The Japanese beauty conglomerate Kao Corp, which owns brands including John Frieda, Bioré, and Molton Brown, will acquire Bondi Sands Australia in a cash deal estimated to be worth $450 million, according to the Australian Financial Review.
WHO: Bondi Sands was founded in 2012 in Melbourne, Australia, by Blair James and Shaun Wilson. The brand specializes in self-tanning, sun care, skincare, and body products that are sold in more than 32 countries, including Australia, the UK, and US. Bondi Sands’ commitment to quality, affordability, inclusive product offerings, and sustainability has contributed to its success in the sun care and self-tanning industry.
Kao’s Consumer Care Business beauty and personal care portfolio includes Ban, Bioré, Curél, Guhl, Jergens, John Frieda, MegRhythm, MyKirei by KAO, and Wakati.
WHY: The deal dovetails with Kao’s strategy to make skincare one of its key growth drivers in the midterm. The Bondi Sands acquisition will give Kao a bigger focus on the skin protection segment.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Shaun Wilson, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bondi Sands, said, “Kao's values and principles match those of Bondi Sands, as we both share an unyielding commitment to delivering innovative products that protect the skin and enhance the lives of our valued customers worldwide.
“The integration of Kao's renowned scientific and technological resources into our operations is an unparalleled opportunity that will significantly contribute to the exponential growth of our brand, empowering us to further expand our product offerings and advance our research and development initiatives. With this partnership, we can now confidently explore untapped markets, reach more customers around the world and continue to fulfil our company mission.”
Karen Frank, President of the consumer care business of Americas and EMEA at Kao, said in a statement, “Bondi Sands is an incredible brand and a perfect fit for the Kao Consumer Care Business portfolio. Quality, innovation, environmental responsibility, accessibility and community are at the forefront of everything it does, ideally aligning Bondi Sands to our own brand values and corporate philosophy, which we call the ‘Kao Way.’
“The addition of Bondi Sands to our consumer family of brands will greatly advance our mission to be the preeminent leader in the global skin protection business and continue our journey of offering diverse products that promote a ‘Kirei’ lifestyle that is healthy, inclusive and sustainable for all.”
EMV: While Australian tanning brand Bondi Sands pulled in $2.1MM EMV in Q3, this haul represented a substantial 64% QoQ decrease. The brand’s community contracted 24% QoQ to 812 creators, but the main culprit in this loss of momentum was reduced activity among creators who continued posting about Bondi Sands. This community authored 1.4K pieces of content, which proved a 36% QoQ decline in post volume. Creators who mentioned Bondi Sands in both Q2 and Q3 sank from $1.7MM EMV to $734.7K EMV, while creators who drove $4.1MM EMV in Q2 fell off in Q3—a loss that couldn’t be recouped from the $1.4MM EMV driven in Q3 by creators who hadn’t posted about Bondi Sands previously. Much of this loss of momentum was a comedown from Bondi Sands’ pre-summer hype campaigns conducted toward the end of Q2.
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