L'Oréal is said to be in exclusive negotiations to acquire perfume brands Mugler and Azzaro from Groupe Clarins, the French beauty giant announced this week.
It sets the stage for the world’s biggest beauty company to dabble in fashion once more, while Groupe Clarins will exit the perfume and ready-to-wear markets altogether to focus on skincare.
“The perfume category is at the heart of our global strategy for growth at L'Oréal Luxe,” said L'Oréal Luxe president, Cyril Chapuy. “In this context, we would be thrilled to welcome Mugler and Azzaro: these signatures, with a long history in fashion and olfaction, would perfectly complete our portfolio of brands."
As for Groupe Clarins, chief executive officer, Jonathan Zrihen told WWD, “This is a strategic move, whose goal is to refocus and reinvest to unleash the full potential of Clarins that we believe is unlimited,” he said. “Our goal is to be one of the global skincare leaders.”
Industry sources estimate the Mugler and Azzaro brands together ring up wholesale revenues of about 360 million euros annually.
A deal for the two businesses, valued by industry sources at upward of 1 billion euros, is expected to be completed during this year.
