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French Luxury House Kering Beauté Makes First Acquisition with Creed

Kering Beauté’s roster includes Bottega Veneta, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Pomellato and Qeelin.

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By: Lianna Albrizio

Associate Editor

Kering Beauté has made its first acquisition: Creed.
 
The French luxury house acquired the high-end niche fragrance house run by BlackRock Long Term Private Capital Europe and Chairman Javier Ferrán. 
 
Kering announced its plan to establish an in-house beauty division earlier this year.

“The acquisition of Creed represents Kering Beauté’s first strategic initiative, and demonstrates our commitment to developing a strong position in the luxury beauty segment,” said François-Henri Pinault, chairman and CEO of Kering. “I am thrilled that today our stories and values come together around this spirit of family entrepreneurship and excellence to accelerate our journey in beauty, and I am delighted that the brand is joining Kering’s collection of luxury Houses.”
 
While financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, it was an all-cash transaction.
 
Kering roster includes Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Pomellato, Qeelin and Alexander McQueen.
 
The high-end luxury fragrance category has picked up steam as among the fastest-growing segments in beauty. Click here for our latest report on the fragrance industry. 
 
Creed was started by James Henry Creed in 1760 — first as a tailor and later a fragrance house. Since its inception, the family created over 200 perfumes, most notably, its bestselling men’s fragrance Aventus Cologne, among others. Presently, Creed is based in Paris with an adjacent factory in Fontainebleau. It’s here where Creed manufactures its own essences using a traditional infusion technique that allows for the highest quality and authenticity of its fragrances.

The Creed family eventually sold the fragrance house to BlackRock and Ferrán in early 2020, when industry sources estimated that Creed’s revenues exceeded $200 million.

Acquistion Is a Major Step for Kering Beauté

The acquisition of Creed is a major step for Kering Beauté. What the brand calls a “perfect fit with its portfolio of renowned luxury brands,” it immediately provides Kering Beauté with the required scale, an outstanding financial profile, as well as a platform, supporting the future development of other Kering Beauté fragrance franchises, by leveraging in particular Creed’s global distribution network.
 
While preserving Creed’s rich heritage and high-end brand image, Kering Beauté will further unlock Creed’s potential across geographies, channels, and categories, notably through the acceleration of its development in China and in Travel Retail, and further expansion of the feminine fragrance portfolio, body and home categories.
 
The high-end luxury fragrance segment benefits from strong market dynamics fueling double-digit growth, high profitability, and significant revenue recurrence driving long-term resilience through the cycle. 

“The House of Creed is recognized as one of the few leading global luxury fragrance brands, synonymous with exclusivity and creativity,” said Jean-François Palus, group managing director of Kering. “We are confident that this landmark acquisition will facilitate and amplify our development in fragrance. This is a milestone in the development of Kering Beauté, as we believe more than ever in the strong potential of our brands in beauty.”
 
 

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