BeautyMatter’s Post

Exploring the challenges faced by The Body Shop: A look into how corporate acquisitions can impact the unique qualities that define a brand. From its pioneering activism to its distinct consumer appeal, we delve into what happens when a trailblazing retailer encounters the realities of corporate ownership.

Tod's is poised for a transformational journey as it goes private in a strategic alliance with L Catterton, the LVMH-backed private equity firm. This move, ending its two-decade stint on the Milan stock exchange, signifies a pivotal shift towards a private equity turnaround approach. With L Catterton, Tod's gains access to vital resources, international managerial experience and operational flexibility. This partnership underscores a commitment to unlocking Tod's full potential and revitalizing its brand presence. By delisting, Tod's can now focus on executing turnaround strategies with greater agility and autonomy. With recent sales growth and market value, Tod's is poised for a resurgence under new ownership. Here's to a promising future for Tod's as it embarks on this exciting new chapter and well done! #Tods #LCatterton #PrivateEquityTurnaround #LuxuryFashion

On Sunday, Puig filed to go public in Spain, betting that an infusion of capital and the “checks and balances” of a listed company structure will unlock the next phase of growth at the fragrance and cosmetics giant. In fashion, many brands and retailers are coming to the opposite conclusion. This week also saw Macy's end its proxy fight with a pair of activist investors, appointing two of their slate of nominees to the department store operator’s board. The new directors will sit on a committee to evaluate the activists’ $6.6 billion takeover bid. Macy’s wasn’t the only company contemplating going private. Austrian billionaire Reinold Geiger is reportedly lining up potential lenders and investors, including the private equity giant Blackstone, to acquire L’Occitane (Geiger is already the beauty conglomerate’s controlling shareholder). There’s more: The Nordstrom family is reportedly mulling taking its namesake department store chain private. Italian shoemaker TOD'S is planning to delist from the Italian stock exchange, eliciting the help of L Catterton, LVMH’s investment arm, which agreed to buy 36 percent of Tod’s shares in February. Struggling direct-to-consumer brands like Allbirds, which recently received a notice from Nasdaq that it would be delisted if it can’t raise its share price, are among other potential takeover targets. Read the full story below, by BoF's Cathaleen Chen

Why more companies are choosing to delist from public markets Beauty group L'Occitane have announced a privatization initiative this week valued at $6.4 Billion USD lead by #privateequity firm Blackstone together with Goldman Sachs. The biggest motivation for delisting is to enable L'Occitane to shift their #Strategy for long term growth. How does ownership structure impact Strategy? As a publicly traded firm, L'Occitane have been frustrated by declines in valuation and market capitalization driven by the needs to invest in the brand and build for the future. The conflict between publicly traded investor expectations relative to short term results and group initiatives requiring long term investments are not compatible in this case. As an example, the €100 million invested into marketing efforts for core brands L'Occitane and Elemis resulted in a drop in valuation of the firm exceeding 15%. Furthermore, investors are concerned with the sales approach at L'Occitane which operates more than 2000 retail stores worldwide. This is significantly different than beauty competitors selling through existing retail channels including Sephora and Harrods. Given that 70% of L'Occitane is owned by just two families it is a strong fit for Private Equity investors who like to invest alongside private family offices in firms for long term #valuecreation . Lastly, while success in China is encouraging, there are significant opportunities in APEC which the group can take advantage of, and to do so will need more capital than the $156 Million in Cash the group currently have on their balance sheet. A private investor such as Blackstone see this as a big opportunity and can provide the growth capital necessary to achieve bold growth. While many organizations spend years preparing for an IPO, this case at L'Occitane is a strong example of why there can also be significant advantages in remaining private. When the board considers the structure of ownership, how well in your experience are strategic implications long term considered? Strategy is Mastery. L’Occitane Is Going Private. Here’s Why.   Going public is usually a pivotal moment in a company’s history, cementing its heavyweight status and setting it up for expansion. In L’Occitane’s case, delisting might be a bigger conduit for growth. https://lnkd.in/dVTptYyE

Sad to see The Body Shop ending in bankruptcy. For a brand that pioneered ethical business practices before it became a genuine consumer and market trend, its passing through hands, both capable and indifferent feels dispiriting - from being bought by L'Oreal, to being sold to a Brazilian cosmetics firm, to a German private equity firm. Mismanagement and not keeping up with consumer trends are cited as reasons. If even L'Oreal, a global beauty conglomerate was unable to manage a unique, famous brand - in times when consumer trends would support its growth - it does not say much about the branding abilities of even global, corporate and marketing behemoths. #brands #cpgindustry #beautyindustry #marketing #loreal https://lnkd.in/e6RgMQTH?

