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HITTING THE BIG TIME\ MAKEUP MANUFACTURER LANDS HUGE CUSTOMER IN WAL-MART.(Business)(Small business)

The Cincinnati Post (Cincinnati, OH) January 8, 2007 Byline: Bethany Clough Fresno Bee Suzi Picaso has come a long way since she was 7 years old and charged her friends a penny to apply their makeup.

The Lindsay, Calif., boutique owner will begin selling her Suzi Q cosmetics line in central San Joaquin Valley Wal-Mart stores shortly.

Picaso’s makeup is geared toward “the girl with beautiful brown skin tones,” including Latinas. The makeup includes “hip-hop eyeshadow” in three shades of purple and happy-hour lip gloss, with scents like Strawberry Daiquiri and Lemon-Drop Martini.

The line will be sold in six Wal-Marts. Picaso and Wal-Mart hope to have the makeup on the shelves in February.

Picaso, 38, created the line about a year ago, though she has been in the industry for 20 years. So far, the makeup has been for sale only at her boutique, Picaso’s Passion Inc., a makeup studio that employs a hairdresser, offers eyelash extensions and sells clothing and accessories.

Getting a product in any of Wal-Mart’s 6,600 stores worldwide is no easy task, said Penni Jones, executive director of the Independent Cosmetics Manufacturers and Distributors Association. She said Picaso’s deal is even more noteworthy since makeup geared toward Hispanics has been on shelves for several years. website lemon drop martini lemondropmartini.net lemon drop martini

Although Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart allows suppliers to apply online, many companies hire a middleman who charges a premium to help pitch their products to the corporation and other large retailers, Jones said. Picaso did it differently.

Last summer, Wal-Mart held a diversity workshop for buyers and managers in Visalia, Calif. Wal-Mart officials asked the Tulare Kings Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to make a presentation about Hispanic buying trends, said Gil Jaramillo, executive director.

The chamber invited some business owners, including Picaso, to present on the likes and dislikes of the Hispanic consumer. Picaso said she was thrilled to have an audience with Wal-Mart.

Her audience consisted of 40 men and three women, but, nonetheless, they liked her product, she said. The workers liked that the year-old line was not carried in any department stores and that Wal-Mart could have an exclusive. They arranged for it to be sold in local stores.

“That wasn’t the intent, but it was a great byproduct,” Jaramillo said. “That was a pleasant surprise.” Picaso was even more excited. “I was thinking I was in a dream,” she said.

She said she plans a trip to Bentonville and is in the middle of the lengthy process of becoming a supplier. Picaso said Wal-Mart representatives have told her that, if the product sells well, the company will carry it regionally. If that goes well, the retailer could sell it nationally.

“That is a long-term goal,” she said.

She said she doesn’t yet know how big a boost in business the deal will mean, but she estimates Wal-Mart will buy at least $200,000 of the product initially.

“This is like a dream come true for me,” she said. “Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always wanted my own cosmetics line.” CAPTION(S):

Photo (2) Photos by JOHN WALKER/Fresno Bee Suzi Picaso in her Lindsay, Calif., boutique, Picaso’s Passion, with her Suzi Q line of cosmetics. Three of Suzi Cosmetics’ lip glosses are, from left, Strawberry Daiquiri, Tequila Sunrise and Lemon Drop.