AUSTRALIA: As its largest acquisition in decades, L’Oreal has agreed to pay $2.53 billion (£2 billion) to acquire Australian skincare company Aesop.
L’Oreal chief executive Nicolas Hieronimus said the brand is a “superb combination of hedonism, urbanity, and undeniable luxury.”
Since its founding around 36 years ago, Aesop has developed a cult following worldwide for its products, including soaps, lotions, and creams. Aesop has almost 400 stores globally. The deal, subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023.
Hieronimus said that L’Oreal would help Aesop to expand in China, where its first store was opened in 2022. L’Oreal will help Aesop realize its enormous potential, especially in China and travel retail, he continued. “Aesop taps into all of today’s ascending currents,” he said.
In 2012, the Brazilian cosmetics business Natura & Co. acquired most of Aesop; four years later, it entirely acquired the company. Over the ten years from 2012 to 2022, it grew to be Natura’s top revenue generator. Gross sales for Aesop increased from $28 to $537 million.
Hairdresser Dennis Paphitis, who had been incorporating essential oils into products at his Melbourne, Australia, salon, developed Aesop in 1987. He created samples for customers as demand escalated. Ultimately, Paphitis modeled his company after the well-known Greek fabulist and storyteller Aesop.
The Body Shop, a UK high-street retailer that Natura acquired from L’Oreal in 2017, will now be the company’s primary emphasis, according to Natura Chief Executive Fábio Barbosa. In a new chapter, Barbosa said, “We are optimistic that Aesop’s growth narrative will continue under the ownership of L’Oreal and wish Aesop continued success.”
