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Estee Lauder buys Frederic Malle

Posted by Robin on 7 November 2014 22 Comments

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.

Filed Under: perfume in the news
Tagged With: estee lauder, frederic malle, le labo

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22 Comments

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  1. Jessica says:
    7 November 2014 at 8:29 am

    How many horsemen are there supposed to be in the apocalypse?

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    • Robin says:
      7 November 2014 at 8:47 am

      Four! So when Serge falls we’re almost there :-)

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      • Omega says:
        7 November 2014 at 9:17 am

        Lol. For some reason, I didn’t think Malle would go…that’s really interesting, sort of.

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      • Persolaise says:
        9 November 2014 at 6:20 am

        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.

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        • Robin says:
          9 November 2014 at 8:54 am

          LOL — I do know that in some part of my brain (the info is on my own website!) but totally forgot.

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  2. scentfromabove says:
    7 November 2014 at 9:02 am

    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?

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    • Dilana says:
      7 November 2014 at 9:06 am

      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.

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    • Robin says:
      7 November 2014 at 9:13 am

      They are still only #4, after L’Oreal, Unilever and P&G

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  3. Hera says:
    7 November 2014 at 9:38 am

    I hope they are not going to distroy FM, I will never forget the disaster with Stila.

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    • Jessica says:
      7 November 2014 at 10:48 am

      Oh, Stila. That was sad. I remember Stila’s early indie days… such a shame.

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    • Carolyn says:
      7 November 2014 at 11:01 am

      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!

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    • littlecooling says:
      7 November 2014 at 11:04 am

      If they gonna destroy FM, I’m done.

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    • Regina says:
      7 November 2014 at 11:59 am

      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

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  4. Absolute Scentualist says:
    7 November 2014 at 1:32 pm

    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*

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    • Robin says:
      7 November 2014 at 1:42 pm

      Just to clarify, L’Artisan was bought out years ago!

      (And IMHO might benefit from a(nother) new owner)

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  5. bookgirl says:
    7 November 2014 at 2:41 pm

    Huh. So no mention of Frederic hanging onto creative control or something along those lines?

    What a bummer. Can you say $$$$$?

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  6. austenfan says:
    7 November 2014 at 2:58 pm

    I don’t know what to make of this, I just fear that they will alter the line, which would be a shame.

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  7. CobraRose says:
    7 November 2014 at 7:40 pm

    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.)

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    • Robin says:
      7 November 2014 at 7:50 pm

      Sadly, no, that isn’t how it works.

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    • Lindaloo says:
      7 November 2014 at 9:03 pm

      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.

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  8. Marjorie Rose says:
    8 November 2014 at 12:12 am

    My lemming for that coffret just got *REALLY* strongly renewed!

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  9. Querelle 3 says:
    8 November 2014 at 12:42 pm

    Sad. So sad. L’eau d’hiver will never have the same gravitas ever again..

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