Australian natural skincare company Aesop has been sold to international cosmetics giant L’Oréal in a $3.7 billion deal, its Brazilian parent company announced today.
The deal is one of the biggest acquisitions of an Australian luxury business.
Founded in 1987, Melbourne-based Aesop, which uses plant-based components, grew steadily to become a popular brand.
But it recorded spectacular growth when it became part of Brazilian cosmetics powerhouse Natura in 2012.
Over the following decade, Aesop’s gross sales increased from $41 million to $790 million.
The number of stores and counters increased from 52 to 395 as Aesop expanded its global footprint from eight countries to 29.
Aesop chief executive Michael O’Keefe said the sale to L’Oréal was an exciting new phase for the company.
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“This is an exciting day for Aesop. With the support of Natura &Co, over the past decade, we have built Aesop into an admirable global force in the luxury beauty space, with a powerful product proposition and a unique customer and retail experience,” O’Keefe said.
“We now enter the next phase of our development and I’m confident that with L’Oréal’s partnership we will be able to bring our exceptional skincare products to even more people and continue to expand our brand globally.”
Natura said the sale of Aesop would enable it to reduce its debt level burden and allow it to concentrate on Avon’s international reach and improve The Body Shop brand.
“We are proud of the remarkable success of the Aesop brand, and we are extremely grateful to all Aesop’s associates, who contributed immensely not only to Aesop’s success, but also to making Natura &Co what it is today,” Fabio Barbosa, chief executive of Natura said.
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