Kering Beauté, a brand of Kering Group, has announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire 100 percent of Creed from funds controlled by BlackRock Long Term Private Capital Europe and current Chairman Javier Ferrán.
Established in 1760 by James Henry Creed as a tailoring house serving the royal families of Europe, Creed has become a high-standing fragrance house and boasts a prestigious family heritage and a legacy testifying to a unique creative spirit. Olivier Creed and his son Erwin perpetuate this tradition today.
The House of Creed is the most significant global independent player in the high-end fragrance market, possessing a distinct collection of timeless and sophisticated perfumes, including the iconic Aventus.
The acquisition of Creed is a significant step for Kering Beauté. A perfect fit with its portfolio of renowned luxury brands, it immediately provides Kering Beauté with the required scale and financial profile and a platform supporting the future development of other Kering Beauté fragrance franchises by leveraging Creed’s global distribution network.
While preserving Creed’s rich heritage and high-end brand image, Kering Beauté will further unlock Creed’s potential across geographies, channels, and categories, notably through accelerating its development in China and Travel Retail and further expanding the feminine fragrance portfolio, body and home categories.
The high-end luxury fragrance segment benefited from solid market dynamics fueling double-digit growth, high profitability, and significant revenue recurrence driving long-term resilience through the cycle. The beauty category is a natural extension of Kering’s luxury universe, and the group is confident its expansion in this strategic segment will create lasting value for the Group and its Houses.
The all-cash transaction is expected to close in H2 2023, subject to clearance by the relevant competition authorities.
François-Henri Pinault, chairman and chief executive officer of Kering, said that the acquisition of Creed represented Kering Beauté’s first strategic initiative and demonstrated its commitment to developing a solid position in the luxury beauty segment.
“I am thrilled that today our stories and values come together around this spirit of family entrepreneurship and excellence to accelerate our journey in beauty, and I am delighted that the brand is joining Kering’s collection of luxury Houses,” said Pinault.
The group managing director of Kering, Jean-François Palus, said that The House of Creed was recognised as one of the few leading global luxury fragrance brands synonymous with exclusivity and creativity.
“We are confident that this landmark acquisition will facilitate and amplify our development in fragrance. This is a milestone in the development of Kering Beauté, as we believe more than ever in the strong potential of our brands in beauty,” stated Palus.
Raffaella Cornaggia, CEO of Kering Beauté, continued that Creed has a unique positioning in the fragrance market.
“We see a compelling rationale and mutual strategic benefits regarding expertise, network, and geographical footprint. We look forward to working with CEO Sarah Rotheram and her passionate team to continue to drive Creed’s success worldwide,” said Cornaggia.
Distinguished as a House driven by artistry and perfection, Creed is one of the last luxury fragrance houses to carefully source, research, inspect, and commission their natural raw ingredients, constantly seeking the finest and most exquisite throughout the globe.
Through its “Fragrance for the Future” framework, Creed ensured that its fragrances, created with the expertise and techniques of generations past, are sustainably produced in their laboratory in Fontainebleau on the outskirts of Paris.
Creed offers a tailored, elevated in-store experience through a network of 36 branded stores and quality distribution through circa 1,400 doors globally.
Over the past years, Creed has delivered fast-paced, double-digit growth and remarkable profitability with very high EBITDA margins while never compromising product quality or brand equity. For the full year ending March 31, 2023, Creed generated more than EUR 250 million in revenue.
