The big news of the month is that Kering and L’Oreal have made an alliance in which Kering is selling its beauty division to L’Oreal. Kering has some major debt to sort out somewhat urgently which could be why it ‘sold’ its entire beauty division to L’Oreal for not much more than they paid for Creed Fragrance which they bought in 2023. It’s not a straightforward sale – L’Oreal acquires 50 year licenses to develop and distribute beauty and fragrance for several major Kering brands such as Gucci (beauty license is currently held by Coty but it finishes in 2028 at which point it will go to L’Oreal). Saint Laurent Fashion (YSL beauty is currently L’Oreal owned), Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, and Alexander McQueen. Other brands include Boucheron, Pomellato, DoDo, Qeelin, Brioni, and Ginori 1735. Kering and L’Oreal have agreed upon a joint venture – 50/50 – to explore ‘luxury wellness’. L’Oreal purchased Kering’s beauty arm for $4.7 billion, while Kering paid $3.5 billion for Creed. Ouch.
Johnson & Johnson has been ordered by an LA court to pay $966 million to the family of a woman who died of mesothelioma, an asbestos related disease. As legal action opens up in the UK, all is not straightforward. In 2023 J&J moved its consumer health division to a separate and independent company, Kenvue, which currently owns former J&J brands, Johnson’s, Aveeno, Neutrogena and Tylenol. J&J holds some stake in Kenvue with a gradual and complete exit expected. As part of the separation agreement, Kenvue assumed responsibility for all talc-related litigation claims outside of the United States and Canada which means that it will absorb any UK payments, should the cases be successful. A current UK based class action involves more than 3,000 claimants who, based on internal J&J memos and scientific reports, hold J&J baby powder responsible for their diseases. Kenvue is considering the sale of Neutrogena, Aveeno and Clean & Clear, presumably in anticipation of forthcoming costs.
Unilever has sold Kate Somerville to Rare Beauty Brands who ‘develop and scale purpose-driven brands that have a truly positive impact’. Its current brands are Patchology, Dr Dana (nail care – looks exciting) and DotDotDash skin patches. Unilever bought KS in 2015 when it was a hot US brand with a devoted and passionate founder and while it flourished for a while, sales soon started to dwindle and never really picked up to a standard that was acceptable for Unilever. Prestige beauty sales are flat almost across the board but this sale has been planned for some considerable time because they don’t just happen overnight. After REN was completely shuttered not so long ago, who is next on the Unilever kill list? Going to put it out there with my best guess of Paula’s Choice. Meanwhile, Unilever has just purchased a deodorant facility in Hungary after buying US high street grooming brand Dr Squatch in September. I think we have to ask whether Unilever can handle luxury at all.
Irish brand SOSU has a problem on their hands with the recall of their Peach Dreams palette which was found to contain unsafe levels of arsenic. Bearing in mind that the brand landscape has completely changed when it comes to safety, SOSU are doing exactly the right thing by being clear about what’s happened and what they’re doing to sort it out. All remaining stock has been withdrawn, the manufacturer well and truly fired and they’ve implemented enhanced ingredient and third-party testing protocols. Enhanced protocols should be standard for all beauty brands – expensive for independent brands but so is a class action. Definitely a lesson here and in particular for any brands using the same Chinese manufacturer used by SOSU.
Canadian brand, Nudestix, has been sold to ‘an undisclosed US private group’ by founders, Jenny and Taylor Frankel. The mother and daughter team will stay in their current roles. Nudestix is now sold in 30 countries and is known for its minimalist style of make-up. Not understanding the non-disclosure of the buyer at all. Surely, it’s something to be proud of, not shy.
The brand formerly known as Kat Von D Beauty and now goes by the moniker, KVD, has been sold by Kendo (an incubator owned by LVMH) to Windsong Global’s beauty arm, Belle Beauty. BB acquired JVN Hair Care and baby brand, Pipette, from Amyris when it folded in 2023. When brands go quiet, there is always something afoot and KVD has been quiet for a long time. Ditto, but unrelated to KVD, Aromatherapy Associates. Where are they?
If you don’t know your Squishmallows (egg shaped cuddlies) from your Labubus, maybe the new Squishmallows fragrance range will enlighten you further. The fragrances represent the Squishmallows values – happiness and inclusivity – in scent note form. Expect vanilla, caramel, pink sugar, cherry, foamy milk and more in Whisked Away, Pink Possibilities and Moonlit Mist, all available at Ulta. Lets hope Jellycat never gets wind of this.