GOSH. The first news, before I forget, isn’t actually news. Somehow a rumour started that GOSH was leaving the UK market. They’re not. I checked.
Sanctuary Spa ‘Being’. I am so surprised that it is PZ Cussons who have their finger on the pulse with a body care brand aimed at digitally connected under 25s. Briefly, Being seems to tick all the boxes for how that age group thinks and reacts: they’re connected to a charity for young people (The Mix), using unconventional models and spokespeople and talking not over their heads but straight into their heads. The campaign is being run by one of the coolest digital creative agencies so if you’re interested in watching a new brand emerge and dominate this has all the makings of doing exactly that.
Shu Uemura. I think the writing was on the wall for this brand… on this side of the fence, it’s been very quiet for quite some time so it’s not a surprise to hear that it’s leaving the UK market but it’s still a shame. I can also say that another L’Oreal owned brand that is super quiet right now is Clarisonic.
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Coty And Burberry. While Coty is still on a spending spree, it’s not quite true to say that it has bought Burberry Beauty. What’s actually happened is that they’ve acquired the global license rights for the fragrances, cosmetics and skin care meaning that going forward, Coty will develop and manufacture everything in the fragrance and beauty arena under the Burberry label. They’ll also distribute and that’s a key point – as it stands, or has stood, Burberry availability hasn’t been good – Coty brands have presence everywhere so expect to find it easier to track down in future.
L’Oreal Paris Balmain Collaboration The brand has just announced a partnership with fashion house Balmain for a capsule lipstick collection. Looks like 12 will launch, three at a time. This looks like a beauty replication of the H&M model of partnering with brands well above their weight but look how popular those have proved to be. I queued for Stella! Balmain isn’t a brand I can identify with at all… although they do have their own hair care range… so it will be interesting to see if the majority of the UK responds with a ‘who?’ rather than a ‘let me at it’.
Who Knew? Shampoo for Hijab wearers. Unilever took the view that covered hair needed special treatment – an oily scalp and itching is apparently a known issue – and created Sunsilk Clean & Fresh for the Indonesian and Malaysian markets. This was 8 years ago, and they totally own the sector in these countries. I don’t think it’s available in the UK but it probably should be. If indeed it is a useful and helpful product for Hijab wearers, or any reason for hair covering, then perhaps availability for wider markets is something to consider.
The Body Shop A little update on how the bidding is going for The Body Shop. From 15 potential buyers, it’s apparently been narrowed down to four – one of the key players, Brazilian cosmetics company, Natura, also (mostly) owns Aesop. The rest of the potential new owners are venture capital companies. Biggest surprise here is that Aesop is owned by anyone other than Aesop! I can see a time when there are literally no independent beauty companies left.
Sources: cosmeticbusiness.com , The Drum, Happi.com, Globalcosmeticnews.com , cultldn.com
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