Beauty conglomerate L’Oréal has taken a minority stake in the buzzy French fashion brand Jacquemus as part of a long-term beauty partnership.
WHO: Simon Porte Jacquemus founded his namesake fashion label in 2009 at the age of 19 and has defied the odds by growing while staying independent. The brand is known for its Chiquito handbags, Artichaut bucket hats, and staging cinematic runway shows in spectacular locations, including a lavender field, a salt mine, and the Palace of Versailles.
For over 110 years, L'Oréal has been the world's leading beauty player with a broad portfolio of 35 international brands and ambitious sustainability commitments. The business has 85,400 committed employees, a balanced geographical footprint, and sales across all distribution networks. With 20 research centers across 11 countries worldwide and a dedicated Research and Innovation team of over 4,000 scientists and 3,000 tech professionals, L'Oréal is focused on inventing the future of beauty and becoming a beauty tech powerhouse.
WHY: The designer signaled last year that he was looking for a deep-pocketed minority investor to push the business to the next level and be able to compete with luxury conglomerates. L'Oréal's investment will be used for retail growth and an expansion into beauty.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS: “Fifteen years ago, I began dreaming of and creating Jacquemus, with perfume and beauty always part of my vision for the brand. Today, I am proud to continue shaping this dream with the leading beauty group, L’Oréal. I’m excited to see what the future holds for us,” said the designer.
“We are thrilled to welcome Jacquemus and unleash together its outstanding luxury beauty potential. With its singular brand positioning, fueled by sensational creativity and social-first playfulness, Jacquemus will perfectly complement L’Oréal Luxe’s portfolio of iconic brands and reinforce our worldwide leadership,” added L’Oréal Luxe President Cyril Chapuy.
“We do not intend to go higher in the capital of Jacquemus,” Nicolas Hieronimus, CEO of L’Oréal, said during the earnings conference. “We do not intend to own fashion brands. We happen to have one, which is Mugler, but it was part of the acquisition from Clarins. But overall, we are very good at doing beauty and I’m not sure we would be as good at doing fashion. So, we let the experts lead their own brands. [The investment] is a good way to show Simon [Porte Jacquemus] that we are supportive and believe in this brand. And it helps him develop his retail project. This is equivalent to an upfront for a license.”
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