Ahava: Difference between revisions
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In 2009, the company reported sales of nearly $150 million a year. In the United States, the largest overseas market for Ahava products, the company signed distribution deals with [[Lord & Taylor]], [[Nordstrom]] and the beauty-supply chain [[Ulta]]. <ref>[http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/09/smallbusiness/ahava_dead_sea.fsb/index.htm Ahava turns Dead Sea Mud into Money]</ref> |
In 2009, the company reported sales of nearly $150 million a year. In the United States, the largest overseas market for Ahava products, the company signed distribution deals with [[Lord & Taylor]], [[Nordstrom]] and the beauty-supply chain [[Ulta]]. <ref>[http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/09/smallbusiness/ahava_dead_sea.fsb/index.htm Ahava turns Dead Sea Mud into Money]</ref> |
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Ahava is the only cosmetics company licensed by the Israeli government to mine raw materials at the Dead Sea. <ref>[http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/09/smallbusiness/ahava_dead_sea.fsb/index.htm Ahava turns Dead Sea Mud into Money]</ref> |
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==Products== |
==Products== |
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Revision as of 06:29, 1 May 2011
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| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Cosmetics |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Headquarters | Holon, Israel |
| Products | Skin care |
| Revenue | $150 million |
Number of employees | 200 |
| Website | http://www.ahava.com/ |
Ahava (Hebrew: אהבה) (lit. Love) is an Israeli cosmetics company that manufactures skin-care products made of mud and mineral-based compounds from the Dead Sea.
History
Ziva Gilad, a spa technician, came up with the idea of marketing Dead Sea mud after watching women tourists scooping up the mud to take home. Gilad approached three kibbutzim in the Dead Sea region, who jointly established Dead Sea Laboratories (DSL) in 1988 and began selling small plastic bottles of mud and salt crystals to tourists. [1]The company made nearly $1 million during the first year. Ahava is now co-owned by Gaon Holdings, one of Israel's largest holding companies. Ahava exports to over thirty countries worldwide, and exports account for 60% its sales. Ahava products are available in shops all over Israel, with an outlet store at the foot of Masada.[2]
Ahava's shareholders include Kibbutz Mitzpe Shalem (41 percent); Hamashbir Holdings and Gaon Holdings (41 percent); Kibbutz Ein Gedi and Kibbutz Kalya (18 percent). In 2009 Ahava took on new shareholder Shamrock Holdings, the Walt Disney Family's investment arm, which purchased 20% of Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories from its existing shareholders.[3][4][5] The main manufacturing plant and showroom is at Mitzpe Shalem while the company's administrative headquarters is located in Holon.[6]The company has 200 employees, 180 of them in Israel. [7]
In 2009, the company reported sales of nearly $150 million a year. In the United States, the largest overseas market for Ahava products, the company signed distribution deals with Lord & Taylor, Nordstrom and the beauty-supply chain Ulta. [8]
Ahava is the only cosmetics company licensed by the Israeli government to mine raw materials at the Dead Sea. [9]
Products
Ahava sells eight different ranges of skin care products for different skin types. [10] Ahava products are based on the belief that minerals have a capacity to act as "intercellular messengers, transmitting information to skin cells and impacting positively on their health and vital functions." [11]Ahava product lines include Source, a basic product for all skin types; Dermud for dry, sensitive skin, Time Line, an anti-aging facial treatment; Men’s, for men’s skin; and Pure Spa, anti-aging products for the body.[12]The Dermud series includes hand cream, foot cream, facial cleanser, body milk, facial nourishing cream, facial moisturizer, moisturizing shower cream and body cream.[2]The “Pure Spa” collection uses citrus and citrus products as a source of vitamins and minerals. [13]
Controversy
When TV actress Kristin Davis signed on as a spokeswoman for Ahava cosmetics in 2007, she was criticized by Oxfam.[14] Boycott campaigns have been organized by several organizations such as Code Pink, which says "[Ahava's] products actually come from stolen Palestinian natural resources in the occupied territory of the Palestinian West Bank, and are produced in the illegal settlement of Mitzpe Shalem."[15] In response, the company stated that: "the mud and materials used in Ahava cosmetics products...are mined in the Israeli part of the Dead Sea" and that the Mitzpe Shalem kibbutz where the products are produced is not an "illegal settlement."[16] The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.[17] In January 2011, the upscale UK department store John Lewis announced that it had stopped stocking Ahava products.[18] Claims that this was in response to the international campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel have been denied by the company.[19]
The Ahava flagship store in central London will close in September 2011. [20] The owners of the property have refused to renew the lease, caving in to political pressures and the many protests staged outside the store. [21]
See also
References
- ^ Ahava turns Dead Sea Mud into Money
- ^ a b Greer Fay Cashman (January 3, 2008). "MarketWise". The Jerusalem Post.
- ^ "PrivCo Private Company Research Report: Ahava". PrivCo.com. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
- ^ Neuman, Efrat. "Will the British buy love from the Dead Sea?". Haaretz. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
- ^ Neuman, Efrat. "Will the British buy love from the Dead Sea?". Haaretz. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
- ^ From Israel with Ahava, Haaretz
- ^ From Israel with Ahava, Haaretz
- ^ Ahava turns Dead Sea Mud into Money
- ^ Ahava turns Dead Sea Mud into Money
- ^ Restore and maintain skin health and beauty with Ahava’s Dead Sea mineral face and body care products
- ^ Ahava facebook page
- ^ AHAVA skincare products mine the Dead Sea for efficacy, product review
- ^ AHAVA skincare products mine the Dead Sea for efficacy, product review
- ^ E.B. Solomont (2009-08-07). "'Charlotte' gets no love for Ahava". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
- ^ "Code Pink protest calls for Ahava boycott". Ynet News. July 30, 2009. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
- ^ "Pro-Israel shoppers defy Ahava products boycott call". The Jerusalem Post. July 25, 2010.
- ^ "The Geneva Convention". BBC News. 10 December 2009.
- ^ "John Lewis bans products from illegal settlements in Holy Land". Independent Catholic News. 2011-01-16. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
- ^ Sabel, Robbie (2011-01-16). "British retailer denies boycotting Israeli cosmetics". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
- ^ "From Corporate Watch: AHAVA VICTORY". London BDS. 2011-04-19. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
- ^ "Ahava Victory". Corporate Watch. 2011-04-12. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
External links
