Sculpted by Aimee revenues double to more than €22m

Aimee Connolly set up her business in 2016 after saving €10,000 by working as a freelance make-up artist

Aimee Connolly at her Sculpted by Aimee store on Grafton Street in Dublin.  Photograph: Nick Bradshaw for The Irish Times
Aimee Connolly at her Sculpted by Aimee store on Grafton Street in Dublin. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw for The Irish Times

Businesswoman Aimee Connolly oversaw a 50 per cent increase in revenues in her cosmetics business to €22.23 million last year.

In a record-breaking year for the company, Sculpted by Aimee Connolly Cosmetics Ltd, revenues surged by €7.4 million from €14.75 million.

On the back of the sharp rise in sales, pretax profits increased by 20 per cent to €2.89 million.

Ms Connolly set up her business in 2016 after saving €10,000 by working as a freelance make-up artist.

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The business mixes bricks and mortar stores along with its thriving www.SculptedbyAimee.com ecommerce unit.

The increase in revenues followed the company enjoying the first full year of operations of the its flagship Grafton Street store in Dublin which opened in September 2022 and the opening last year of a store at Victoria Square in Belfast and on London’s Carnaby Street.

The Sculpted by Aimee brand also has an outlet at Kildare Village. The company has continued its expansion in the UK this year by launching in Selfridges.

The business continued to expand last year as numbers employed almost doubled rising from 26 to 49.

Staff costs at the company increased 120 per cent to €2.47 million.

The profits last year take account of non-cash depreciation costs of €239,308.

The firm recorded after tax profits of €2.5 million after incurring a corporation tax charge of €384,061.

The company business is very much a family affair with Aimee Connolly’s mother, Claire and her husband, John Greene sitting on the board with Ms Connolly.

Mr Greene – who runs a number of Camille Thai franchises with friend and Galway hurler, Joe Canning – joined the Sculpted by Aimee board in December 2022.

Ms Connolly and Mr Greene got married in August 2023.

Pay to directors last year increased from €80,000 to €200,000.

Last year, the company’s cash funds increased by €751,000 from €2.6 million to €3.4 million while the amount owed by debtors to the business last year increased from €4.01 million to €4.92 million.

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Gordon Deegan

Gordon Deegan

Gordon Deegan is a contributor to The Irish Times