AmorePacific teams with Christian Dior, Sequential Brands on track to buy Martha Stewart Living, Hudson's Bay acquires Germany's number one department store, and Tom Ford and Dior shine at 2015 US Fragrance Foundation Awards.
AmorePacific teams with Christian Dior
Lancome's Miracle Cushion hit the shelves in Australia this month and 's up-and-coming cushion foundation will be launched next year. Both prestige brands must be feeling a bit nervous at the news that AmorePacific, the South Korean giant, has signed a meomorandum of understanding with Christian Dior to make branded cushion products for the luxe French brand.
AmorePacific invented cushion products, which combine the benefits of foundation, skincare and sunscreen, debuting IOPE AirCushion in 2008. Today, 75 per cent of South Korean women are using or have used a cushion product and 13 of AmorePacific's stable of brands offers a riff on the theme. Earlier in June, the first IOPE stores in China opened in Beijing and Shanghai and cushion products have become hot sellers.
AmorePacific plans to do more with Dior says its president, Shim Sang-bae: "The two global giants expect that this new-found strategic partnership will bring a plethora of innovative beauty experiences to the broader customer base around the world and help both companies to further strengthen their growth trajectory in the global cosmetics market".
Sequential Brands on track to buy Martha Stewart Living
The doyenne of aspiration founded Martha Stewart Living in 1996, operating across three major silos - publishing, broadcasting and merchandising. The company has a market value of US$370 million, a big comedown from its US$2 billion valuation in the late 90s. Ms Stewart, now 73, owns 49 per cent of her eponymously-named company's Class A common shares and holds nearly 90 per cent of the voting control. Income from publishing and broadcasting has plummeted and the undisputed cash cow of the business is merchandising.
That's why the prospective buyer of Martha Stewart Living is Sequential Brands. Over the past few years, the company has amassed a significant stable of brands, including a 50% stake in Jessica Simpson's signature brand. Other hot properties in its portfolio are: Justin Timberlake's William Rast brand, Heely's skate shoes, Linens 'n Things, the Franklin Mint and fashion brand Ellen Tracy.
Sequential Brands works with a wide array of retailers, particularly department stores. Martha Stewart Living brings in about US$50 million a year from cooking and homewares products and the brand is a top seller across the Macy's store network.
Hudson's Bay acquires Kaufhof, Germany's number one department store
Just before last year's sale of David Jones to Woolworths South Africa, the value of the department's real estate holdings was a hot news topic as a way to unlock more value from its CBD locations. In an era where consumer spending remains patchy, several US retailers, notably Sears Holdings Group, are making the shift to allow investors direct access to their real estate empires through investment trusts, which buy individual stores and then lease them back to the department store chain.
Hudson's Bay has become a prime mover in department store buyouts over the past few years, acquiring Saks Fifth Avenue in 2013 for US$2.4 billion. Already the owner of New York stalwart, Lord & Taylor, the oldest speciality department store in the US, the Canadian giant has even more ambitious plans. Its share price soared 13 per cent last week on the announcement of the buyout of Kaufhof, the largest department store chain in Germany and Belgium, for AUD$3.37 billion.
To finance the deal, Hudson's Bay's sales has formed a joint venture with the Simon Property Group, the largest real estate investment trust in the US. Forty of Kaufhof's 59 stores will be sold to the joint venture and Hudson's Bay won't need to issue shares or debt. The Kaufhof network will add US$200 million in earnings to Hudson's coffers and spearhead further European expansion. When the deal is finalised, 44 per cent of Hudson's Bay's sales will come from the US, 31 per cent from Germany, 23 per cent from Canada and 2 per cent from Belgium.
Tom Ford and Dior Shine at 2015 US Fragrance Foundation Awards
France, Germany, Italy and the UK have national fragrance awards. But the big fish is the US Fragrance Foundation Awards, formerly known as the FiFis, because the US is the largest single fragrance market in the world. Dior and scored the most gongs in front of a star-studded audience in New York, including Kendall Jenner, Kellan Lutz and Sophia Bush.
- Men's Prestige - Dior Homme Eau For Men
- Women's Prestige - Giorgio Armani Si EDP
- Men's Luxury - Tom Ford Mandarino di Amalfi
- Women's Luxury - Tom Ford Velvet Orchid
- Indie Fragrance of the Year - Intoxicated by Kilian
- Fragrance Hall of Fame - J'Adore by Christian Dior
- Men's Popular - Banana Republic Modern Man
- Women's Popular - Incredible Things by Taylor Swift
- Packaging of the Year - Men's - Intoxicated by Kilian
- Packaging of the Year - Women's - Daisy Dream
- Media Campaign of the Year - Men's - Dior Homme Eau for Men
- Media Campaign - Women's - J'Adore by Christian Dior
Snippets from the wires
- Uber hair stylist Jeremy Davies Barbala boasts strong client bases in London and LA. The former creative director of Vidal Sassoon in the US and the UK has been appointed the new international creative director for .
- The Chinese now account for 46 per cent of the world's spending on luxury goods but 76 per cent of the loot is spent overseas. According to the official Xinhua Newsagency - "designer stores in China have come to serve as mere showrooms". Prada has shuttered 16 stores since last year and Chanel has only half the stores it boasted a few years ago. With Chinese mall development racing at breakneck speed - 55 new malls will open in Shanghai alone over the next three years- fast fashion retailers are also on an unprecedented roll. H&M will open 80 more stores in China this year, Uniqlo will add 100 more to its network and Zara is planning 60 more stores.
- Net-a-Porter's merger with Italian group Yoox is paying off. Revenues rose 22 per cent to $1.336 billion in the year to March.
- Authentic Brands Group (ABG) has bought legendary intimate apparel brand, Frederick's of Hollywood. But increased sales of teddies and thongs aren't the only goal. The new owners plan to extend the brand into personal care, beauty and fragrance.
- There's more than a glowing complexion to be gained by dedicating your career to good skin. Gervaise Gerstner, celebrity dermatologist and global skincare ambassador for L'Oréal Paris, has just forked out US$13.3 million for a five bedroom luxury apartment on Park Avenue in New York. We also know what the shelves in the 4.5 bathrooms will contain. In February, Gerstner told Vanity Fair that she's "obsessed" with face masks, gentle toners, cleansing waters and the
sonic cleansing brush.
