Mario Badescu skin care, a cosmetics business created by Romanian born chemist and cosmetologist Mario Badescu in the US, has branched out to Romania, where it has already opened a store and plans to add three next year. The Mario Badescu store, run by Romanian company Exclusive Skin Care, is located in Baneasa Shopping City, north of Bucharest.

“We have big plans for this brand, we plan to open two more Mario Badescu units in two other shopping malls in Bucharest and expand the distribution through other dedicated channels,” said George Man, main shareholder in Exclusive Skin Care. The cosmetics brand also sells its products online, through carestore.ro, as well as in the Beauty District salon.

The company targets EUR 1 million in sales for 2012, mainly based on an extended distribution network. It will invest EUR 100,000 in the distribution network next year, on top of costs for communication campaigns, which were not revealed.

Exclusive Skin care hopes for a 5 percent market share in 2012 in Romania, on a cosmetics products market estimated at valuing some EUR 20 million.

Mario Badescu is a Romanian born chemist and cosmetologist who opened his salon in New York City in 1967 and began to develop his signature skin care product line. Mario Bandescu's products are advertised by celebrities such as Naomi Campbell, Sharon Stone, Oprah Winfrey, Sarah Jessica Parker, Natalie Portman and Martha Stewart.

Corina Saceanu, corina@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Mario Badescu's Facebook page)