In its third luxurious and somewhat idiosyncratic acquisition in less than a month, the Estée Lauder Cos. Inc. has signed an agreement to purchase artisinal [sic] fragrance brand Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle. [...]
The Malle acquisition joins new siblings Le Labo, an irreverent artisinal [sic] fragrance brand that Lauder acquired on Oct. 15, and upscale skin-care business Rodin Olio Lusso, which it bought last week.
— Via Estée Lauder on a Spree, Buys Frédéric Malle at Women's Wear Daily.
How many horsemen are there supposed to be in the apocalypse?
Four! So when Serge falls we’re almost there
Lol. For some reason, I didn’t think Malle would go…that’s really interesting, sort of.
Ahem… pardon me and my nerdiness, but Lutens has been owned by Shiseido for ages (in fact… since the beginning??). Shiseido own Beaute Prestige International, which create fragrances for several, high-profile designer brands. Sadly, Uncle Serge hasn’t been an indie player for decades, if ever.
LOL — I do know that in some part of my brain (the info is on my own website!) but totally forgot.
I always knew that Estee Lauder was a powerhouse company. I have used their products for years. But geesh, are they taking over the beauty industry?
They have taken over the beauty industry. They own a number of brands,including some hip make up brands, in addition to the “Estee Lauder” line. For instance, Tom Ford make up and perfumes were always a Lauder brand.
This strategy enables them to occupy many niches (and in the case of Frederick Malle and Le Labo, very “niche” niches), without having to persuade buyers (1) either that their mother’s or grandmother’s Estee Lauder is suddenly hip or (2) that their beloved reliable Estee Lauder has suddenly lost its bearing.
They are still only #4, after L’Oreal, Unilever and P&G
I hope they are not going to distroy FM, I will never forget the disaster with Stila.
Oh, Stila. That was sad. I remember Stila’s early indie days… such a shame.
I had no idea they owned Stila – a former colleague wore a Stila fragrance because of the organic ethos, & it smelled lovely – & wan’t Anthony Edwards’ wife a co-founder of the company?
Certainly EL didn’t seem to make customers aware of their involvement with the brand, as they don’t now with ‘Jo Malone London’, a personal bugbear of mine, as JML get so much publicity & Jo Malone’s new(ish) venture, not so much!
If they gonna destroy FM, I’m done.
I tremble. On the other hand, maybe all of us stocking up on favorites before they get demolished is JUST WHAT THEY ARE COUNTING ON
Whaaaaat??? *shakes head* If they go after L’Artisan, Hermes or Serge Lutens next, I’ll seriously consider getting out of the game. Guess I’d better move Une Rose, a small bottle of Musc Ravageur and Carnal Flower up on the buy list right behind the Le Labos I still need to get. In which universe did I wake up this morning? *pinches self*
Just to clarify, L’Artisan was bought out years ago!
(And IMHO might benefit from a(nother) new owner)
Huh. So no mention of Frederic hanging onto creative control or something along those lines?
What a bummer. Can you say $$$$$?
I don’t know what to make of this, I just fear that they will alter the line, which would be a shame.
Malle had said that EU regulations might destroy some of his fragrances–could Lauder being a U.S. company change that? Maybe he’ll move operations here? (just wildly speculating–I don’t know how these things work.)
Sadly, no, that isn’t how it works.
Doesn’t matter where you produce a scent; if you want to sell the fragrance in the EU you will have to make it comply with EU regs.
My lemming for that coffret just got *REALLY* strongly renewed!
Sad. So sad. L’eau d’hiver will never have the same gravitas ever again..