Crabtree & Evelyn to shutter Australian stores; Sephora's Libby Amelia to head up Louis Vuitton Oceania; Canna-Curious – more luxury beauty launches based on cannabis; and executive re-shuffle at Coty to spearhead future growth.
Crabtree & Evelyn to shutter Australian stores
Chinese investment company, Nan Hai Corp, bought prestige personal care brand, Crabtree & Evelyn, for US$175 million in December 2015 – the largest foreign cosmetic deal to date involving a Chinese buyer. A major retail expansion in China, through standalone stores and a leading cinema chain acquired by Nan Hai in 2017, was announced. But elsewhere in the world, Crabtree & Evelyn has been in retreat.
In spite of its English-sounding name, Crabtree & Evelyn is a US brand. Founded more than 30 years ago, 90 per cent of its products have been manufactured in Woodstock, Connecticut. Citing pressure from corporate acquisitions, changing consumer demand, declining business in North America and the rise of e-commerce, Crabtree & Evelyn is closing the Woodstock manufacturing facility this week and will pull the plug on the adjacent distribution centre in April.
The move is part of a global pullback. The company has announced the closure of 12 branded retail stores in Singapore and 19 in Canada. Australian operations will also be curtailed and Crabtree & Evelyn's 12 stores nationwide will close by the end of January. Approximately 100 staff will be affected and restructuring company KordaMentha will oversee the wind-down program. The brand will still be available in Australia through leading retailers such as David Jones and Myer.
Sephora's Libby Amelia to head up Louis Vuitton Oceania
Libby Amelia, the general manager of Sephora Australia, has switched corporate hats to take up the position of managing director, Louis Vuitton Oceania. It's a natural fit considering Amelia's eight year involvement with LVMH, the world's largest luxury goods group. The entrepreneurial Australian honed her skills with Virgin Australia and athleisure powerhouse, Lorna Jane, before taking up the position of regional director, Business Development, for Sephora in 2011. Based in Singapore, she also doubled up as a consultant with L Capital Asia, LVMH's Asian private equity business.
Amelia took over the reins as GM of Sephora ANZ in early 2015. She was instrumental in expanding the Australian store network to 16, in addition to the recently opened concept store in David Jones flagship Bourke Street Mall store, and launching the e-commerce business on both sides of the Tasman.
LVMH is the parent company of Sephora and the Louis Vuitton brand is the jewel in the group's fashion crown. The luxe giant continues to post double-digit growth, reaching revenues of 21.8 billion euros (AUD$34.63 billion) in the first half of 2018 – a jump of 10 per cent over the same period in 2017. Pedro Coutinho, ex-corporate business manager, the Estée Lauder Group of Companies, and head of finance for Sephora, has stepped into the role of interim general manager of Sephora ANZ.
Canna-Curious – more luxury beauty launches based on cannabis
Civilised.life, the US website devoted to all aspects of cannabis use, has tapped Canna-Curious as the word of the year. The trend towards cannabis regulation, particularly in North America, and the increasing use of CBD (cannabidiol) in a growing range of medicinal and OTC skincare first emerged with a vengeance early last year. Known for its smoothing and anti-inflammatory properties, CBD has been popping up in a wide range of face masks, moisturisers, serums and hair products, reports the Kline Group, and will remain a hot topic.
According to the data hunter – "2019 is expected to witness more luxury, mass and specialty players entering into this rapidly advancing market. With the ever-growing interest and preference toward more natural products, consumers look to expand their curiosity, turning to the advantages of cannabis as a key beneficial ingredient".
There's plenty of benefits up for grabs. CBD is thought to improve common skin conditions such as eczema, acne and psoriasis and has anti-ageing and antioxidant properties. The main challenge is educating consumers that CBD is not the same as hemp, which has been around for some years, especially in products from The Body Shop. According to research, hemp-based personal care products do not have high enough levels of CBD to have a beneficial impact on the skin, so pushing the acronym to get the message across is vital.
Although the cannabis trend has emerged most strongly in niche brands such as MGC Pharma, Hora and Cannabliss, Estée Lauder's Origins brand took it more mainstream with last year's launch of Hello Calm: Relaxing and Hydration Face Mask with Cannabis Sativa Oil. In the first half of 2018, US cult brand Milk Makeup debuted Kush mascara, which swapped CBD as a binding agent with the more traditional beeswax.
Executive re-shuffle at Coty to spearhead future growth
It's been only eight weeks since former Coty CEO, Camillo Pane, left the corporate building to be replaced by Pierre Laubies, the ex-CEO of Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE), the maker of Moccona coffee. JAB Holding, the privately-owned German conglomerate, is a major stakeholder in both companies. He's wasted no time in planning for future growth and completing the P&G Speciality Business integration.
Coty's largest division – Consumer Beauty – focuses on mass makeup, hair colouring and styling, bodycare and lifestyle fragrances from iconic brands such as Covergirl, Rimmel, Bourjois and Max Factor, and has faced fierce competition in Australia and around the world. In the US, for example, Maybelline reduced its entire range by 50 per cent on the day Coty launched the revamped Covergirl lineup. In addition to his overall duties, Mr Laubies will take over the leadership of the strategic vision for the Consumer Beauty Division. He will be assisted by new COO Gianni Peraccioni, former president and COO of Revlon's Consumer Division, who will focus on commercial operations and will helm the division's in-market organisation, e-commerce and supply chain.
Based in London, former Danone Group CEO, Pierre-Andre Terisse, has been appointed as Coty CFO. Another JDE alumni, Luc Volatier, has been tapped as chief global supply officer, and will operate from Geneva. Coty's three main divisions, including Luxury and Professional Beauty, have pushed annual revenues to US$9 billion and Mr Laubies is committed to improving the multinational's financial performance. Since my arrival in mid-November, I have spent extensive time with the divisional, regional and functional teams to assess Coty's strengths and opportunities, he says. "From my preliminary assessment, Consumer Beauty and Supply Chain are areas that require an immediate step-change in capabilities".
Snippets from the Wires
- The Hair and Beauty Industry Association (HBIA) already packs a major punch. The main consultative body for Australia's $5 billion hairdressing and professional beauty industry, it represents close to 85,000 specialists nationwide. The HBIA has announced a new partnership with the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), the largest retail association in the country. The partnership between the ARA and the HBIA will exist to advance the hair and beauty industry by advancing and lobbying on behalf of members, and encouraging additional provisions where required, notes Russell Zimmermann, executive director of the ARA.
- The global haircare market is expected to reach US$211.1 billion by 2025, reports Research and Markets. The main levers of growth will be ageing populations, rising air pollution, growing demand for professional products and technological innovation.
- The three giants of the APAC cosmetic market are Japan, China and South Korea, but other nations are growing fast. Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world and its beauty and personal care market is currently estimated at US$6.3 billion, rising to US$8.46 billion by 2022, says Euromonitor. Malaysia's cosmetics and personal care market has grown to US$5 billion.
Image: Libby Amelia.
