Even stripped of its invented history, Creed still projects a powerful fantasy. As Liv Steigrad, a behavioral strategist and another Australian fraghead friend, put it, Creed is “basically aspirational masculinity bottled and sold.” Not rugged masculinity exactly, nor louche downtown cool, but the polished, expensive kind: designer loafers, Equinox abs, and suspiciously poreless skin.
— Read more in Is Creed the Scent of Our Looksmaxxing Era? at Highsnobiety.
L’Oréal has completed its acquisition of Kering Beauté. The deal includes House of Creed, which L’Oréal calls one of the world’s foremost luxury fragrance houses. The acquisition will also feature the signing of 50-year exclusive licenses for the creation, development, and distribution of fragrance and beauty products under Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga.
The right to secure a 50-year exclusive license agreement for the Gucci brand will take effect once the current license agreement with Coty ends.
— Read more in L’Oréal completes acquisition of Kering Beauté to expand luxe and fragrance at Personal Care Insights.
The Paris-based companies on Monday announced the sale of niche fragrance house Creed to L’Oréal, as well as a 50-year exclusive license to develop beauty lines for Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga under the beauty giant’s umbrella. The agreement also grants L’Oréal an option for Gucci Beauty—currently licensed to Coty until at least 2028, and a 50/50 joint venture in the wellness and longevity categories. [...]
Still, markets remained cautious: Kering’s shares rose 4% on Monday but ended down 3.9% on Friday following a 10% drop in quarterly sales. L’Oréal slipped about 1% on the day of the announcement and ended the week down 0.2% after logging sales growth that came below analysts' expectations—a sign that investors expect results from the transaction only over the medium term.
— Read more in How Much More Can L’Oréal Grow After €4 Billion Deal with Kering? at BeautyMatter.
The binding agreement encompasses the acquisition of the House of Creed by L’Oréal and gives the French beauty giant the rights to enter into a 50-year exclusive license for the creation, development and distribution of fragrance and beauty products for Gucci, starting after the expiration in 2028 of Kering’s current license with Coty Inc. for that business.
The partnership will also include a 50-year exclusive license for Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga, which will start at the close of the transaction, which is expected to take place in the first half of 2026.
— Read more in Analysts Laud L’Oréal-Kering Beauty Deal at Women's Wear Daily via Yahoo.
