Lise Watier is a Canadian prestige cosmetic company and brand, launched in 1972 by Madame Lise Watier, OC, and distributed through department and select drugstores.[1][2][3]
Lise Watier was born in Montreal in 1942. Her father worked his way up to become manager of a car dealership and her mother had a sense of fashion.[4]
She told the Toronto Star that the heavy makeup she wore for her job as a researcher and host for a women's interest television program from 1963 to 1968 inspired her to create a self-improvement and makeup course company, Charme et Beauté Lise Watier Inc., in 1965, and to launch her own line of cosmetics in 1972.[5]
The Montreal-based company first attempted to expand in the 1980s, but a fire in the company's factory and offices was a major setback. Watier later told the National Post, "It took until 1995 to get back to the point we were at in 1990."[6] By the turn of the century, the company's cosmetics were distributed in France and across Canada.[6]
Watier was a family-owned company; Watier's husband, Serge Rocheleau was chairman and general manager, and daughters Nathalie and Marie-Lise worked in marketing.[6]
The brand is distributed in Canada and the United States.
In 1986, the company's founder was honoured as Canadian business woman of the year.[7]
In 2007, Imperial Capital Corporation of Toronto, an investment firm, purchased a majority stake in the company, with Watier and Rocheleau retaining seats on the board and a minority share in the company.[8]
In 2009, the company signed Mitsou Gélinas, a Canadian singer, actor and television personality, as ambassador.[9]
In 2013, Watier stepped down as CEO, appointing Pierre Plasard, previously of L'Oréal, to take her place.[8] As of that time, the company had 175 employees and did approximately $90 million in sales annually.[8]
^Lise Watier, une vie à entreprendre (videorecording) / Société Radio-Canada. -- Montréal : Société Radio-Canada, 2015
^Jaimer, Kate (31 July 1999). "A touch of beauty: Determination and hard work have made Lise Watier the Celine Dion of Quebec's cosmetics business". Ottawa Citizen. ProQuest240263430.
^Bot, Ellen (2 July 1987). "Watier favors subtle makeup look". Toronto Star. ProQuest435598489.
^ abcAllossery, Patrick (25 October 1999). "Quebec's Watier finds the sweet smell of success It's all in the family; Despite setbacks, firm is still tops in its home market". National Post. ProQuest329574649.
