- L'Oréal will acquire a majority stake in India's Innovist to boost its market share
- Innovist's brands include Bare Anatomy and Chemist at Play in haircare and skincare
- The deal includes rights to buy out minority shareholders after regulatory approval
French cosmetics group L'Oreal will acquire a majority stake in India's Innovist, it said on Thursday, as it looks to step up its share of one of the world's fastest growing markets. The deal, which includes rights to buy out the minority shareholders in full, adds local brands including haircare range Bare Anatomy and Chemist at Play skincare to its portfolio. Innovist's digital-first brands complement L'Oreal's existing portfolio, bringing high-performing science led products specifically tailored for indian consumers.
Detailed financial metrics related to the deal were not disclosed. "Our investment in this innovative Indian startup is a clear testament to our unwavering commitment to expanding L'Oreal's footprint in India," said CEO Nicolas Hieronimus in a statement. Hieronimus said earlier this year that the company was "not meeting expectations" in India, which is seeing rapid growth driven by young, affluent, social media-savvy shoppers with rising disposable income.
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The company, which makes about 1% of its turnover in India, had high single-digit growth in the country last year, but "did not gain a lot of market share, if any", Hieronimus told investors after reporting annual results. It recently brought in a new CEO to boost its performance. L'Oreal highlighted in its statement that Innovist is now one of the fastest-growing ''science-led and digital-first'' personal care companies in India, based on clean formulations and transparent ingredients.
''Innovist has bult something truly special here in india and by joining forces we look forward to bringing L'Oréal even closer to the new generation of digitally-savvy indian beauty consumers," said Jacques Lebel, Country Manager of L'Oréal India. The deal is set to close in the next few months, post regulatory approvals, the company said. It also said that the founders and minority shareholders will continue to operate the business in collaboration with L'Oreal India.
Under the agreement, the Innovist founding team will remain in place, as minority shareholders, and will continue to operate and scale the business in collaboration with L'Oréal India. The innovist brands will be part of L'Oreal's Consumer Products Division portfolio. "We founded innovist on the conviction that indian consumers deserve beauty products built on real science with full transparency, on formulation, and that these products could be made in india to global standards," said Rohit Chawla, CEO & Founder of Innovist.
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