Procter & Gamble (P&G) attempted to become a dominant presence in the prestige and mass beauty categories in the mid-2000s. Scooping up brands and fragrance licenses as diverse as Covergirl and Dolce & Gabbana, the multinational went into reverse gear following the global financial crisis in 2008 as its beauty sales went south.
In 2015, P&G sold 41 brands to Coty in a complex multi-year deal worth US$12.5 billion.
Over the past three months, Retail Beauty has reported on P&G’s corporate buying spree in the prestige beauty category. The multinational has forked out over US$1 billion to acquire upmarket skincare brands Farmacy and Tula Skincare and premium hair brand Ouai since late last year.
In a bid to signal that P&G intends to become a major force in prestige beauty again, the company has created a new division. Dubbed Specialty Beauty, the portfolio will include the three recently acquired brands and operate through specialty and/or prestige bricks-and-mortar retail stores and direct-to-consumer channels.
SK-II, P&G’s star prestige skincare performer, First Aid Beauty and the multinational’s in-house developed brands such as See Me Beauty, targeting women over 50, and KeepItAnchored, a hair retention brand, will also be housed in the Specialty Beauty division.
There is a strong focus on skin health, one of the fastest-growing trends in beauty, and Farmacy, Tula Skincare and Ouai will retain their current corporate structures in a partnership brand model. Chris Heiert, formerly North American skincare and brand franchise leader at P&G, has been appointed senior vice president of the Specialty Beauty division.
“I am absolutely privileged to be leading P&G Beauty’s expansion into the specialty retail channel, where I’ll enable our portfolio of acquired and incubated brands to connect with new consumers, new channels and new innovation,” he noted.
