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Makeup mogul Napoleon Perdis’ cosmetics empire collapses

Napoleon Perdis (R) put his cosmetics empire into administration last month.

Napoleon Perdis (R) put his cosmetics empire into administration last month. Photo: Getty

Hundreds of jobs may be lost after the spectacular collapse of makeup mogul Napoleon Perdis’ eponymous cosmetics chain.

Founded in 1995, the Australian-grown cosmetics empire Napoleon Perdis Group went into voluntary administration on Thursday, putting 56 local stores at risk.

Once a fixture on Sydney’s social scene – where he had a home with 1960s Pierre Cardin bar and a giant gold plaster of Paris camel – Mr Perdis now lives in Athens, Greece, with Soula-Marie, his wife of 28 years.

Mrs Perdis is a co-owner of the family business. Emmanuel Perdis, Mr Perdis’ brother, is also listed on corporate documents as an owner.

“My family and I are 100 per cent committed to achieving the best outcome for all stakeholders,” Mr Perdis, 48, said in a statement.

At the height of Napoleon’s prosperity, the couple lived between Australia and Los Angeles with daughters, Lianna, Angelene, Alexia and Athina.

Perdis family

Lianna, Napoleon and Soula-Marie Perdis at the 2017 Women of Style awards in Sydney. Photo: Getty

Professional highlights for Mr Perdis included working with Serena Williams at New York Fashion Week (“she still texts me”) and doing the makeup backstage at a Primetime Emmy Awards.

He said in 2011 his lifelong passion for makeup sprang from his mother letting him do her face “before heading out to soirées. I’ve been hooked since”.

The industry might now look less glamorous to Mr Perdis, with claims company directors tried for months to find a buyer for the struggling empire.

Shops across the country closed for instant stocktakes for a “couple of hours” on Thursday, a retail assistant at Napoleon’s outlet at Melbourne’s Highpoint Shopping Centre told The New Daily.

The staffer said shops would otherwise be trading as usual. Calls to Napoleon Perdis’ headquarters in Alexandria, NSW, went unanswered.

The company’s 56 stores include concessions within Myer branches.

While the business continues to trade, administrators Simon Cathro, Chris Cook, and Ivan Glavas of Worrells Solvency Accountants will consider a restructure or pursue a sale option.

Global beauty behemoths including Sephora and Mecca are said to have been a major factor in the Napoleon Perdis downfall.

The makeup company had been doing it tough for a couple of years, with corporate documents showing it ran at a $1.6 million loss in 2014 and a $154,808 loss in 2015.

Napoleon Perdis

Napoleon plying his trade at a David Jones launch in 2011. Photo: AAP

Mr Perdis started his career as a makeup artist  at 13 and in 1995 expanded a makeup academy into the first Napoleon Perdis store, in Sydney’s Paddington.

In 2004 the brand expanded into the US and at one point there were 65 concept stores, including a Hollywood Boulevard flagship.

Napoleon Perdis pulled out of the American market in 2015. Mr Perdis signalled a restructure last year by closing stores and pulling products out of David Jones.

According to reports, the company inked a national distribution deal with Priceline last year and was looking to expand into Asia.

Mr Perdis said in a statement released through Worrells there is still high demand for his brand and a business restructure will put it in a “prime position to continue to evolve through continued trade or in a sale”.

Worrells is seeking buyers or investors for Napoleon Perdids. Partner Simon Cathro said he expected “significant interest”.

Priceline, has vowed to support the business during the administration process.

The collapse of his business is the latest drama for Mr Perdis.

Last July, his former general manager Giovanni Rosiello took him to the Federal Court, claiming he had been underpaid by nearly $100,000.

Mr Rosiello also alleged he was forced to organise family funerals, sell cars for Mr Perdis and “artificially” boost the Instagram profiles of Napoleon and his family.

The ongoing dispute is set for a management hearing in Sydney on March 8.

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