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L'Oréal has acquired the health and beauty business of Interconsumer Products Limited (ICP), a Kenyan firm which has strong positions in the hair and skin care markets and recorded sales of approximately $19.5 million 2012.
 
This acquisition highlights the strategic importance of Africa for L'Oréal and demonstrates our confidence in this region and its market potential driven by a rising middle class, growing income and long tradition of beauty practices.
 
L’Oréal says the  acquisition is an important milestone in the country as it broadens its product offer with accessible brands, and strengthens the group's position in the mass market.  The purchase will also accelerate L’Oréals’s development in Eastern Africa, according to  Geoff Skingsley, EVP, Africa and Middle East Zone.
 
L'Oréal already owns and commercializes the brands of SoftSheen Carson, a leader of the Afro-specific market, across Africa. It has led innovation in the hair relaxer, hair care and color categories over the last year. Its operation in Kenya includes education for salons and hairdressers, and the development of improved retailing for beauty products. The acquisition of the ICP brands will extend our knowledge of the market and increase our reach in Kenya and provide a regional manufacturing base for expanded operations, the company said.
 
L'Oréal East Africa is based in Nairobi since 2011. With SoftSheen Carson and Mizani brands, L'Oréal East Africa offers products which benefit from the technological innovation developed by the Group's laboratories and Institute for Ethnic Hair and Skin Research based in Chicago.