Puig: Founded in Barcelona in 1914, Puig has been led by three generations of family leadership. The fifth-largest fragrance maker in the world, it holds close to 10% market share. Over the past couple of years, investment activity has seen the Spanish conglomerate diversify its portfolio into other categories.
A three-year plan presented in 2020 set a revenue target of €3 billion and triple net revenues by 2025, but the business is on a path to reach this goal by 2023 with better-than-expected results. Sales of €2,585 million in 2021 represented a 68% increase compared to 2020 and 27% compared to 2019.
In 2021 Puig reorganized its business structure into three divisions: Beauty and Fashion, with the owned brands Carolina Herrera, Paco Rabanne, Jean Paul Gaultier, Dries Van Noten, Nina Ricci, Byredo, Penhaligon’s, L’Artisan Parfumeur, Kama Ayurveda, and Loto del Sur; the licenses of Christian Louboutin and Comme des Garçons Parfums and Lifestyle fragrances, among them Antonio Banderas, Adolfo Dominguez, and Benetton; the Charlotte Tilbury division, which includes the luxury makeup brand; and the Derma division, with Uriage, Apivita, and the joint venture in Isdin.
The group kicked off the acquisition spree in 2020, snapping up a majority stake in Charlotte Tilbury that reportedly valued the business at $1.5 billion. In 2021, the Spanish fragrance company participated in the Chinese fragrance brand Scent Library’s $10 million Series B funding round. Puig made one of the biggest deals of 2022 with the acquisition of Byredo and took majority positions in Lotto del Sur and Kama Ayurveda after making minority investments in the businesses in 2019.
More acquisitions could be in the future. Puig Chairman and CEO Marc Puig shared with the Moodie Davitt Report, “While we are busy with the house of brands that we have, we are also proactive in our discussions with brand owners that might make sense for us. Sometimes these things happen and sometimes they don’t but we are proactive.”
The Deals:
Byredo: After speculation and reports of L’Oréal acquiring Byredo, Puig announced the acquisition of a majority stake in the Swedish brand founded by Ben Gorham in 2006 and backed by Manzanita since 2013. Financial details of the deal were not released but were reported to be in the billion-dollar neighborhood.
Loto del Sur: Following a minority investment in the business in 2019, Puig acquired the Bogotá based company founded by Johana Sanint in 1999 and distributed through 21 branded stores in Colombia. Puig plans to expand the brand’s retail footprint with stores in Madrid and Miami, and continuing expansion in Latin America starting in Mexico and Chile.
Kama Ayurveda: Puig strengthened its position in India, taking a majority stake in the New Delhi–based business after making a minority investment in 1999. Founded in 2002 by Vivek Sahni, India’s leading authentic Ayurvedic beauty and wellness brand is currently distributed only in India through close to 60 owned stores and wholesale.
