Beauty groups L'Oréal and Shiseido have long made headlines with their splashy acquisitions, but lesser-known Spanish peer Puig has also joined the movement, pitching itself to brand founders as a “flexible” acquirer. .
The beauty and fashion group, valued by bankers at between 8 billion and 10 billion euros, announced this month its 11th acquisition in 12 years as it considers a stock market listing. Mr Puig bought a majority stake in German luxury 'molecular cosmetics' brand Dr Barbara Sturm and completed a series of deals including Charlotte Tilbury's majority stake that valued the British cosmetics maker at £1.3bn. Expanding.
Puig is still a minor player compared to the likes of L'Oréal and Estée Lauder, which have market capitalizations of 236 billion euros and $49 billion, respectively, but its transformation in recent years has been dramatic.
Before the extravagance began in 2011, the family-run group, which sells everything from perfume to high heels, focused on a handful of major brands, including Carolina Herrera and Nina Ricci, and had annual sales of €1.2 billion. had reached.
With the acquisition of Dr. Sturm, the company will have control of a total of 14 brands. The Barcelona-based conglomerate said its sales in 2023 will exceed 4 billion euros.
As the luxury goods sector grapples with ending its post-coronavirus boom, chairman and CEO Marc Puig, grandson of the founder, said the company is “seeing some slowdown in growth” but , said it remains in good condition.
Part of the reason is because Puig doesn't classify himself as a high-end player, instead claiming to be a premium beauty. Puig said the sector is “traditionally less susceptible due to lower unit prices of products and has different market dynamics than the luxury market.” This resilience has proven over time and is expected to continue. ”
As the biggest cosmetics and fashion groups scramble to capture the growing demand for beauty products, they are aggressively buying and investing in smaller brands.
For example, in 2021, LVMH acquired the historic French perfume and cosmetics brand Officine Universelle Bury 1803. Last year, L'Oréal acquired Australian luxury cosmetics group Aesop from its Brazilian owner in a deal valued at $2.5 billion.

Consumer goods group Unilever and the private equity firm considered acquiring Charlotte Tilbury, the brand associated with its eponymous founder and YouTube makeup tutorials, before Puig's acquisition in 2020. was.
The Spanish company also scored a big win in 2022, fending off L'Oréal to buy Byredo, the Swedish cult brand founded by former basketball player Ben Gorham.
When asked why founders choose Puig, Mark Puig told the Financial Times: . . We were able to find the appropriate formula for each case. We try to be more flexible than other large companies. I think that's what sets us apart. ”
Charlotte Tilbury herself remains chairwoman and chief creative officer of her brand, as well as a member of Puig's nine-person executive committee. Jean Paul Gaultier, who sold it to Puig in 2011, remains involved with his label even after he retires.
Dries Van Noten, the Belgian founder of his namesake luxury fashion brand, said his team approached Puig about the acquisition, which ultimately closed in 2018. He says the Spanish group has given his business a “strong shoulder”. She told Women's Wear Daily that the company needs to grow, including supporting e-commerce and opening stores in China.
“I think, like all good marriages, there are good days and sometimes not so good days. But they really respected us, so they put the Puig stamp on our company. I think they didn't want to push it,” Van Noten said. He continued as chief creative officer.

Not every transaction in this area has a happy ending. Bobbi Brown sold her eponymous cosmetics brand to Estée Lauder in 1995, but left in 2016 after a few rocky years and later became part of the billion-dollar brand. That will no longer be the case.”
Puig was founded as a perfume company in 1914 by Antonio Puig, who reinvented the company after a ship carrying goods from his previous import business was sunk by a German submarine. His two driving forces for the company's growth in the 20th century were the distribution of foreign products in Spain and the production of perfumes under license from other brands. Paco's 1968 fragrance manufacturing contract with Rabanne was a milestone. Puig still holds beauty licenses for Comme des Garçons Parfums and Christian Louboutin.
Mark Puig, who has led the company since 2004, has no plans to step down, but said he would be the last generation of his family to lead the business.
One of the chairman's major goals was to reduce the group's dependence on licenses, which are less profitable than outright ownership. The company's products currently account for more than 90% of its total sales. This gives you end-to-end control over your products and distribution.
Other groups want a bigger presence in high-end beauty, including fashion house Kering and watch and jewelery retailer Richemont. The company has started building capabilities in-house, but it also contracts with third parties to manufacture products that bear its brand name.

Mr. Puig's chairman suggested that in the long run, rivals would realize it was a safer bet to do it themselves. “They will need to take back some of the brands that they currently license,” he said.
Despite diversifying into fashion and skin care, fragrance remains the core of Puig's business. Fragrances have not been significantly affected by the downturn in luxury goods, with Puig pushing to sell more expensive products.
Puig said the company has grown faster than any other company over the past decade in what it calls “niche fragrances,” a luxury category that includes L'Artisan Parfumeur and Penhaligon's, which it acquired in 2015.
What sets it apart from other luxury goods, and what could be a hindrance to slumping consumption, is the price. While the finest haute couture and watches cost thousands of euros and are out of reach for many consumers, luxury perfumes remain affordable.
In the past, a 100ml bottle of perfume rarely cost more than 100 euros. Currently, Puig is widening the price range, but not much above 200 euros. This is the level at which you can purchase more natural ingredients and unusual fragrance mixtures.
“Some people say, 'I don't want to smell like everyone else,'” Puig said. “People respond to a need to express themselves to the world.”