L'Oréal in $2.5B deal to acquire 400-store Aesop
The biggest cosmetic company in the world is acquiring a luxury beauty and wellness brand.
L'Oréal has reached an agreement to acquire Aesop, which makes skin, hair, body care products and more with plant-based ingredients and sustainable vegan formulas, from Brazilian beauty group Natura & Co., owners of The Body Shop and Avon. The proposed transaction values Aesop at an enterprise value of more than $2.5 billion.
Based in Melbourne, Australia, Aesop was founded in 1987. In 2013, the company was acquired by Natura & Co. (In 2017, Natura acquired The Body Shop from L'Oréal.)
Aesop has nearly 400 stores in the Americas, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The company is known for its minimalist interiors and dark, apothecary-style bottles.
In 2022, the brand opened its first physical stores in Mainland China.
“Aesop is the epitome of avant-garde beauty, whose products are not only made with great care and exceptional attention to detail; they are a superb combination of urbanity, hedonism and undeniable luxury,” stated Nicolas Hieronimus, CEO. “Aesop taps into all of today’s ascending currents, and L’Oréal will contribute to unleash its massive growth potential, notably in China and travel retail.”
Since it was acquired by Natura, Aesop’s gross sales have skyrocketed — from $28 million to $537 million in 2022, according to Natura.
" 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,” stated Michael O'Keefe, CEO of Aesop 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.”