About Prep

PREP Cosmetics was founded on one solid principal: Bring them beauty! The inspiration took hold in Madison, Wisconsin in May 2006. Lauren Frank, who'd attended the University of Madison, knew first hand that no one was providing the women in the community with cosmetics options other than generic convenience store brands. The 553 State Street, Madison location was the beginning of Prep Cosmetics, and is still the only retailer catering exclusively to the cosmetic needs of the Madison population.

PREP Cosmetics is a specialty cosmetics retailer. Committed to providing the best boutique experience for its customers. Prep selectively picks luxurious brands to carry in its stores. Providing customers with a tempting array of products is just one of the ways Prep shows its dedication to customer service. Store managers are extensively trained on each line carried in the store, insuring customers receive the best possible care and guidance, and the ultimate beauty shopping experience.

Prep was purchased by the holding company, Emoire, LLC, in the fall of 2007. With the new infusion of capital and talent, Prep is gearing up for a major national expansion. Stores in Amherst, Massachusetts and Newport, Rhode Island opened in the spring of 2008. These stores will carry a larger selection of brands. Prep's web site, ShopPrep.com, launched in the summer of 2008 which will offer many of its lines to an extensive clientele of national and international contacts who have already expressed the desire to order online. The web site will be an educational tool and an e-commerce platform, staying true to Prep's mission to help women and men perfect their beauty needs. Prep is expected to have 12 stores open by 2010.

Mission Statement

Prep provides unparalleled cosmetic choices for hip and discerning customers. It tailors its buying to the specific locations and specific trends in the local population. Prep brings beauty to the makeup enthusiast as well as the curious novice. Prep's well trained staff offers a wealth of knowledge and insight in our stores and online.

Product

PREP Cosmetics offers designer cosmetics, currently stocking 12 premium lines, with a mix of known and newly introduced brands. The greatest percentage of PREP's merchandise is in color cosmetics, followed by skin care, makeup-related accessories and fragrance.

The Customer

PREP Cosmetics has built a loyal customer base within the Madison WI community by combining exceptional inventory with strategic brand development. We plan on expanding upon this success with added marketing initiatives, expanded customer outreach, and a continued commitment to quality and service.

The Brand

Prep is gregarious, stylish and full of confidence, yet also edgy, creative and unique. The sophisticated side of Prep is palpable in the beautiful white chandeliers that hang in the front windows, greeting visitors and inviting them inside like a proper hostess. Prep stores speak to customers with sleek, white, high gloss cabinets that invite a patron to try a new brand, or remind her why she fell in love with an old one. Prep's seriousness and sense of innovation are seen in the mixing of old and new design elements. Old wooden card catalogs, which used to sit in distinguished libraries, now hold fabulous lipsticks, rouges and mascaras behind PREP's registers. Prep welcomes customers of all kinds to indulge in a spectacular cosmetics experience.

Emily Kumler, President, comes to Prep with years of experience analyzing business expansion and trends. She spent six years working as reporter covering a range of business topics including trend prediction in Las Vegas, Congressional influence over business innovation, technology's ever-wider impact on commerce and the consumer, the power of marketing and strategic expansion, to name a few. Her work took her from Boston to Chicago where she earned a Masters from Northwestern University, to Las Vegas where her business reporting led her to launch a style section for the largest paper in Nevada.

While working in Las Vegas Kumler had a column covering beauty tips, myths and tricks—along with other female oriented topics. She handpicked the products she wrote about in the column as well as the rest of the section. This experience gave Kumler the foundation she needed to become a beauty expert. Her education was fueled with information from both the cosmetics companies as well as her devote readers who wrote in about their favorites.

Kumler left Nevada for New York where she wrote for women's magazines before landing at ABC News' 20/20 and Primetime. At ABC she generated story ideas and content as a story editor.

Kumler and Al Qatami partnered up to help established companies expand to the Middle East and smaller companies expand within the United States. Prep was purchased by Kumler and Al Qatami's holding company, Emoire LLC, in December 2007.

Noor Al-Qatami, Chairman of Prep Cosmetics, learned the importance of fulfilling a market demand as an impressionable child in the aftermath of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Left with very little she worked side-by-side with her parents and siblings. The family, in an attempt to regain some wealth and help rebuild their country, opened an agriculture store. Noor, at 7 years old, worked in the sales department. She opted to sell rose because she enjoyed seeing her fellow Kuwaitis find some beauty and enjoyment in their lives. As her family business gained momentum she was able to apply her basic business knowledge to a range of business platforms. Her natural intuition helps direct her toward new trends and market demands. She and Kumler founded Emoire, Prep's parent company, with the goal of combining their resources to help small beauty and fashion companies establish themselves in a larger market. Noor is using what she learned on a micro level from selling roses and applying it on a macro scale by financially investing in Prep Cosmetics and bringing beauty to women who wouldn't normally be able to find such products in their markets.