Puig buys the Swedish luxury brand Byredo for about 1,000 million euros

The family-owned fashion and beauty company Puig has acquired a majority stake in Byredo, a Swedish luxury brand founded in Stockholm in 2006, the company announced on Tuesday.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
31 May 2022 Tuesday 10:07
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Puig buys the Swedish luxury brand Byredo for about 1,000 million euros

The family-owned fashion and beauty company Puig has acquired a majority stake in Byredo, a Swedish luxury brand founded in Stockholm in 2006, the company announced on Tuesday. The purchase has been closed for more than one billion euros, according to market sources, and thus becomes one of the most important operations of the group chaired by Marc Puig. In June 2020, he bought the British make-up firm Charlotte Tilbury for around 900 million euros, another of his great acquisitions.

The Catalan company has imposed itself on other large groups in the beauty sector. French media have pointed out these days that L'Oréal had tried to take over Byredo, for which it was willing to pay 1,000 million. Finally, Puig's offer has surpassed that of its competitors.

Byredo founder Ben Gorham and Manzanita Capital will remain shareholders. Ben Gorham will continue to perform the creative leadership (Chief Creative Officer) and Manzanita will remain committed to Byredo's growth and long-term vision, Puig has reported.

With this purchase, Puig wants to strengthen its position in the high-end segment, in which the Swedish company specializes.

"We are delighted to welcome Byredo as he perfectly reinforces Puig's purpose of empowering people's own self-confidence and personality and has a strong and conscious commitment to the ESG agenda. Puig will bring his experience and resources to the table." to the development of this unique brand, which represents modern luxury with a strong connection with the consumer," said Marc Puig, president and CEO of Puig, in a statement. "This new acquisition marks a new key milestone in Puig's ambition to develop a business with a strong portfolio of purposeful brands," he added.

Byredo was founded by Ben Gorham, a former professional basketball player, in 2006 and nine years ago became part of the family-structured fund Manzanita Capital. Since then it has been expanding its portfolio, specializing in high-end perfumery and fashion items - a Byredo perfume is priced at around 200 euros. The brand has gained recognition among a wide audience, also young, to the point of becoming a cult firm.

Now it becomes part of Puig, a company that has grown through acquisitions in recent years. The purchase of Charlotte Tilbury, for example, has contributed to a strong increase in Puig's sales (153%) in the make-up segment in the last financial year.

Puig closed the 2021 financial year with a turnover of 2,585 million euros, 68% above the previous year and 27% compared to the pre-pandemic figures for 2019. The profit was 234 million euros, compared to losses of 70 million registered in 2020.