Aesop, a Greek-Australian-founded luxury beauty brand, has been acquired by L’Oréal.
On April 3, L’Oréal announced that it has reached a deal with Natura & Co to acquire Asop, an Australian premium beauty brand.
The proposed transaction places Asop at a $2.525 billion enterprise value.
Asop, founded in 1987 by Greek-Australian Dennis Paphitis, is known throughout the world for its skin, hair, and body products. Asop has evolved into a global superbrand, available in luxury retail, beauty, and hospitality venues worldwide, thanks to its unique amber packaging, plant-based materials, sustainable vegan formulas, and personalised customer service.
Asop now has over 400 points of sale spread across the Americas, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia, with a budding presence in China, where the first store will open in 2022.
In 2022, the brand made $537 million in sales.
The brand has “gained a steady following for skin, hair, and body products without ingredients derived from animals, such as beeswax or honey, the New York Times reported, adding the brand became known for its dark, apothecary-style bottles, wrapped in white and black labels, which are now staples at some upscale restaurants and in the bathrooms of interior design lovers.
According to the Times, sales skyrocketed in 2009 after Aesop regained control of its global distribution from independent distributors and vetted restaurants and cafes that stocked its products. In 2017, Paphitis sold Aesop to Natura & Co, a Brazilian cosmetics company that owns Avon and the Body Shop.
I am very excited to welcome Asop and its teams to the L’Oréal Groupe family, said Nicolas Hieronimus, Chief Executive Officer of L’Oréal Groupe. Asop is the epitome of avant-garde beauty, with goods that are not only manufactured with great care and excellent attention to detail, but also a magnificent blend of urbanity, hedonism, and indisputable elegance. Asop taps into all of today’s rising currents, and L’Oréal will help it realize its huge development potential, particularly in China and travel retail.
My Team and I are thrilled to have Asop join the L’Oréal Luxe portfolio of iconic global brands, said Cyril Chapuy, President of L’Oréal Luxe, in response to the acquisition.
The divestment of Asop marks a new development cycle for Natura & Co, remarked Fábio Barbosa, Chief Executive Officer of Natura &Co. Natura & Co will be able to refine its emphasis on its strategic priorities, particularly our investment strategy in Latin America, with a strengthened financial structure and a deleveraged bank sheet.
We will also be able to focus on growing The Body Shop’s business and refocusing Avon International’s footprint. We are incredibly proud of the Asop brand’s amazing success, and we are tremendously thankful to all Asop’s employees, who contributed enormously not only to Asop’s success, but also to making Natura & Co what it is today.