https://lnkd.in/em8eUDCB Why Groupe L’Occitane may delist from the Hong Kong stock exchange ? Blackstone, The Largest Private Equity Firms in the World with an AUM (Assets under management) of 7.5 trillion USD is on the French company listed in Hong Kong and whose turnover amounts to 5.55 billion USD (5.06 billion euros), suspended the trading of its shares on APR 9th 2024, awaiting a probable announcement specifying the details of a takeover project since last year. 24 years after its listing in Hong Kong, the L’Occitane group could finally withdraw from the Stock Exchange. According to Bloomberg, the majority shareholder of the cosmetics group born in Manosque (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence), the Austrian Reinold Geiger, has just concluded an agreement with the American investment fund Blackstone to help him finance this delisting. Pending an announcement, the company's share price has been suspended. Reinold Geiger would offer a premium of 20% compared to the price of L’Occitane shares before the publication of the Bloomberg information. Present in 90 countries, the L'Occitane group owns the cosmetics brand L'Occitane en Provence, founded in 1976 by Olivier Baussan, an eco-literature student. In difficulty in the 1990s, the brand was reborn thanks to the investment of Reinold Geiger. The Austrian affirms the Provençal identity of L'Occitane, develops the brand internationally and, in recent years, has expanded the L'Occitane brand portfolio to make it a diversified group. It now counts Melvita, Erborian and the British Elemis among its flagship brands. The US is by far L’Occitane’s largest market (36% of turnover), far ahead of China (12.6%). Last year, the group exceeded 2 billion euros in turnover for the first time, growing 19% year-on-year, despite the headwinds encountered in the latter country. This just shows that the French luxury sector still has an enormous potential in the long term like LVMH, Kering, l'Oréal, Hermès, Rémy Cointreau...Etc amid the slowdown growth in China. Luxury stocks are the rare French sector that perfoms better than the US S&P 500. 如果您想投资法国奢侈品股票，请随时与我联系。 感谢您的阅读！

In 2023, the beauty industry witnessed a flurry of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) as companies sought to expand their portfolios and capitalize on growth opportunities. Despite potential economic headwinds, the beauty market has demonstrated resilience and adaptability, with U.S. prestige beauty industry sales reaching $14 billion in the first half of the year—a 15% increase compared to the same period in 2022. High-profile transactions, including Procter & Gamble's acquisition of Mielle and e.l.f. Beauty's purchase of Naturium for $355 million shows the strategic importance of diversification and direct-to-consumer engagement. As we delve into the intricacies of the beauty M&A landscape of 2023, we'll explore how these deals are not only driving financial growth but also setting new standards for what constitutes an attractive investment in the beauty industry. Here is a comprehensive list of notable beauty M&A deals that took place throughout the year: https://lnkd.in/gHPgSRwJ #retail #fashion #businessnews #fashionindustry #retailnews #beautytrends #fashionnews #ecommerce #dtc #consumertrends #trends

2023 was, overall, a pretty lackluster year for beauty deal activity. For beauty strategics, however, it was a very active year, with deal activity indicating the beginnings of a notable shift in how their brand portfolios are managed and prioritized. The announcement of quite a few marquee acquisitions made for splashy headlines, but the number of assets put on the selling block tells the real story of what is sure to be a prominent theme in 2024. Story by Kelly Kovack and John Cafarelli. #beautyindustry #beautybusiness #finance #dealflow #research

As we reflect on the beauty industry's ebb and flow, it's clear that 2023 marked a transformative year for brand portfolios and their management. 📊 While the headlines buzzed with grand takeovers and acquisitions, the true narrative lies beneath, in the strategic shifts that are setting the stage for 2024. Glow Marketing stands at the fore, ready to assist brands in riding this wave of innovation. From developing trailblazing products to crafting engagement campaigns that resonate with audiences, we're not just part of the conversation – we're leading it. 💡🚀 In this dynamic landscape, having a guide that understands the intricacies of brand strategy is invaluable. Let's collaborate to turn your brand into a beacon of success.

At the end of last year, former brand owner Natura &Co made a deal to sell The Body Shop to the AURELIUS Group. The new private equity owners are wasting no time making changes and shedding part of the European and Asian business to an international family office. This deal is a decisive step towards executing a turnaround strategy for the struggling business. #beautyindustry #beautybusiness #finance #privateequity