty penny.
The Abnormal Beauty Company, as Deciem popularly calls itself, turned the beauty industry on its head with its mission to make skincare more transparent, and packaged its goods in basic, functional, almost medicinal looking bottles. Founded in 2013 by Brandon Truaxe, Deciem offers a number of sub-brands under its umbrella, including Niod and Hylamide, but The Ordinary has been its most successful line so far. The ever-expanding range is stocked on a number of websites (and often sells out), and has bricks and mortar stores in the United States and United Kingdom. Deciem grew at such a fast rate that Estee Lauder acquired a stake, and currently holds a 28 per cent minority share in the company.
Trouble on Instagram
But things took a turn for the Toronto-based company at the beginning of the year. While its products continue to be stellar, its social media output has been the source of controversy since Truaxe decided to get rid of his social media team and take care of the brand’s online presence himself, in a bid to keep things transparent.
What followed were a number of problematic posts on Instagram that have made fans not only question the ethics of the company, but Truaxe's mental health. He has used the platform to post negative comments about competitors, as well as break professional ties, fire current employees and threaten ex-colleagues, voice racist comments, express his support of president Donald Trump, and make fun of a homeless man. He has even set fire to his products and threatened to sue "sloppy journalists". Finally, he posted a video on Instagram to announce that he would be shutting down his company. And all this comes amid accusations of sexism, racism, body shaming and sexual harassment by ex-employees that he has never addressed.
Is this the end?
In a video shot in the back of a car with two men he claims are fellow Deciem employees, Truaxe says he is ceasing all operations until further notice. He claims his employees, barring a few, have all been involved in major criminal activities, including financial crimes, and claims he has been made fun of and called a porn actor and drug dealer.
The video is geotagged to The White House, and has been posted with a caption that includes a list of people (including Stephen Spielberg, Brad Pitt and "Prince Al Walid") and brands (Estee Lauder, Alshaya, LVMH and Marriott) that have been "laughing at him". He also claimed that "revolution is coming".
This is not the first time a post by Truaxe has confused followers, but since the video went up, the brand’s stores have remained closed and its website completely shut down. Which begs the questions of whether he is serious this time around, or whether this is all just an elaborate marketing ploy.
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Even though Deciem has been steadily losing followers on social media, people have continued to buy and use its products. Since Truaxe went public with his latest declaration, worried fans have been posting about stocking up before everything sells out, and some have been questioning whether this is, in fact, a marketing trick to try to clear excess stock.
Indeed, when I checked the Cultbeauty website to panic order some of my favourites, they were sold out. The brand also stocks on Beautylish and Asos (both deliver to the UAE), but Beautylish responded to a customer saying that they will no longer be carrying Deciem products once current stock has been sold, as the brand’s founder has discontinued the partnership.
Could this be the first case of social media being used to self-sabotage a young but successful brand that has gained a large and trusting fan base? Can the situation be salvaged? And is it ethical to support a company despite the questionable values of its founders, as long as it suits your pocket?
These questions have been plaguing me since I saw that video. Whether or not this is truly the end remains to be seen, but if not, Truaxe will have to embark on some serious damage control before customers will be able to trust Deciem again.
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Ant-Man%20and%20the%20Wasp%3A%20Quantumania
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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Past winners of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
2016 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2015 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes-GP)
2014 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2013 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2012 Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
2011 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2010 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2009 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Veere di Wedding
Dir: Shashanka Ghosh
Starring: Kareena Kapoo-Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania
Verdict: 4 Stars
