Markwins enter prestige makeup space with Lorac acquisition; Puig buys majority stake in Dries Van Noten; 1.4 million Australians buy health & beauty products online; the US Fragrance Foundation taps 2018 Scents of The Year.
Markwins enter prestige makeup space with Lorac acquisition
For many beauty and personal care multinationals acquiring new brands is a fast and furious strategy. Markwins prefers a more leisurely pace. The company bought AM Cosmetics (Wet N Wild, Black Radiance) in 2003, picking up speed in 2012 to acquire Physicians Formula and Bonne Bell and Lip Smacker from Aspire Brands in 2015.
Last year Markwins reported growth of 35 per cent across its portfolio to reach sales of US$580 million and expansion is again on the agenda. The company has taken its first step into the prestige beauty sector with the acquisition of Lorac Cosmetics for an undisclosed sum.
Lorac, founded by US makeup artist Carol Shaw, was one of a flood of MUA brands which debuted in the 1990s, including Bobbi Brown, Trish McEvoy, Laura Mercier and Vincent Longo. The Markwins buyout is a two way street. It provides financial backing to re-charge the professional quality colour cosmetics brand and allows the parent company access to the fast-growing premium makeup category. In a financial press release, Markwins has also indicated that it will make its first foray into skincare with another upcoming acquisition.
Puig buys majority stake in Dries Van Noten
Over 90 per cent of Puig's $2 billion-plus a year revenues are centred on fragrances and cosmetics. The Spanish multinational has acquired L'Artisan Parfumeur and Penhaligon's in recent years. In May L'Oréal took over the fragrance license of Valentino, a stalwart of the Puig portfolio since 2010, leaving a major gap. Dries Van Noten, the Belgian designer who first emerged as one of the so-called Antwerp Six in the 1980s, pulls in about US$100 million a year in men's and women's ready-to-wear fashions. He has also taken baby steps into the fragrance market with the launch of a unisex scent with Frederic Malle in 2013.
Puig has acquired a majority stake in Dries Van Noten, its first fashion buyout since becoming the majority owner of Jean Paul Gaultier in 2011. According to Chairman and CEO, Marc Puig – "Our entry into the capital structure of Dries Van Noten proves yet again our strategic commitment to developing the Puig fashion business". Other designers already in the Spanish giant's fold include Carolina Herrera, Jean Paul Gaultier, Nina Ricci and Paco Rabanne. They all have significant fragrance businesses in collaboration with Puig, so there's plenty of scope for Dries Van Noten to extend his fragrance chops.
1.4 million Australians buy health & beauty products online
In the year to March, nearly 9.5 million Australians bought something online over the average four week period, reveals a new report from Roy Morgan Research. A huge increase on the 2014 figures of 2.3 million and a jump of 590,000 over the past 12 months. The top three areas of most interest to online shoppers are – Entertainment and Leisure (4.46 million), Fashion (2.74 million) and Food & Beverages (2.35 million).
Health & Beauty sales enjoyed an uptick of 21.1 per cent over the past year, reports the researcher, as 1.4 million Australians clicked the Buy button. The data is unequivocal, says Michele Levine, CEO, Roy Morgan. "More and more of us are purchasing products as diverse as entertainment, clothing, food, reading matter, health and beauty products, furniture and electronics via the Internet. With nearly 9.5 million Australians purchasing online in an average four week period and the rapid growth over recent years, this is a retail revolution".
The nation only has 8 per cent of the demographic identified by Roy Morgan as online "laggards". But 49.1 per cent of e-commerce fans are designated as Technology Early Adopters and Professional Technology Mainstream. Both groups are well-educated and are high earners. Although they represent 19.4 per cent of the population, they make up 28.9 per cent of online shoppers who purchase something within the average four week period.
The US Fragrance Foundation taps 2018 Scents of The Year
The global fragrance award calendar is a bit like its movie counterpart and has a clear hierarchy. The acknowledged Oscars are the US Fragrance Foundation Awards and this year's headlining event was held in New York last week.
Apart from the winning scents, a clutch of industry achievement gongs were awarded to the true icons of the business. Legendary perfumer, Ann Gottlieb, was inducted into the Hall of Fame this year. Firmenich super "nose", Olivier Cresp, won the Lifetime Achievement Perfumer Award. Frederic Malle, who sold his luxe French fragrance house to Estée Lauder in 2014, received the coveted Game Changer Award.
This year's winning juices are:
- Women's Luxury - Tom Ford Fabulous
- Women's Prestige - Gucci Bloom
- Indie Fragrance of the Year - Cire Trudon Bruma
- Perfume Extraordinaire of the Year - Atelier Cologne Cafe Tuberosa
- Men's Luxury - Tom Ford Oud Minerale
- Men's Prestige - Y by YSL
- Breakout Star - Maison Margiela Replica Beach Walk
- Home Collection of the Year - Diptyque 34 Boulevard St Germain
- Media Campaign of the Year - Women's: Gucci Bloom. Men's: Eternity Calvin Klein
- Packaging of the Year - Women's: Carolina Herrera Good Girl. Men's: John Varvatos Artisan Pure
Snippets from the wires
- Podcasting is the fastest-growing on-demand media in Australia, according to Nova Entertainment's first-ever Podcasting Intelligence Report. Approximately 3.5 million listeners aged 16 to 64 regularly tune in. Nearly 50 per cent have a higher discretional spend in retail, travel and entertainment, says Nova, and are twice as likely to trust advertising messages from their favourite podcast hosts.
- MGC Pharmaceuticals has been racking up global headlines for its medical cannabis skincare and epilepsy treatments. The Aussie company's Derma and Derma Plus ranges target redness, dryness, oiliness, acne and blemish-prone skin. Harvey Nichols, the luxury UK retailer, will stock 18 of the skincare products in its flagship Knightsbridge store and will roll them out online by the end of June.
- P'URE Papayacare is another Aussie brand beefing up its presence in the UK. It's 100% paw paw ointment has debuted in 460 Holland & Barrett stores nationwide.
- Nicki Minaj first signed a fragrance license with Elizabeth Arden in 2012, launching eight scents including Trini Girl. The best-selling rapper and songwriter has signed a new deal with LUXE Brands, whose perfume portfolio includes Ariane Grande.
- China, Brazil, the US and Hong Kong buoyed L'Occitane's fiscal 2018 results. Sales jumped 4.6 per cent to AUD$1.55 billion.
