Estée Lauder buys Becca for $US200 Million, Karl Lagerfeld to launch name brand hospitality group, Top 10 food ingredients Australians avoid, reveals Nielsen, and Victoria Beckham inks deal with Target.
Estée Lauder buys Becca for $US200 Million
A month ago, we reported that was circling Becca Cosmetics. The rumour was true. The multinational has bought the Australian-born brand from its US owners, Luxury Brand Partners, for an estimated $US200 million. The deal is another step towards securing a bigger slice of the fast-growing Gen Z market for Lauder and will close next month.
Becca will join Lauder's stable of edgy colour cosmetics brands, including , and Smashbox. In spite of its Aussie origins most of Becca's sales are in North America, primarily through Sephora and Ulta. A global expansion is currently underway, with a three-pronged emphasis on Southast Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
Most of the brand's foundations are available in up to 20 shades, so it will be invaluable in reaching out to global consumers of most skin tones. Sales are expected to reach $US80 million by the end of this year and Becca will be under the expert stewardship of John Demsey, executive group president, The Estée Lauder Group, who was instrumental in the meteoric rise of M.A.C.
According to Fabrizio Freda, President and CEO fo Estée Lauder: "Becca Cosmetics is a wonderful addition to our portfolio of prestige beauty brands. Its unique focus on complexion products that flatter a wide range of skin tones, combined with a sophisticated yet accessible consumer and digital engagement across channels has inspired a devoted fan base. We see terrific growth opportunities for Becca as it expands globally."
Karl Lagerfeld to launch name brand hospitality group
The Kaiser, as Chanel's creative director is called by his army of global fans, shows no signs of slowing down. He launched H&M's spectacularly successful designer collaboration program in 2004, and has lent his design ethic to cosmetics, fragrances, restaurants, hotels and porcelain to name a few projects.
At the ripe old age of 83, he has signed a longterm licensing deal with Brandmark Collective BV to launch an international hospitality brand - Karl Lagerfeld Hotels & Resorts. The Netherlands-based company, established in 2015, has been involved in developing 25 hotels around the world. In addition to the new direction, Lagerfeld is currently putting the finishing touches to the Lisboa Palace Hotel in Macau, a 20-storey tower scheduled to open next year and billed as a six-star property.
Lagerfeld joins a select group of designers who have made their mark in the luxury hotel industry, including Giorgio Armani, Bulgari and Versace. Says Pier Paolo Righi, President and CEO of Karl Lagerfeld - "the agreement celebrates the designer's unique talent and approach to fashion and lifestyle". The move also cues in with Lagerfeld's renewed focus on the US market with the G-III Apparel Group and interior design projects in Toronto and Miami.
Top 10 food ingredients Australians avoid, reveals Nielsen
The beauty from within trend doesn't stop at eating well and taking supplements. With a huge percentage of Australians following vegetarian, vegan and flexitarian diets, the nation is also on a quest to eliminate widely-used food additives and ingredients considered harmful, says Nielsen.
Findings from the researcher's Global Health and Ingredient Sentiment Survey reveals that the biggest worry among Australians is antibiotics/hormones in animal products. Sixty per cent of Australians - 6 in 10 - claim to avoid such products. Percentages remain high across the other top 10 categories on the nose - MSG (56 per cent), artificial preservatives (55 per cent), artificial flavours (53 per cent), artificial sweeteners (53 per cent) foods with BPA packaging (a chemical in hard plastics; 53 per cent), artificial colours (52 per cent), sugar (44 per cent), GM foods (44 per cent) and salt (43 per cent).
New Zealanders are equally concerned, says Nielsen, and avoidance percentages match their Australian counterparts. Close to half the respondents in both countries say they wish there were more all-natural food products in mainstream stores. Notably, one in two Aussies says they would pay more for foods and drinks that don't contain the "to be avoided" ingredients.
Victoria Beckham inks deal with Target
Victoria Beckham is fussy about collaborations. To date, Posh has only signed with beauty brands - Estée Lauder and Nails Inc. Unsurprisingly, given her fashion chops, she has inked a deal with Target in the US to launch a limited edition clothing collection.
Marking the mother-of-four's first venture into childrenswear, the range will include clothing and accessories for women, girls, toddlers and babies. Debuting in all of Target's US stores and online from April 9th next year, it's a landmark strategy for the mass retailer in another sense. Designer label dresses and separates in plus-sizes will be available in select stores for the first time, in addition to online.
Beckham has expanded her business significantly over the past few years. Following the opening of the first bricks-and-moratr store in London in 2014, she debuted another in Hong Kong in March this year with more on the drawing board. Target, together with H&M, has been a leading pioneer of democratising designer fashion, but collaborations have become commonplace. The agreement with Victoria Beckham is a win-win for both parties. It will attract a new tranche of customers for the retailer and road-test the global children's market for Beckham.
Snippets from the wires
- Too much of a good thing isn't always cause for celebration. South Korean beauty brands are now worried they have become too dependent on China. Only three years ago, the Chinese market accounted for 22.1 per cent of Korea's beauty exports. A percentage that has now risen to 41.1 per cent and rising.
- Giorgio Armani Beauty has debuted its first pop-up beauty store in the Marais area of Paris. Named Armani Box, the set-up is hard to miss. The window is filled with a sculpture of a giant red gorilla by Italian artist Marcantonio Raimondi Malerba.
- The global spa market is now worth $US94 billion a year. Growth is strong in all major regions, but the Middle East and Africa is expected to experience a huge growth surge of over 20 per cent over the next five years.
- Overall, sales for the six months to September were flat. The prestige Brit brand identified its beauty and fragrance business as the exception. The company is predicting double-digit growth for its beauty division through to Christmas, boosted by the success of the new men's fragrance, Mr Burberry, and the extension of its distributor network in cosmetics.
