It’s a move intended to help advance Mary Kay to a spot among the big five. “As Mary Kay approaches the status of a top five beauty brand globally, company leaders expect the new facility will support Mary Kay’s future needs in producing high quality skin care and color cosmetics for its more than 3.5 million independent sales force members worldwide,” says the company’s latest press release.
So, it has been decided then. Where Denton Tap Road and Vista Ridge Mall Drive intersect in Lewisville, Texas, Mary Kay will build its long anticipated new facility.
Cosmetics Design first reported on the company’s planning of Mary Kay’s forthcoming R&D and manufacturing facility in October of last year. At that time the beauty company had determined only that it would choose property in the Dallas / Fort Worth metroplex for the project.
“Mary Kay Inc. is expected to make a decision on the construction site by the end of 2015 as locations…are being evaluated for the new facility,” noted the company then, in a media release about the project.
Lone Star State
The direct sales beauty company takes great pride in its local facility, going so far as to subtitle the press release announcing the site, “Hometown Cosmetics Giant Expects to Break Ground in September.” Mary Kay corporate headquarters are in Addison, Texas, a city just north of Dallas.
Similarly, having a portfolio of American-made cosmetic and personal care products is important to Mary Kay: “I am extremely proud of our commitment to Texas and to remain competitive with ‘Made in America,’” Thomas Cho, chief supply chain officer for Mary Kay Inc., tells the press.
Size and scope
The manufacturing and R&D facility has a price tag of $100m and will be going up on a 26 acre+ piece of real estate. According to the company, the new building complex designed by Jacobs Engineering will amount to 470,000 square feet of space. And, Beck Construction is lined up to be the general contractor on the construction.
There are high hopes for the new Mary Kay facility: “This state-of-the-art facility is being specifically designed and built to meet not only today’s, but tomorrow’s, challenges to ensure the future of Mary Kay in an ever-growing and changing global marketplace,” Cho says.
“We are very excited about our innovative vision for Mary Kay’s new U.S.-based global manufacturing and research and development facility.”